ROLEPLAY

The meeting was in Almati Wood. Started a little late (as usual). Attendance at first was limited by some folk who were participating in an OP battle.

In places I have attempted to straighten out what was quite confused due to the delays in translation and also to decipher some of Wilk's speech. I do not think that the dialect of Crystabel is his native dialect. I believe I have done so accurately. If anyone has problems, please let me know and I will try to fix them. A humongous thank you to Krill for most of the FR → EN translation.

This is submitted for the education and enlightenment of all, especially those who wish to be Ranger adherents in the future. If someone wants to translate this into the dialect of Avendale (FR) or of Windermeer (DE) or any other language, feel free. I believe that Zhoi intends to put forth an account in the dialect of Windermeer.

Submitted for publication. -- Mac'Od Bittty

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Wilk Potskin comes in and homins immediately focus attention on him.

Wilk: Good news and bad news.

Wilk: We encounter some difficulties to gather all the needed resources to boost potions. However, some potions are ready. A special guest will arrive a bit later to explain this point in detail.

Wilk: Another bad news is that the termite detector, some magnetized amber, is ready but cannot be produced on a large scale. So I'm afraid they will not be available today as we planned.

Wilk: Our zorai specailists are working on it. I think they will be ready in the next few days.

Bitttymacod: Why not just use the ones outside Pyr?

Wilk: Our guest will explain it better than me but termites behave differently between species.

Diwu Those are needed to provide the Imperial Court with Goari eggs.

Wilk: We have to find the good kind – that's why we need the amber detectors. Some Fyros say they can tell the difference when they eat them, but I personally prefer to avoid this method.

Wilk: Here's our guest now.

Ardan Keale walks in with a title of Tryker Entomologist.

Keale: I am Ardan Keale. I am working with Daeronn Cegrips to find a way to remove those kitin mounds all over Atys.

(At this point more people were showing up. There was much meeting and greeting.)

Keale: I made some trips to kitin nests with Rangers like my friend Wilk. They were quite dangerous, but for the moment we are still in one piece.

Krill: Krill remembers traveling with Daeronn Cegrips and thinks any travel with him is definitively dangerous.

Keale: But I'm not a Ranger, I'm an entomologist. The short version is: I study insects to understand their behavior, from the little butterfly to the Kitin Queen.

Bitttymacod scratches his head in puzzlement because he thought Kitins and insects were different.

Chonchon is recognized (trans:) Wouldn't a Ranger faction be more efficient than these potions since at the moment we are killing shalah, and yetins, but no kitins? Do you wish a ranger faction for this task?Couldn't we create potions with kitins?

Wilk: I will answer: I think I saw your point. Believe me, if I could tell you; "Go see that Ranger, he will explain to you how to be part of the Ranger faction" I would do it right now. But for the moment, we are not ready.

Chonchon (part EN part trans.): I see. But the guilds are ready. They are numerous, the guilds who want to become rangers

Chonchon (raised his hand again): (long question in FR) EN via Krill: Perhaps the future Rangers won't have to wait and they could already join some “pre-faction' in order to create a Ranger faction with your agreement. Maybe they can take their destiny into their own hands?

Wilk: I think I just answered this question. Let Ardan Keale explain why he came here:

Chonchon: I think not.

Keale: Thanks Wilk. I think Wilk has already told you, but we are working with Daeronn to use termites to remove Kitin mounds from the Bark.

Keale: We prepared some termite mounds to test.

Keale: Please follow me, I will show you:

(Keale leads us a short way out of camp to where there are four termite mounds, each with a green glow near the base. The termite mounds are of different shapes)

Keale: For the moment, we have 4 termites mounds. These are test mounds guarded by Rangers.

Keale: We gathered here each termite species known on Atys. I'm quite sure you already saw them in desert and other areas, but these ones are special, we brought them from the desert. They only contain a particular termite type.

Zhoi (recognized): I'd just like to ask if these termites also live underground too, so the mounds might go deeper so to say? Or reach deeper into the Bark.

Keale: Good question, I'm glad you asked. Of course termites live underground too, but you might see a green glow at the base. It hinders termite movement and forces them to stay in a small perimeter around the mound: enough to gather resources, but not enough to make a fresh colony.

Zhoi (aside) A glow of sap? Never seen that around normal termite-mounds in the desert...

Keale: Since we will make tests on these mounds we do not want to allow them to mix with other colonies

Chonchon (aside): Great!
Zhoi (aside): Or eat up all of the Almati Wood.

Keale: This species is very interesting. They have a really short lifecycle. Daeronn wants to call them daeronnite speedotermite, I keep telling him it's a bad idea. (sighs)

Keale: They also have a simple lifecycle. It has two phases: The first is the reproduction one. When termites have enough food gathered they start to lay eggs. Very few survive and the termite keeps eating and laying eggs until it dies. The second phase is the egg>larva>termite phase. After a very short time the egg becomes a larva to become a termite and it needs food. Once they are all grown up, termites do their termite jobs and gather resources.

Keale: Any question?

Feylin: What is their role and impact in the life of the region they live in?
Daomei: As far as I know they eat dead wood.

