[Nexus] Outside XXVII

[Murkus]

[Hermitage of Dalechrech - Percival]

Eericka nods once in response. The interest in her voice peaks as she speaks once more.

"I concur. 'The mortals' did not, in fact, convince the demons that they had mystically attained more power. It was the demons who convinced themselves of that."

"The word is faith. You've no doubt witnessed, if not felt, its powers before. Faith in a deity. Faith in a 'reality'. Faith in oneself. What, dare I ask, is the difference between these convictions apart from the object that the faith is being imparted upon?"

"So these demon princes simply 'believed' themselves into positions of greater power?" Percy scoffs, starting up the stone stairs onto the ramparts. "If such things were true, I'd by the king of the Abyss." Despite his words, Percy does actually see some truth to her statement. And, quite frankly, he sounds impressed. She's very intelligent, for a slave bred in captivity. I suppose that's what they bred her for, however, and that's why Percy bought her.

[Chaotic Bob]

From the direction of NO, Karaglen soars through the sky, lightly flapping her wings and staring dismally at the ground.
She was reminded of something, earlier today, that she'd been trying really hard to forget.

An old friend, she'd tried to save.
A failure and the near end of the world.

Off to find the site of the friend's body, whatever is left or what isn't left.
Needs to at least be there.

[Rebonack]

[Obsidian Forest]

Finding the Obsidian Forest shouldn't be terribly difficult. The place is pretty darn sizable and absolutely unmistakable. What with the trees made of black glass and all.

But will Kara be able to find Zee down there?

Well.

That remains to be seen.

...

Maybe she's somewhere near that huge tree the size of a sky-scraper?

Just a thought. Might be a good place to start.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Obsidian Forest]

Kara would be thankful for how easy the place is to find...but it's not exactly a chipper occasion.
So she isn't.

She tries to recall what she heard of Zee's "change" (not much, since she wasn't lucid at the time), mostly just recalling that she was really, really large.
Possibly the bed of the forest? Or beyond it, maybe.

Largest landmark would be useful for both options, to see beyond, or to investigate below.
Big tree would probably grow on the head or heart, right?

The girl flaps over that way, lightly biting her lip.

[Rebonack]

[Obsidian Forest - The Skies Above]

As Kara draws closer she'll find something rather interesting!

Somethings, actually.

Frolicking about in the canopy of the massive tree are several chimeras! No doubt some of the many who took up residence here in the Obsidian Forest since Rebo can't possibly RP every single one of them. Four is already a lot.

The creatures seem to be having... fun.

Are they playing tag?

It certainly looks like they're playing tag.

Or some chaotic, high-energy non-Euclidean version of tag.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Obsidian Forest - The Skies Above]

Kara has yet to meet any of the chimeralings and as such is not familiar with their relationship to this entire situation.

Which is probably why she slides her sword down from between her wings, where she can properly hold it.
Just in case. Even demons of hell play games.

She drifts slightly lower, to keep a better eye on the moving masses in the tree-tops.
Curious, but not curious enough to say hi.

Zee is more important, after all.

[Rebonack]

[Obsidian Forest - Skies Above]

Demons don't play games!

Or at least they don't play any games that don't involve horrible suffering.

These critters just look like they're having fun.

And speaking of fun-!

"Hiya!" comes a cheerful voice as a weird creature that looks like a cross between a giraffe, a heron, a weasel, and a tortoise suddenly pops out of quite literally nowhere.

Looks like it just sprung up from behind a wall and half its body is still behind said wall. Except there's no wall. Just empty air and a no doubt surprised silver dragon.

"Who are you?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[Obsidian Forest - The Skies Above]

Karaglen proceeds to emit a noise halfway between a squeak and a surprised yelp, while flailing her massive sword into a roughly defensible position in front of her.

"Just someone looking for Zee..."
She doesn't seem too eager to indulge the weird animal amalgamation with personal information at the moment.
Possibly due to her rather obvious distress.

[Rebonack]

[Obsidian Forest - Skies Above]

"Oh..." the chiemra's ears droop a bit at that reply. "Mother's... asleep still..."

The critter glances down toward the massive tree. It looks sad...

"But... She might wake up soon! I'm sure of it!"

Soon in this case might be several million years.

A very relative term you see.

"Who are you, though? You wanna play?" the chimera sounds excited! Previous worries all but forgotten. For now at least. "We're playing Calvin Ball!"

Oh holy crap they're playing Calvin Ball.

