gameofmana | ➸ Quest Catch All

It seems like Hope doesn't have anywhere else to really be besides Mekiv Caverns; she can be found waiting out her time in Domina's Tavern at just about any time save for the absurd. The locals around town easily point that out, and Miss Yuka will even point her out to anyone who asks her.

Not that it's hard to point her out... Hope is covered from head to toe, a veil hiding half of her face and a hood draped over her head. A few loose curls of light brown hair have still escaped, and she looks up at each person who enters the tavern with pale gray eyes.

What's of particular note, however, is the lamp she has set on the table before her. In the shape of a budding flower, she tends to keep it unlit but always close. To those who have seen Artifacts like the Colorblocks or Jade Egg, they'll recognize the pull in them as they lay eyes upon it.

Zenyatta had seen the ads asking for an escort through the caverns. He did not consider himself a great warrior as he stood--or hovered as he can now do once more--his embarrassing battle against pumpkins taught him that lesson. However, he could still throw his orbs, and an escort need not be violent. It could be company, and Zenyatta is interested in the Mekiv Caverns. What could be down there?

He floats into the tavern, a place he doesn't usually frequent, and asks for Hope. He's quickly ushered her way. "Greetings, are you Miss Hope?" He gives a small wave. Zenyatta also wonders that lamp is supposed to look like a lullabud. The lamp's similar appearance to Bothi amuses Zenyatta, and Bothi extends a vine-like limb with an intent to poke it if allowed.

The woman looks up at Zenyatta's approach, a hint of curiosity in her eyes as she takes in his appearance. "Yes... That is my name." With notable care, she makes sure the lamp won't tip over before offering a hand.

"May I know your name?"

Without taking an actual seat, Zenyatta moves to be at the table and lightly takes her hand to shake. (He also offers a slight bow of his head.) Bothi, however, continues to focus on the lamp... though no longer trying to poke it.

"Of course. I am Zenyatta, and this is Bothi," Zenyatta says. "I come from the large tree that is a half an hour's walk from town. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Zenyatta and Bothi..." The words are sounded carefully on her tongue, clearly foreign to her. "I've heard of that place." What she's heard of, she doesn't mention, and instead folds her hands together.

"Have you come about the escort job?"

Hopefully, Hope hasn't heard anything too bad.

"If you are still in need of someone to accompany you, then I have. I am curious about what might be within the caverns, so our paths can converge."

At the mention of any other offers, her shoulders slump and her eyes go downcast. "I shouldn't be surprised that there hasn't been much in the way of offers... I have known from the start that Domina is not a town of daredevils."

A soft exhale. "That is to say, you are the first to show interest. The places within Mekiv Caverns I seek should be clear of beasts... but having a knight to guard me would put me at ease. I'd be glad for your company." A hesitant pause. "Is there anything you would need to do before departing for it...?"

"It can be much to ask someone to leave the comfort of the known. However, if one does not venture out, one can miss seeing the most wondrous things." Zenyatta speaks generally and personally. He would have a different life had he not left the mountains of Nepal, and he couldn't imagine his life without the experiences and connections he had created.

His orbs circle around him, and Bothi tries to bat at an orb as it passes. "I do not require anything that I do not already have upon me. We can leave whenever you wish."

That seems to be all the answer Hope needs, and she pushes herself up to her feet. "There are a few things I need to retrieve from my room at the inn... However, if you could meet me at the road leading out of town..."

Hope shakes her head. "This is some business which I'd like to finish as soon as possible... I hope you understand."

"Of course. I will wait for you there." Zenyatta leaves with a slight nod of his head and a hand on Bothi to keep them from falling as he moves. (Bothi then settles into a more stable seat on his shoulders.)

When Hope arrives at the road, Zenyatta is hovering lower to the ground, meditating. Yet, he stirs as she approaches, and he resumes a higher hovering position to make it easier for them to talk eye to eye. "Have you finished your preparations, Miss Hope?"

Not much seems to have been added to Hope's person as she comes up the road to Zenyatta, save for a pack wrapped around her shoulders and that the lamp has now been placed on a long thin pole. As she stops before him, she gives a slight bow to him.

"Yes. Thank you for waiting. Let's make time before the sun gets too dark." Adjusting the lamp in her hands, she begins to make way to where Mekiv Caverns lays on the horizon. Only some minutes in, however, and she glances to him.

