eswareinmal | +1 Irritated Physicist

+1 Irritated Physicist

Sento's really not at all pleased with this development, really. He's woken up in a castle and he's dealing with a bunch of idiots calling him the "Best Match Alchemist," and it's really all very frustrating because alchemy is not a science, dammit, and who are these people, and where is he, and why does all of his gear seem weird, and why is he wearing ridiculous robes covered in weird symbols (stylized pictures of the things embodied by his Fullbottles if he cared to look at them for longer than two seconds), and what is any of this, and...

...okay, that's it, he's leaving, he is just going to ignore everyone and walk right on out this castle so he can find a quiet place to think on all of this, because it's stupid.

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Garren had made a bit of a habit to check on the Summoning Room with frequency, especially when people were making fusses around it. So it doesn't take too long before he spots the retreating familiar form of his Slammer's Rider buddy and starts running to catch up.

... something very very difficult with his tiny legs.

Finally, he leaps into the air, transforming to his hummer form to zoom forward, flying a quick circle around Sento before transforming back again to land right in front of him, waving excitedly.

That actually makes Sento stop. "Garren?" Why, no, here's someone he wasn't expecting. "What's going on here?"

The pog makes a pleased, happy sound at being recognized before going into a very rapid series of signs, starting with a book, something falling, a transform pose and mimicking fighting before waving his arms around and striking a very heroic pose before making a wide sweeping gesture to the castle around them.

Got that?

These signs tell Sento...

...

...not a whole lot, really. "Can you take me to Tachibana?"

An enthusiastic, and far more understandable nod gave a much clearer answer, Garren leaping dramatically up into the air to transform back to his hummer form to zoom out of the castle with a happy trill.

...periodically swooping back to make sure he didn't lose Sento, of course.

Tachibana wasn't too far off from the castle proper. He and Sayoko had found an empty house near the poorer side of town (much to the dismay of the locals who kept tsking that a princess ought to stay in the castle) that hadn't taken too much effort to convert the ground floor into a clinic and garage. With all the doors and windows open for proper ventilation, Tachibana could easily be spotted, having kludged together something resembling proper safety gear as he worked on the start of a very steampunk looking engine.

Sento gives Garren a nod of thanks before letting himself in. He's a little too wound up to worry about knocking and being polite, thanks. "What is this place, and how do we leave?"

Hello to you too, Tachibana.

Tachibana blinked once before pulling off the goggles to blink again. "Sento? You wound up here as well?" he asked, setting them down and pulling off the thick leather gloves to set next to them.

"No, I'm astrally projecting myself here." There's an exasperated sigh. "Yes, I've ended up here as well. Wherever here is."

A small smile touched Tachibana's expression. Yep. Definitely Sento.

"That makes all the Riders that were Traveling," he reflected, pulling off the apron and finally stepping out to were Sento was standing. "The hell is it about this place that's pulling everyone here..." he half muttered, shaking his head.

"So there are others here, then..." Great. He'd never gotten along with the short (both in stature and temper) one. "What is this place?"

"Some sort of pseudo medieval world that seems to run on fairy tales and magic," Tachibana sighed. "Try breaking your transformation, see if it gets you back to something looking like normal clothing," he advised with a small nod.

"Breaking--" Sento had been about to protest that he wasn't transformed and had nothing to break, but there was some...vaguely steampunky thing around his waist that resembled the Build System. He gave an irritated sigh and broke transform, leaving him wearing more normal-looking clothing, albeit two-toned in a muted red and blue. "Well, then."

"Hajime and I had the same situation, when we arrived," Tachibana explained. "His armor was literal armor. I got stuck with an idiot robe like you have," he nodded. "There's some weird... translation of things, into something that fits in, a bit like when Traveling." He paused before shaking his head. "Or just total bullshit things like the dress Sayoko would up in that I'm amazed she could even walk in," he amended with a faint chuckle and smile. "Garren and Blade at least, were spared any real changes."

"And I don't have any small sidekicks to compare it with..." Sento shook his head. "Is there any point to any of this? What are we meant to be doing?"

"Far as anyone will say, there's some 'great threat to the kingdom,' in the form of some sort of invasive species of thorns off in the far south of the country. Resistant to all forms of attack, by all accounts. But so far it mostly just feels like one of those side Jaunts, the ones where whatever's going on seems to just be busy work or a distraction from the world where something far more horrendous is going on."