Say yes Kara!

[Chaotic Bob]

[Obsidian Forest - Skies Above]

Still asleep...yes, of course she is...
Why wouldn't she be?

Karaglen doesn't have any immediate words in the favor of the offer to play Calvin Ball, opening her mouth slightly, and then closing it again.
Her sword droops slightly, before she shakes her head.
"Um...no, that's okay...I just need to see where Zee is sleeping."

[Lost_Deep]

It's too late.

The foot-swarming has already taken place.

Now see... Even though this... thing... might look really weird she doesn't smell like one of the chiemra's relatives. Similar. But different enough not to trigger their 'kill on sight' order. And something that doesn't trigger their kill on sight order is a potential friend until proven otherwise!

Hence the foot swarming.

"Who are you?"
"Where did you come from?"
"How come you have half a face?"
"I like chocolate! Do you like chocolate?"

The odd thing does not move her legs. Don't want to crush the little things!

"Easy, easy... don't climb on me, please. Really, don't do it. They call me Iriel, and I come from... another reality or something. Depends on your terminology. I only have half a face. I cover the other half, because I don't have it. It's for others' protection. I find chocolate in moderate amounts is a nice snack on occasion. When I can eat, anyway."

So many chimeras... Iriel isn't feeling flustered, per say. However, she is acutely aware that some of her parts are rather... dangerous. She really doesn't want the chimeras to get poked on her (highly poisonous) spines or her (highly mutagenic) tentacles. She is just worried about the wellbeing of all these little things that seem determined to confuse her with large numbers and a dizzying variance like a parade of things procedurally generated by dwarf fortress.

Also, she's a bit ADD from her above-human mental capabilities. It doesn't come out much in her speech, but her thought processes are a bit... off-kilter.

[Rebonack]

[Obsidian Forest - Skies Above]

The chimera just blinks at Kara.

Then glances down at the Obsidian Forest in general.

"Uumm..."

He then points a hoof/paw/claw/talon down at the forest. "Underground. Down there. Mother is really big you know."

A beat.

"Or are you asking about her puppet? The little one she uses to talk to mortals?"

It's very useful!

"That's down by the bottom of the big tree."

[Obsidian Forest - Floor]

At the request to avoid climbing the chimeras oblige. Thankfully. Whether or not mutagen would do anything to them is a question probably best left unanswered. They seem to be in a constant state of flux as it is already.

"So... How are you going to help Mother?"

[Lost_Deep]

Obsidian Forest - Floor (or in some kind of clearing? Iriel is 50 feet tall...)

"Well, my powers are of change and restoration. I think I may be able to restore her to her previous capabilities... or close to them. Assuming she doesn't try to resist... or simply squish me."

Iriel is painfully aware that K'rax could squish her like a bug.

A particularly annoying bug, but a bug nonetheless.

[Earl of Purple]

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Elezibethele

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"Because I don't trust you. If you are naked, and you manage to escape, you'd not make it far through the forest with nothing protecting you from the thorns. And neither can you hide a weapon, as there's no clothing it can be hid within." Elezibethele's blunt, honest and punctuates her words by looking him up and down. That's probably part of it, too.

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Azurelle

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When they arrive, Azurelle lets go of Toy's hand. "Help me out of my dress, then I will see how well you dance." The whip is placed on the bed.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Obsidian Forest - Skies Above]

Kara glances down with the gestured limb and nods.
Okay, so that was one of the options. Zee as the forest-bed/forest.

That works.

"Um, the...puppet will be fine. Thank you.
...enjoy your game."

Continuing with her apparent desire to not tarry with the chimera too long, she will be attempting to resume her flight to the big tree now.

[Rebonack]

[Obsidian Forest - Floor]

K'rax is snoozing at the moment. Her abilities of squashing are sharply limited. Especially due to the damage she sustained when all the dooooom was going down. If she wanted to take any direct actions on the material plane she would need to stop paying attention to the Threshold.

And...

That would be bad.

Like...

Really bad.

So she probably wouldn't do that.

"You should do that! Make Mother better!"

[Obsidian Forest - Skies Above]

Down toward the big tree!

...

Kara might notice Iriel down here.

Kind of hard to miss.

[Lost_Deep]

Obsidian Forest - Floor

"Okay, sure. Point me toward... a way to the inside. Where the damage is."

And, indeed, the person in the air may very well notice the over-fifty-foot tall creature in the woods. It's an amalgamation of praying mantis, human, crab, anemone... it's really weird.

