The Grandcypher

[Bloodedge]

"Ryozanpaku," Giyu repeated, noting the familiar tone used by Shuten and acknowledging that she had, indeed, found her memories as intended. Just then, something strange happened. Tamamo took her seat not at the table, but directly in his lap. Eyes that were not his own opened in that moment, not physically but within his consciousness. Those eyes... they were Akashi's. Giyu gave no outward reaction, but he could feel the burning within himself, as if the memory triggered a certain desire. Perhaps it wasn't truly the work of Akashi at all, but instead something even greater hidden within this body. Either way, Tamamo proceeded to produce a map of Ryozanpaku as her source understood it. Giyu's eyes traversed the display, and indeed... it was very familiar. Memories were filling his mind, but he was pulled from them the moment Jaskier questioned the number of participants he'd given previously. It seemed Giyu was finding a voice after all the time he'd spent in virtual silence this day. "There are six. Someone is already helping, even if they don't know it yet. Tamamo's Yata Mirror was taken out of this place long ago. That wasn't a malicious job," he said, his eyes traveling to Dreyfus as he awaited further confirmation.

The blacksmith was stunned. Those two had freed that item they obtained from him? He thought the shape of that mirror looked familiar, but he had no concrete evidence to say it was until now. "Aye, I got it off a snake lad. Must've been from 'round these parts, now ye' mention it. Came up ta' me wantin' it awakened, seemed like an alright lad back then." That was all the confirmation Giyu needed. This 'snake lad' Dreyfus mentioned was surely not one of malicious intent, so long as he wasn't somehow the leader of whatever faction he belonged to. If Giyu had to hazard a guess, he'd take said lad as a Player, like most of them here.

[Apollymi]

Shuten took the lad's repetition as affirmation she'd chosen correctly. The memories she had shifting through her brain were unusual but she supposed they could have their uses. Beyond this she found herself looking at the map produced by Tamamo with wide eyes. Each quadrant of the map seemed to be under the control of a different class of Youkai. After the moment of surprise at the choice of Tamamo's seating didn't belong to simply the newer males alone, Kuroka also found it directly interesting, not that she would mention it. In the meantime, if Tamamo felt the stirring of the other consciousness within the lad, and also felt one within herself. The sound of rushing water came with a smug sense of approval. Perhaps it was the fault of being so near, perhaps it was simply Tatsuki acknowledging the lass taking charge in some way. Whatever the case, Jaskier was given the answer to his question and nodded his understanding. "So, does that mean you have to find that guy and align yourselves with him first?" he said, seemingly wanting to learn. He was very directly part of Kou's sub-party. As such he planned to be an adventurer but he wasn't used to this aspect of work so he was trying to learn as much as possible.

"A snake boy? Who is like us, but hasn't made any big moves... is probably being held back. Maybe he was just gambling on getting the Mirror out?" these were the words of Shuten who wasn't familiar with this portion of the game because it wasn't information she would have had in the other world. Tamamo had commentary but saved it for a few moments mostly to get extra information, she did have her own to offer knowing that their resident puzzle solver could take in all the information and help produce a reasonable plan. "He might have been... the money system here is terrible. Trade between groups outside of this neutral zone is unlikely. If that is the case he might not know where anyone else like him is. That being said, he could probably be found pretty easily," Tamamo mentioned but never one to put extra strain where it wasn't needed she pulled from within her Treasure Room a bag full of Magatama. They seemed like Shogi pieces which changed their shape with just a little magic from the mirror itself. As if they had touched enough of the land here to be able to tell a great deal about what was going on here. She shuffled the pieces around in her hand and blew on them, seeming to infuse them and then tossed them into the map space watching as they fell into alignment with specific areas on the map. A total of four pieces seemed to be present, each a different color and each pointing a different direction. They all represented each of the different factions. This was a form of divination which Tamamo was exploring as they held this meeting.

[Bloodedge]

"No," Giyu said without haste, setting his sights on Jaskier. It took him a moment to properly acknowledge the blue-haired lad. This Avatar was still very fresh, and he found himself having to consciously separate and/or integrate memories from Kou and the other versions of himself. After all, he didn't want to do anything immersion-breaking, lest his Avatars lose themselves to each other. Perhaps it was an irrational thing, but he felt as if that could happen if things went wrong. "If number six is still alive now, we wait for him to realize what we're doing. There's no point going out to look for someone who might still have their own motivations. If he's really one of us, he'll come to us."