Keale: That's a question without a generic (general??) answer; it depends on their living area. Most of the time you can find this species in dead trees. They eat wood and enrich the bark.

Zhoi: you mean they cannot eat living wood, only dead trees?

Keale: Well these ones will only eat what we give them, so their impact here will be really limited.

Zhoi: ... so they can eat living plants.

Keale: If they are starving they could eat living trees, their bark, but they cannot stand running sap. Their lifecycle is really easy to understand.

Bitttymacod: Are the different shapes of the mounds at all significant?

Keale: It may. During our searches we found that this species likes to build tall mounds, but we found them in others. They are not only in mounds following this shape.

Keale: That's on this kind of mounds you and us will test potions. Let's go back to camp.

We returned to camp.

Daomei (with permission): How will the potions influence the termites and how long does it last?

Wilk looks to Ardan

Keale: Let's talk about standard potions. Boosted ones are not ready. Daeronn and I discovered 4 kinds of potions thanks to your hard work.

Keale: They all last the same amount of time: a phase of a lifecycle around day (30 min IRL). The first one makes sure more eggs will be laid. The second one allows termites to gather more food. The third one allows larvae to grow without food more or less. The last one destroys eggs.

Keale: I will come back to show you how to use them. When potions are ready to use on test mounds it will be easier to understand. We will train Rangers to use them and prepare an illustrated guide. We hope it will be ready before the potions.

Chonchon:(recognised - trans): All the guilds are ready to help the rangers in the hope to join them and look like them. Some guilds with to get some support from you for this cause. In the time before you can welcome us we would like that you recognize some kind of pre-faction that fights to support you. We offer our hand; do you want to take it?

Wilk: I already answer this question. Please let us go ahead:

Zorroargh (recognized): Can the termites fly?

Keale: Some have this ability, yes, like a kipesta but wayyy smaller and far less dangerous.

Zorroargh: But if one can fly and let eggs in another place, is it possible?

Keale: Some species can do this but not the one we are working with right now.

Krill frowns: right now? And later?

Zorroargh: Ok, I truth (trust?) you. You are a very known expert in the Tryker scientific community, thank you for your answer.

Daomei (recognized): Two questions: From what I have learnt, termites are very susceptible to moisture, but even more to cold. So do we have to protect them at some places? On the other hand, in dry areas like the desert, do we have to control them more strictly?

Keale : We will apply the same strict control on all of them. Potion should not change their behavior until a certain point. But they could acclimate themselves more easily to water due to their short lifecycle. That's why we select them, there is no point if they die once they arrive in lakes kitin mounds for example.

Daomei: I see. Last question from me: when we apply them to a kitin mound and tunnel won't the kitins come and try to erase them?

Keale: I will not lie to you: there is a chance kitins will notice what we are doing.

Chonchon: We will come back when you are ready to accept us, even as a sub faction.
Chonchon bows, then all of the guild Les Justes leave the meeting. No other homins leave at this time.

Keale: I'm sure they will not notice it at first, but once we destroy several kitin mounds we will have to fight them.

Kiwalie: (recognized trans): So, we'll have to fight the kitins in order to protect the termite nests?

Wilk: Yes we will. Even if those termites are fast, destroying a kitin mound will take quite a long time. I hope you will be a Ranger at that time.

Kiwalie: (trans): Uh oh I've got some things to perpare, then!

Wilk : We will conclude with the last bad news. Some Rangers alerted us about strange behavior in Kitin Lair.

Daomei: Shall we have a look? (polishes her amps)

Wilk: Since I cannot give you the amber detectors, nor potions, I think you could help us with this task. I still wonder if you are ready. It may be dangerous, but let me explain.

Wilk: You will have to access Dark Mines. I know that some of you have already been there. That's a dangerous place and you have to sneak between kitins without attracting their attention.

Daomei: Ok, not just kill everything that moves...

Wilk: It will be possible due to the Miner's Seal. If you never went there, please follow someone who already went. It is really easy to lose yourself in the maze. Report to me anything strange you encounter below. When the ranger who stays near these crates and barrels comes back he will give you the ranger seal.
((ooc: some part of the interface is not translated in all language, sorry for the inconvenience it will be soon. ))

Bitttymacod: Should we continue to collect the nails, tails, fangs and claws?

Wilk: Yes.

Wilk: Mong Chi Sa has come. He will give you Miner's seal to access Dark Mines but only to those with high enough fame.

Everyone instantly gathers by the mission giver and starts chattering. At this point the meeting dissolves into total chaos. I report only a few of what I think are critical points about the Deep Mines mission.

Salazar: How do you use this? (Looks at Daomei) I guess you have some experience with this?

Daomei: Not really, I heard that it enables you to cross certain barriers.

Salazar: How does it keep Kitins from you.

Zhoi: It doesn't. It only allows us to get through the barrier to the dark mines.

(ooc/hrp: Wilk mentions do not awake the Kitin. So it is definitely a sneak like heck mission. )

Salazar: How long will Mong Chi Sa be here to give seals?

Wilk: (ooc: for the next several days at least.)

Kiwalie announces that the next meeting will be (IRL: 6 May, 1900 GMT, Almati Wood.).