And it has not yet noticed the thing(s) in the sky.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Obsidian Forest - Floor]

Karaglen does indeed notice the rather huge...other animal amalgamation abomination.
Seems to be talking with more of the chimeras, maybe?

Let's just hang back and follow it, for now.
Maybe it can show her where Zee's head is, or heart.

[Rebonack]

[Obsidian Forest - Floor]

The chimera points toward the towering tree nearby.

With an equally towering entrance.

...

Was that there before?

Probably not.

The hole in the trunk will bypass The Ark completely and take anyone who steps inside straight to the exploded mess that is part of whatever counts for a brain in K'rax.

It'll be awfully busted up in there.

[ThirdEmperor]

Drychalk Hill

"Nah, nah... The wards are just, hhh, fine. As long as the juice is flowing properly, no ghosties will be runnin 'round. In the, hhh, interests of honesty though, I, hhh, feel obliged to mention there is one teeny, tiny liddle issue." The suited man snaps the briefcase shut, clutching it to his chest protectively in case Ceres tries to take the money back. He doesn't intend to refund one cent, no, it's his money now and he isn't giving it up, ever. "An, hhh, infestation of sort. Wisps. Uh, wisps 're energy leeches, in case you didn't know. Get in the pipes, clog the, hhh, flow, suck the capicators dry... Not dangerous, hhh, no, not at all. Nothin that could cause a containment breach, just annoyin. I already got all the energy I, hhh, need outta this place, so, I figure why not sell it to someone else, let them deal with the wisps?"

With that, the nameless personage turns and begins to heads back towards town, gesturing for Ceres to follow. "C'mon, I'll show you the square first, hhh, that's where the liddle forget-me-not spell is runnin, as well as the beacon. Keeps 'em nice an tranquil."

[Slii Arhem]

Drychalk Hill

Ceres doesn't look convinced, and gives an almost unconcious pull on the suitcase with his telekinesis before letting it go. No going back now, "So you're saying that so long as there is power, the wards will function, but these wisps are pulling at the power? If they aren't dealt with, could the problems exacerbate? And are the wisps the cause of the... draining qualities of the air? Or perhaps something else..."

Ceres will follow the odd man cautiously, picking his footing to avoid stepping in a gopher hole or something equally idiotic. His last two deaths taught him that any form he could make will be somewhat more frail than a normal person's, so he's being careful not to die in a place as forboding as this.

"What would you recommend for dealing with these wisps? Either permanently or as... maintenance."

[Lost_Deep]

Obsidian Forest - Floor

Huh.

"Well, that's handy. I was expecting to have to turn into mist form and worm my way through-What's that?"

Iriel turns around, looking for something.

She has a sense for bioenergy, which is a rather complicated topic. Suffice to say, such a sense is of marginal aid here, as K'rax and the chimeras are basically like looking at a kaleidoscope galleria. She may have felt, through that chaos, Karaglen. Or it may have been a particularly energetic chimera, and Karaglen being there is just coincidence. What matters is that Iriel is currently examining over he shoulder, and may see the girl.

[Artemis97]

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Blind Cat's Bluff

Blood pours freely from her shoulder now. Without the bear's teeth to fill the cuts, there is nothing to stop it from welling inside her armour. Some of it runs under the leather, soaking into the cloth of her clothes and leaking out through gaps and the wrist cuff. More still flows through the cuts in the leather left by the bear's teeth, and it flows sluggishly over the surface of the leather to join the blood eking out along her hand. As the bear backs away, the woman presses her good hand against her shoulder, pushing the leather against the wounds in an attempt to at least slow the bleeding. She couldn't move her right arm. It hung limply at her side. The woman didn't spare it any concern for the time being. She's focused on the bear before her. Gods willing it would decide she was more effort than it was worth and would run away.

It does the next best thing, though, and falls down. Good. With all luck it would bleed out and she would be able to skin it. It would be
such a fantastic
blanket

Once the threat is gone, the adrenaline keeping the woman on her feet falls away too. She collapses to her knees in a wave of exhaustion. Her head nods towards her chest, her sunken eyes half-close...

No!
Have to stay awake have to keep going have to get back.