A gamble... Perhaps that was a viable option for the young male who brought the Yata Mirror to Dreyfus for awakening. Giyu didn't seem to think so though, at least not fully. "Kuroka," he spoke, intending to draw attention to the Tengu. She knew the workings of the mind, and he knew to divert attention where necessary. If anyone in the room could reach a conclusion about the 'snake lad' in question, it was the psychiatrist. "A gamble, or part of a greater plan? the male Oni asked. He had a conclusion of his own, but certainty could only come from that woman, if anyone at all.

[Apollymi]

Jaskier's question was met with a negative response. Looking for the snake lad was out of the question at least for the moment. The further explanation being that if the lad thought there were people on his side and he was still alive, he'd likely come looking for those people of his own accord. This seemed to be something the blue haired lad understood. He gave a gentle nod of his head. "Sou ka, I guess that makes sense," he said seeing the merit of not wasting extra time and energy looking for someone who may not want help or may not be able to provide equivalent services of their own accord. All the same Tamamo found herself moving more pieces onto the game board. A pink one for herself, a purple one for Shuten, a deep blue one for Giyu, a black one for Kuroka and a sky blue one for the slime. All of these found themselves in neutral territory when they were tossed onto the table. The last one, pale yellow in color was leaning towards the west. There was an understanding then of the orientation of the major factions which came both as a product of divination and deductive reasoning.

In the meantime, Kuroka was addressed directly. This time for insight about the potential motivations of the lad who'd given up the Yata Mirror during his works in the land. "Where were the other objects found?" she asked not really knowing what this pair had gotten up to, it would be Tamamo to respond while she continued looking over the map. "Everything should have been in the Origin Temple we raided found in the Western Lands. Under the containment of spiritually draining barriers which required a combination of skills to retrieve, more so if it was done unnoticed..." Tamamo clarified. Given this information, the fact that Dreyfus had been found in the lower lands and the warring factions logic of this area she could make a few educated guesses. "Sou ka, it was part of a greater plan. It is most likely he chose the route he did based on an ideal ending he wished to meet. It definitely wasn't simply a gamble, as it is assumable he came with foreknowledge like all of us would have for previously completed aspects of our tales." The conclusion of the psychiatric analysis. "Though that is all I can say without meeting him, based strictly on what I know of the lands and his observable actions."

[Bloodedge]

"Hai," was Giyu's only remaining response to Jaskier. It was respectable that the bard at least sought information, and that simple fact gave Giyu more than enough reason to accept Jaskier as Kou's Holy Knight Apprentice. Indeed, he had the support of Aiba Yugi in multiple forms. Onto the matter of the snake boy, Kuroka had but a single question to gain information worth using. Her assertion came after having said information given by Tamamo, and it seemed Giyu was on the right track. This lad was a player of AoE, who had a grand scheme to do something about Ryozanpaku's current state. Whether he intended to seek liberation of this land, or control of it, the mysterious male was a valuable piece, and it seemed Tamamo picked up on that thought pattern as well when assembling pieces on her board. Giyu glanced over the map with a raised brow, giving consideration to the lay of the land. "So, the plan should be to separate and integrate ourselves into each faction, yes?" he spoke, asking as if he expected the entire room to be on the same proverbial page.

[Apollymi]

Jaskier had been acknowledged. This was a strange feeling for the blue haired bard, but he felt if any of the other faces of the lad known as Kou would recognize his usefulness, then he could truly feel as if he could be integrated into this group. A small smile came to his face as he was content to look over the map, which was being filled in with new pieces as they sat here. Watching the doings of Tamamo was strange, and he wasn't the only one who thought so. Shuten watched the map as well, finding this method of understanding to be strange, even so she still thought it cool that the lass had set up an entire game board to cover their options. Beyond those two, Kuroka seemed to think it a good way of visualizing the way the lass' mind worked. Her advice taken she watched as pieces were added to the game board.

Tamamo's fingers danced over the magatama which represented their current group. She couldn't help but think about what Giyu had to say but she couldn't imagine how to split them into the groups. But, at her current understanding she couldn't help but think they didn't have quite enough information about it to be splitting up lightly. "Before we divide and conquer, Mikon... we should make sure we aren't headed to the wrong places for our current alignments. Given the odd numbers many of us will be undertaking our individual factions alone. We have to make sure we're all prepared for what is to come on individual projects of this size," Tamamo said mentioning the idea of dividing up their current group meant where everyone went would have a great bit of influence over their plan of attack. Besides that Tamamo, maintained enough of her base personalities pragmatism to know for certain it didn't matter if she and Giyu were alone rather it mattered how they would utilize Shuten, Kuroka and Rimuru. "Rimuru, what kind of split is found between these groups?" she said pointing at each of the factions at the four corners. That lad seemed to have some idea of what was going on here, he'd advised her against at least wandering off originally, meaning he was the best general refinery of current information. Besides, his logic would be necessary for all of them to figure out how best to split their group apart.