"Wonderful." Sento scowls. "Have you looked at the invasive species yet?" Should he start there? He's got to start doing something.

There was a brief hesitation before Tachibana shook his head. "Sayoko... has had a rough time, coming from our world, and then her short time Traveling," he explained, voice quiet.

"I see." Sento grimaced and decided not to press the issue further. "Is it at least quieter here?"

A small puff of amusement escaped. "A lot quieter, yeah," he nodded. "Almost too quiet, despite all the local annoyances. But... for Sayoko, that's for the best. That sort of quiet life... is what she wanted, for us both. Even if not quite this level," he added.

"This is several pastoral and technological levels removed from a normal sort of quiet," Sento points out. "It seems as though the novelty of this place will wear off fast." What novelty, he already hates it.

"Novelty isn't quite the word I'd use for it," Tachibana returned with a rueful huff. "Almast and Galen's memories are making a bit easier. Their worlds... Galen's was a bit older than this one, Almast's bit more modern, but it's enough to have a blueprint for what to look for, to set up the clinic and the garage."

"I don't have anything similar to fall back on in order to use to adapt," Sento pointed out. "Even without my, ah, memory issues, this is well outside my realm of experience."

"...you never had an infiltration that wasn't modern..." Tachibana realized with a blink.

"I should be able to craft the basics for a lab. Still have my laptop, and I've been working on an easier way of charging it, converting magical energy to something more standardized, rather than use the hand crank generator. Might take a little while, but we'll get you up to speed."

Sento shook his head. "I've been happier staying in modernity, thankfully."

But at least a lab was promising. "Water power, perhaps? Is there a river somewhere nearby we could use? I'm sure we could rig up some primitive generator with that." Really, he was ready to try to divert a river at this point.

"Yeah, there's one that runs right through the town," Tachibana nodded. "Not sure if there's enough current in this section, but there's bound to be some sort of falls or rapids somewhere along its length."

"I may go scouting around, then." Sento was cheered at the prospect of accomplishing something. "With proper hydroelectric power, we could do a great deal."

"Get this place well on it's way to modernization, yeah," Tachibana agreed warmly. "Got a good supply of wire from the local metalsmith, we'd just need to workout what's best for insulation for a long line."

"I'm sure some of those trees can produce rubber from the sap." Some of Sento's hair is sticking up now. "Do they have glass here? If I can acquire the proper equipment, it wouldn't be too hard to refine it and get something really workable going..."

The little wift of hair got a definite smile from Tachibana. It was always so easy to tell when Sento was starting to really get into an idea...

"They do, yeah. I think down the way where the metalsmith was, there's someone who does glasswork too. I remember seeing some fancy goblets and such when we were looking for things for the clinic."

Sento's eyes lit up. "Perfect, I'm sure I could persuade them to do some precise custom work." Poor glassmaker, dealing with this.

Tachibana nodded again. "Most of them are pretty... eager to help."

"Well," Sento said, "they certainly seemed impressed even if they were a bit, ah, mistaken as to what I am."

"Mistaken?" Tachibana repeated, eyebrow raising slightly in curiosity.

"I am a scientist," Sento insisted. "A physicist." He gave a sort of annoyed huff. "Not," he said, "an alchemist."

"And I'm a researcher, not a wizard," Tachibana pointed out with a warm smile. "But to these people in this world... magic is more real than science. Alchemy is likely the closest thing they'd understand to some of the things you came up with in your lab."

"...I don't think this is going to go well." Look, his previous Traveling experiences with anything magic were Not Great, and now this.

"You'll feel differently once you get your lab set up," Tachibana attempted to assure. "I've gotten some notes down about how the magic in this place works already, if you'd like to look them over for a bit of a jump start on your own research."

"That's true." Sento smiled. "Once we bring a bit more science into this place, things will go much more smoothly." He gave Tachibana a nod. "It would probably help to look over your notes before I get started."

Tachibana nodded. "Can also give you the tour of what we've gotten set up so far, with the garage and Sayoko's clinic," he offered, nodding at the proto-engine before heading over to a paper-strewn desk that was set up far away from the welding station.

"That would be outstanding." Sento nodded. "Gives me an idea of the direction I need to design things in."

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+1 Irritated Physicist

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