The pain in her arm has subsided to a dull ache that flashes like a knife with every beat of her heart as blood is pumped through the damaged veins. Have to get this armour off. Have to bandage the wound. Her blood-soaked hand fumbles with the ties and snaps that keep the too-large armour attached to her body. The chest falls off her after a few snaps are undone, and the sleeves with it. Blood sloshes out like rainwater from an over-turned boot, splattering to the ground. No bandages. Stupid. Stupid not to bring bandages.

Gripping the cuff of her good sleeve in her teeth, the woman squirms to pull her arm out of it. Reaching out from under the bottom, she pulls a knife from her boot and saws through the sleeve in a few awkward motions. It's hard to tie the sleeve around her shoulder one-handed, but she manages. She would have to do with a tourniquet for now, until she could get back to Gelina and the others. Gelina could fix her arm. Gelina could fix any wound.

Have to go. Have to get back.

Clutching her shoulder, the woman tries to stand up on her feet. But the effort makes her head swim and her vision blur to a dull white. She sways once and falls back to her knees.

No. Get up. Get up!

But it is no use. Her legs won't listen to her. Sleep looms at the edges of her vision, threatening to over take her. She couldn't sleep here. It was too cold. Maram had taught her that, that she should never fall asleep because she was cold, because she would never wake up from that sleep. Had to find something warm.

Only one option.

Finally, she looks up. The bear. If it was still there it would be dead by now. She could take advantage of it's fur and residual body heat and...
That couldn't be right.
A black skinned boy lay where the bear had been, naked. Her eyes narrow with distrust, but she finds herself with no other option.

Returning the knife to its sheathe in her boot, she crawls over to him. It was suicide, but this was her only option. She was just going to have to pray to the gods that this Ice Elf would be merciful and not kill her when he woke up. The woman falls down next to him, hand on the pommel of her knife. Her head is met with a pillow of moss, and within a second she is asleep.

[Hidden Cave beneath Blind Cat's Bluff]

Dang it! DANG IT!
Reinholdt had been found out. He just knew it. There was some sort of fighting going on above the cave. He knows he heard some roaring and some shouts. He should just... pack it up and flee to someplace else. Anyplace else.
And he most certainly should not go and investigate. And find out what happened. That would be dangerous. The curiosity killing kind.

Reinholdt opens up the cave entrance and flies cautiously up, peeking over the edge of the cliff. He looks around, and it takes a minute, but he eventually spots two unconscious bodies. With a slight gasp, he shifts into human form, and approaches, still invisible lest there be more around.

It could be a trap. It was a trap. Helping these people would clearly give him away. It'd kill him. Some sniper waiting to take a shot.
But...
How... How could he not?

He curses under his breath and sighs. Going to gingerly pick up the most injured party first, he attempts to fly them into his hidden cave, before returning to do the same for the other. The cave wasn't the warmest, but it was certainly far warmer than out there.

After that, the plan is to tend to their wounds. The naked man first, then the woman, peeling away her clothes and armor where necessary to treat them correctly. He fortunately, has a lot of practice at first aid resulting from fights.

Finally, getting them warm is the last step. Providing blankets and fresh clothes to go over bandages. A fire in this cave is not very smart, but with the door closed and the cold kept outside, it becomes cozy enough. After that, there is nothing to do but cuddle up to them as a kitty, and check on them every once in a while and hope they recover.

All attempts of course.

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

Rein might be surprised to find that the man was relatively uninjured. He still had the arrowhead stuck in his side, but the wound on his stomach had become a thin scratch, and his eye... oh his eye. The wound had healed, but it had left a patch of scar tissue where his eye had been.

As such, when he finally does wake, he's rather shocked to find he can't see properly. "AHH!!"

[ThirdEmperor]

[Drychalk Hill]

The telekinetic tug on the briefcase will yield an interesting observation; the enigmatic man is quite strong, stronger than a normal human, and it would take significant force to pull the money out of his grasp. Luckily, he fails to notice the attempt to snatch away his prize, continuing to jabber in his scratchy, grating voice as they walk towards the town in the distance. "Nah, the wisps aren't making the mist. That's the ghosties work, what I, hhh, keep them 'round fer. It's, hhh, pure negative lifeforce in etheric vapor, those obelisks back there harvest it, feed it to the generators, which, hhh, is what makes the power." He waves one hand at the mist surrounding them on all, pride obvious in voice and posture. "Basically, hhh, how it works is like this. Everyone's got a, hhh, life-force, what we in the business call a positive charge, what keeps 'em walkin, talkin an eatin. Usually, they, die when their lifeforce bottoms out an there's no more fuel in the engine, but with extreme determination or outside assistance, they can stay on a little while. An that's where you get ghosts."