[Bloodedge]

Tamamo spoke again, this time directly to Giyu using that title she seemed keen on applying to any of his forms. She did have a point when addressing the need for knowledge, but there was something Giyu left out of his previous clause. The room's attention was sent to Rimuru, the young man most invested in the modern Youkai of this land. The Slime in human form drew closer, looking over the map and pointing at each of the cardinal directions as he mentioned the specifics. "To the West there is Orochi the Snake. It's a snake, I don't think much needs to be said about how they've been working to cripple the others. The kid you're talking about is probably one of his Generals, since some Kings like him seem to like keeping their 'relatives' close. South is Kuono the Fox, basically the go-to for whatever magic stuff you wanna do. They've been pretty standoffish lately, probably not much for taking an offensive now. North... Fubuki the Yuki-onna. Most spirits will be found there, but it's kind of a ghost town lately... in the wrong way, I mean. East is Kyojuro the─"

Giyu would stop the Slime's speech there. He had a decent bit of information stored away in his source's memory, and the one named Kyojuro was the name which irked him. "The Oni, using a false royal name to intimidate by claiming power lost ages ago." Ah, a source of irritation indeed. The Oni within this body despised the name of that faction's leader, if only due to being there when the faction was created. "I have an urge to take his head. Don't you, Shuten?"

[Apollymi]

Tamamo was soon receiving information directly from the Slime known as Rimuru. As he spoke, it seemed that there were minor updates being made to the map and to the pieces which marked the designation of the multiple faction leaders. She even took the liberty of sliding that yellow extra piece into the West, though his involvement was still questionable, she could assume it would be beneficial until it wasn't. Tamamo managed listen to this information blending it with her own knowledge of the area. One such thing was mention of Kuono and the lack of niceness being exhibited by the Fox. Tamamo had an idea of why this was the case, given the fact that she was currently in possession of the Hoshinotama which she figured belong to her. No point in going to the table, with no money to bet, in the same vein there was no point in participating in war when you hadn't the power to back up your threats. What was more, apparently the Yuki-onna were also experiencing some sort of problem, a lack of spirits. Both of those factions then, had to be related by a single point of correlation. That was a bit problematic. Or...

Whatever Tamamo was thinking would shift over her face in a moment and be gone within seconds. At the same time, Shuten seemed to be sparked into something resembling bloodlust at the idea that there was someone in charge of the Oni Faction she didn't approve of, this was part of the underlying personality but it made the smile on the young lass' face no less frightening. "Fufu, at the very least a life without his bones," Shuten said as if more than mildly amused by the idea of the death of someone she knew to be holding a place he didn't deserve. It became obvious the path this pair would take, both of their pieces the purple and deep blue magatama were moved towards the East, where the Oni were based. "Ara, ara, aren't you two scary!~" Tamamo teased the pair of Oni with their death threats aimed at another of their kind. Still it made it obvious what their intentions were. "That part is pretty clear," she said of the two Oni, she had no problem with this designation at all. But there was still something which bothered her, and that was the way this map looked to her. There was something obviously wrong here but it wasn't quite clear enough yet. "I should head south and convince the fox she has more of a steak in opposition than she knows..." she offered moving her pink piece towards the south. This of course, left Kuroka and Rimuru. By Tamamo's logic just moving into the other places and shifting the balance would do a decent job of filling in the rest of the details and allowing them to reach a potential way of restoring balance between the warring states. "Our last two usable pieces then?" she asked waiting for an opinion from Giyu, Kuroka and Rimuru finding all of their input important in the moment. What she wouldn't realize is, that in the moment, without thought, a clear magatama was also on the board, uniquely unnoticed by her. Right outside of her vision situated in the grey space in the middle of the map.

[Bloodedge]

"That sounds good. No bones in his body, no skull on his shoulders." As things stood currently, he and Shuten would be having a very interesting time with the current 'monarch' among Oni. At least, that would come before he exacted vengeance upon the lass for the atrocity she committed this day. For now, the mission. Tamamo slid the pieces to their proper points atop the board/map, selecting the South region for her own adventure. Two zones remained, and two members of their existing group remained as well. Having more than a decent idea as to what area their potential sixth member would be in, Giyu thought to present a suggestion. "Kuroka should go West. The person we have there should be able to figure out what we're dealing with when it comes to the 'Mirror guy' we have waiting," he said.

"Oh, of course I'd get drafted!" said Rimuru. The Slime had no issue with the idea of heading North, though; he would have gone that way himself. After all, that Yuki-onna heading the faction up there was quite the looker... and so were some other spirits. "Others could be useful as well. . ." This secondary clause came from Giyu, as he viewed the map once more. Something was very off, but what was it? Ah... there it was! "There are seven. Why?" the male Oni questioned.

[Apollymi]

"Fufu, sounds great," she said seeming to enjoy the mental image she got of a conquered oni with no head and no bones. Of course, the commentary made by Tamamo couldn't go unheeded either, "Tama-nee, we aren't scary, he's a usurper, they deserve to be punished!~" the purple haired lass chimed. Tamamo held up her hands in mock surrender, she had no qualms with whatever they decided, she wasn't the type to misunderstand why certain things were done. "I can't really talk about usurping, things aren't always what they appear in those cases," said Tamamo, though she was speaking from the experiences of her combined personalities not specifically this one. Moving on, Giyu mentioned that it should be Kuroka who headed west as her expertise could be used to entice the newer member of their group. "Hai, I have no qualms with seeing to the new lad. Besides, the Orochi don't scare me... I will do my best," she commented with a certainty in her eyes which Tamamo had seen before. She was quite the trustworthy individual and as such her piece was moved towards the west which just left Rimuru to go to the north. "Hush now, Gaki!~ Go enjoy looking at your ghost girls... just make sure to find out what's wrong in their land. It's better if we can fix everyone's problems." The fox lass mentioned.

Of course, there was one more thing, a bit almost unseen problem on her map, and that was an extra piece. Her own eyes weren't drawn to it initially but now that it'd been mentioned by someone else, she stared at it for quite some time. "Hm, I... ah," Tamamo was quite confused by this extra piece. But it was infused, the point of the map Divination was to place pieces, it was literally meant to be there as determined by the Goddess she was part of. "It's there because it is meant to be there... this map is weird. It both lines up with my memories and doesn't. It's wrong in some way but it hurts my head to think about it. The other me could feel it too but it's just the land something is wrong with it here. But the Divination is right. That piece is there, or rather that person, whoever they are exists and they are on our side," she said which was the only explanation she could have. That piece was blown upon but it didn't move, it stayed where it was, right in the center.

[Bloodedge]

Kuroka agreed to taking the West as her place of travel. With this setup, and the information they had, Giyu imagined they would have a relatively easy time. Kuroka was an especially useful piece, not just for this event, but for their group as a whole. If they could manage, solidifying her as a more permanent resident to the Grandcypher would be ideal in Giyu's mind. "That's settled then. Good luck," he said to the Tengu. Now, at last, they could begin the movement properly... except, there was one additional piece. . .

This additional piece was not upon the board by Tamamo's volition, but instead simply appeared because it needed to be there. How very curious. Oh well; if Tamamo believed this mysterious figure was on their side, he would agree with her without question. A simple nod was all he gave. Whenever the time was right, that person would make themselves known. "Weird maps, askew memories, and four corners to conquer and liberate. Sounds familiar," he mused. Meanwhile, one of the males within the room seemed a bit spaced-out. Diva, who could usually fit such a description, had a sense of suffering. Something was wrong nearby; he could tell. Was it a very big deal? Well, it wouldn't be to the others, but perhaps it would be in his best interest to investigate.

[Apollymi]

A nod came from Kuroka it seemed they had come to an agreement and everyone who would move, knew where they were going. Before she got up to leave though, she heard the minor bit of discussion about the extra piece on the board. It appeared that Tamamo hadn't put it there but the lass felt it needed to be there. Whatever the case, she knew that the young woman before her, in any of her forms wouldn't do anything carelessly. As such, she had no problem taking her leave. "Hai hai, I'm off then... if there is nothing else," said Kuroka as she stood and left the room. These two were pretty quick about what they did and she had no problem doing what they asked.