A snap of the nameless necromancer's fingers conjures up an illusionary image in the palm of his hand, a translucent spectre that glows with a faint greenish light, the kind one might see in an old fashioned horror flick. "Now, ghosties, well, their stayin beyond their time. They're using more lifeforce than they got, so they start accumulating a negative charge- the opposite of life. Said negative charge draws them to the afterlife like a magnet, so they gotta be real clever, balance it out with a positive charge stolen from the living. But, an here's the fun part, if they don't have quite enough stolen life to keep themselves anchored, they start bleeding off the excess negative charge. An that's the mist, which this liddle beauty generates, harvests and utilizes in a state of the art, revolutionary etheric fusion generator." The necromancer's irritating verbal tic seems to have vanished now, replaced by an almost worshipful tone of voice as he speaks of his work, an insane, reverent obsession clear in his words. Obviously, this poor fellow's inspiration overthrew his sanity long ago. He's also quite obviously dodging the question about whether the wisps could cause the wards to malfunction.

[Slii Arhem]

Drychalk Hill

"So it doesn't work quite how I imagined it... Certainly a work of genius then. But I imagine that such a process generates quite a lot of waste in the form of ectoplasm." At this Ceres generates a ball of the goop to accentuate his point. It drips over the fingers of his hazmat suit and begins to evaporate even as it reaches the ground.

"What measures do you have in place to deal with such things? And would they be sufficient if I were to start generating more power?"

Ceres lets the obvious dodge slide for now, but he will be coming back to the wisps before the conversation is done.

On a side note, have they reached the town center yet? I imagine Ceres will be doing quite a lot of looking around if that's the case.

[Reinholdt]

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[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

Rein might be surprised to find that the man was relatively uninjured. He still had the arrowhead stuck in his side, but the wound on his stomach had become a thin scratch, and his eye... oh his eye. The wound had healed, but it had left a patch of scar tissue where his eye had been.

As such, when he finally does wake, he's rather shocked to find he can't see properly. "AHH!!"

[Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave]

That is surprising.

The cave itself, it's a bit sparse. I mean, there is that giant stargate thing over there, hooked up to a control console. And over in one corner is a teddy bear facing the wall, rope on the ground in a semi circle around the bear, partitioning it off.

Oh and a visible cat rushing over to the man. Huh. Decided not to go the invisible route.

"Whoa! Whoa there! SHHHH! Calm down. No need for screaming." Reinholdt's eyes dart back and forth, as if expecting something to jump out at any moment.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Obsidian Forest - Floor]

Looking over her shoulder will reveal Karaglen rather easily.
She's not hiding, simply hovering and watching.
Despite the horns, demonic-dragon wings, and the massive sword, she's not trying to be actively threatening.

With a tear or two shining on her cheek, she's not sure what she looks like.

Flap...flap...flap...
She won't do anything different if Iriel doesn't.

[Mr. Moon]

Blind Cat's Bluff - Cave

You were seated loosely in a circle around the tiny fire. It was night and the intertwined branches of the trees surrounding the small group blocked out the sky. There was six of you - Maram, Gila, Terin, Shale, Roan and yourself. No one spoke a word. Terin leaned over from the old, moss-covered log he was sitting on and pressed his finger into the dirt. Deftly he traces out a short cluster of characters, which the others lean over to read. You must stand to read them, but before you get a chance there is a rustle in the forest around them. Gila is only just able to scuff out most of it before the orcs burst out of the forest. One of the orcs rushes directly at you. You fumble to draw your sword but it is too late. He grabs you, throws you aside. You land face-down in the ground and when you raise your head to spit out dirt you realize you are right on top of what remains of Terin's writing. You can see them perfectly because they are burnt into your memory, you know you can. But for all you try and struggle you can't read them.

A loud cry distracts you, but even as you twist to get up someone grabs you by the shoulder and pins you down. The last thing you remember is the iron, crudely wrought gauntlet.

The woman in the cave awakens with a start at the man's cry. She sits up sharply, before going pale and clutching her shoulder. Pain shoots through it, radiating out through her torso and down her arms.
How...?
Bandages.
Must have gotten hurt in the fight. Gila must have fixed it up while she was unconscious, then.