Tamamo on the other hand, was made to feel something very strange. An unquestioning faith in her abilities. She'd said she didn't know why the piece was there and felt it belonged and Giyu much to his credit simply nodded his understanding. One of the things that Ashikaga Kimiko liked most about this lad was that he didn't leave her second guessing herself all the time. A smile crossed her face as she settled into his lap, wiggling just a tad. "It really does doesn't it? Oh well, I guess we'll find out why soon enough. Have fun out there," she chimed as she shifted herself out of the lad's lap, but not without giving him a final discrete squeeze. Which was all well enough as her eyes crossed the table. She looked to every face present as she stood seeming to become ready to leave. "We'll all be back when we learn anything of great importance, or if the plan changes in general," she said to the rest of the group. In the meantime, Shuten would also seem to become excited. "Yesh! Also you guys are in charge of looking after the ship, Nii-san! Let's go... liberation is one of the best parts of these adventures!~" she said seemingly amused.

[Bloodedge]

Kuroka was content to take her leave right away, and all in due time. From the looks of things, they could all be on their way. "Nothing I can think of," said Giyu, who was soon enough offered a subtle squeezing from Tamamo─ prior to the lass' own extrication from his lap. He rose then, while the new Slime of their group huffed and hopped away after Kuroka. Giyu set his sights on Shuten while waiting. "Back to reclaim what's ours? I guess that classifies as liberation, in a way. Let's go."

Ah, but there was one other who would be joining this group in leaving the Grandcypher. As Tamamo moved, Diva stepped closer to her. The thing he sensed happened to be in the same direction she was headed. He knew he wouldn't be easily accepted here, but did that truly matter? The Atlantean reached out, tentatively taking the Kitsune by her sleeve to halt her progression briefly. "I... need to... that way. . ." There was something calling to him, and he knew not what it was exactly. The lad wasn't going to let a lack of knowledge stop him, though. Perhaps he could get by, simply by being in a Youkai's company until he found what he sought.

[Apollymi]

The group made its break, and though Tamamo received no reaction from the lad when she squeezed him, she was content nonetheless. It seemed it'd gone unnoticed by most if not all in the first place and after she removed herself from his lap, Giyu stood and waited with his sister. They seemed content to converse just the same, Shuten began walking away from the group headed for the outside of the ship as if she knew where she was going. "Yes! It's ours! We are liberating it from the hands of a thief!" she exclaimed as she walked off. Truth be told, her morality was little askew in this form, she might have thought better generally of stealing something from someone else, even if it belonged to her initially. Whatever the case, she was content to have another adventure with her brother.

In the meantime, Tamamo called her mirror back to her person, and it seemed to absorb the image on the board along with the beads on the table without issue. She could take this little map set up with her, in case she needed to show it to anyone else or if they had to set up an impromptu meeting somewhere else. Everything she needed was tucked away on her person and she turned to leave only to stop as she felt a gentle tugging on her sleeve. She looked at him strangely, she was a different person right now, but the base was still the same. In the time since meeting him, she'd grown quite attached to the Atlantean and had learned quite a bit about him. Even though it wasn't through the eyes she current possessed she couldn't see the harm in helping him find whatever he was looking for. Especially since she knew the sort of things that called out to him. "Hoh? Something caught your attention, hm?" she asked in a way which was mostly rhetorical. Though this place wasn't friendly to non-youkai, Tamamo maintained the ability to hide the lad from plain sight for a while. Her eyes had a familiar friendliness within them and the gentle glow of magic which she'd adjusted to casting recently "Ara ara, we really can't have you wandering around alone or anything~ Come along then. Don't wander too far away from me, and people will be too busy looking at me to see you~" she said explaining the magic she used and beginning her walk. She'd exit the ship and head towards the neutral territory which would allow her to go towards the south.

[Bloodedge]

"Yes. Just like I'll liberate his head from the rest of him," Giyu said, managing to let a bit of spite leak through from his source. With that, he was off in the company of his (now in two ways) sister. They would go East in satisfaction for having each other's company again, and their journey would be... quite the epic one indeed.

Ah, but there was another epic journey beginning between two members of this growing group, even if they didn't realize they would be embarking on it together. Tamamo took a moment to react to Diva's approach, but she seemed accepting of his request in the end. He was resolved to find whatever reached out to him. Luckily, Tamamo had a method for him to follow along without attracting undue attention to himself, at least according to her. He could do as she asked; he could easily keep the pace without straying too far. "A...rigatou─" he managed to say. What was ahead of them, though? They would both be finding out soon after departing. Just along the path Tamamo herself needed to travel toward her chosen faction, there was... what appeared to be a simple boar with fur of ash, was struggling itself to death in an alley just within the city. This creature was exactly the one Diva sought, and exactly the thing that sought him.