Still holding her shoulder, the green-eyed, ruddy-skinned woman lifts her head, peering around her. This wasn't right. This wasn't the forest. Where was she? Did the orcs drag her off? Couldn't be. Orcs weren't this clean, they wouldn't have bandaged her wound. Had she been rescued the-

-there is an Ice Elf here.

Her eyes flash with fear and anger as she fumbles at her hip for her sword. It's not there! Why isn't it there! Knife. Knife! In your boot. Get it!

The knife flashes with brightly-polished steel as she pulls it out with her right hand, holding it out between her and the perceived threat. She backs up, away from him, until her back presses against the wall. She stands still and poised, watching the dark-skinned man with wild, terrified eyes.

[The Alexandrian]

[Hermitage of Dalechrech - Percival]

Eericka was bred to be comely, sturdy (with a strong constitution), physically weak, slim, and brilliant, yes. With the proper resources, she might've been a great innovator, but in her current station, that is merely a pipe dream that shall probably amount to absolutely nothing. What a waste of potential, Eericka is.

Eericka isn't pleased with Percy's scoffing. She interprets it as a sign of his disapproval of her beliefs. His passive rebuke.

"If you had ever met a certifiably insane entity, you might better understand why I say these things. They are living evidence of power of faith and the concept that everyone lives in their own worlds, markedly similar but indisputably different from those of the others."

-----
[Hermitage of Dalachrech- Elezibethele]

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"Your logic is impeccable, Mistress."

Mine retorts, not at offended, but expressing more than his fair share of surprise that Elezibethele has chosen to share some measurably quantity of her fears/insecurities (or her concerns, at least) with him. He wasn't expecting any of that. Kindness and comfort weren't part of his instruction while held in that awful den of slave traders. He might need those skills while serving in this capacity.

"If this sets you more at ease, then so be it."

-----
[Hermitage of Dalachrech- Azurelle]

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Dancing? The slaves might be fare well enough with simple dances such as the waltz or the charleston, but that art isn't exactly within their repertoire-

Oh. Azurelle brought the whip along with her. So much for dancing.

Toy will attempt to quickly undress Azurelle, doing her best to remain behind her for as much time as is possible (knowing full well that doing so would make physical harassment inconvenient for Azurelle to carry out on her). She glances at the whip on the bed for a long moment...

She knew what would happen were she to disobey her captor, but that doesn't prevent her from visualizing Azurelle's demise within the confines and safety of her own mind.

[ThirdEmperor]

Drychalk Hill

They haven't reached the town yet, no. The wall is a fair distance away, near the very base of the hill, so that the ghosts can't be seen wandering about by people on the other side. If course, it does mean there's a bit of a walk but that's better than having ghosthunters busting down your door every Sunday and killing your negative energy generators. "Damn straight it's genius. As for ectoplasm, the ghosts actually generate less if they're not getting enough life-force, so there actually isn't that much to deal with. What they do produce, I scrape off the walls and, hhh, use in the capacitors. Excellent energy retention, barely any loss over time. Kicking up the power though, hhh, that'll be a little trickier." Waving his hand, he sends the illusionary shade flying away through the fog, only to vanish as it reaches the edge of his ability to sustain it.

"The plant isn't running anywhere near full capacity at the moment, so, hhh, the output could certainly be kicked up a notch. To a point. Once you get past, hhh, somewhere 'round two hundred megawatts per day, you'll start running into some, hhh, issues. For one, you're gonna need more harvesting towers to absorb and condense the etheric vapor, and after a certain point, you'd need more ghosties. The capacitors I've set up can't hold more than about five hundred, so you'd need more of those too if, hhh, yer gonna be storin much of that power. By now, the looming outline of the town is pretty close, enough that individual shapes are becoming more distinct, a simple lane of houses stretching out into the distance, the individual homes the archetypical boxy house with a sloping, peaked roof and a rectangular chimney, the lane terminating in an impressive looking cathedral type structure, almost castle-like in basic shape, with a great clocktower rising up into the air like an evil wizard's tower.

"The real issue, hhh, though, is life-force. The negative charge we pull outta the air ain't good on it's own. Less than useless and twice as tricky to store. Guess ya could call it entropy. It'll drain any sort of energy it can, try to cancel itself out, and ya can't run much on it. But, if ya paid attention in science class, ya probably know what happens if you mix matter 'n anti-matter right? Condense the etheric vapor down enough an add a drop of liquid life-force, an you got pretty much the same reaction. Pure energy. It's beautiful, efficient, renewable, humane an powerful."