"May I ask you something, Zenyatta?"

Zenyatta lets Hope lead the way. This is her expedition, and she is the leader. He is an escort. (And Bothi can be group mascot.)

"You may. I will try to answer it as best I can." There are few questions he won't answer, and even if he did feel like not answering, he would give a partial answer in his own way.

"I hope you not think me rude, but what manner of creature are you?" Her eyes flicker to and away from him. "I have traveled to many places and seen many races, but... I have never seen in individual completely of metal. Not in the way that you appear to be."

"You are not being rude at all. I have been asked this question many times since my arrival. Some people are more familiar with robots or automations, and while those are not exactly what I am, they are closer than others."

He continues floating, voice calm and easy. "I am an Omnic."

"Automations.... I think I understand. It reminds me of beings that were created a very long time ago..." From behind her cloth coverings, it's possible to see her brows furrow.

"...Yet, from what I have heard, it seemed they've become long lost. It's an unpleasant fate- to be forgotten and discarded."

Zenyatta tilts his head in curiosity. He knows of the fanciful idea of ancient mechanical beings, usually in alternate reality stories if he wasn't mistaken, and he has only met other people like him among those taken from their worlds. To discover there is some evidence of similar beings in this world is very interesting.

"I would like to learn more about them if possible. No one should be forgotten like that." Even those with ill deeds are worth knowing about to prevent history from repeating. "Did you learn of them through story?"

For a second, there's only silence, before she nods her head. "I've simply heard things. Even if people try to hide things in this world, events such as wars always leave scars."

Her sigh is despondent. "They're ugly things that can't be healed, no matter the tears that people might shed."

Zenyatta falls quiet, and as if they sense his unease, Bothi stills. He had hoped for a different outcome, something that didn't involve war. It will take a few moments longer in quiet contemplation before he speaks softly, "It saddens me to learn that this world has faced such a crisis. This world has seemed so peaceful."

And there is more of a need to learn more. Zenyatta is not the only mechanical person among them. If there is a dark history, it would be wise to be mindful of it when interacting with the locals.

"Domina is a quiet town, thankfully, but..." As Mekiv Caverns looms closer, their talk having filled up the majority of the jorney, Hope shakes her head.

"I'm sorry. This has been a depressing conversation that I brought upon you."

"There are no need for apologies. In fact, I thank you for bringing this to my attention." Harmony and discord are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. In hindsight, Zenyatta thinks he will need to meditate further on this matter and process his thoughts and feelings. He feels like he overlooked something and took for granted the relative peace he has experienced in Fa’Diel.

"However, if you wish to change the subject, perhaps we can talk about our destination. Did you wish to explore the caverns, or did you have another purpose for our trip in mind?"

Stopping at the opening of the caverns, she carefully sets the lamp down and begins to search through her pockets and pouches. "There is something I wish to find, actually. I have heard that the caverns hold a particular elemental spirit, you see."

A set of matches are produced, and she gets to work striking up a tiny flame. Practiced, she cups it away from any stray breeze until she can press the flame to where it needs to be. Instead of merely lighting, the lamp comes to life with a soft glow visible even in daylight, and stray embers seem to flicker into the air like escaping fireflies rather than flame.

"An elemental spirit? That would be very fascinating to find." Zenyatta watches curiously as Hope lights her lamp. It quite beautiful. Thankfully, Bothi does not try to investigate the lit lamp; instead they curl around Zenyatta's middle for a nap.

"I can also help provide light should we need it." He points at the lights on his forehead and gives a small laugh. Then he'll follow Hope inside.

Getting up to her feet again, her eyes crinkle just slightly, the only sign of a smile visible. "Yet that would require me staying close to you while we travel, and if we get separated, I would be in some trouble, wouldn't I? Caves aren't a place to travel half blind."

And with that said, she begins to step into the cavern, following the smooth naturally formed steps that lead to its depths.

The light of her lamp shimmers along the walls of Mekiv Caverns, casting odd shadows from the reflective nature of its slick surfaces, but nothing immediately leaps out to accost them. There's merely the dripping of water somewhere in the distance, and far off clicking. At the end of the steps, Hope pauses, waiting for Zenyatta. "I hope you don't mind if I ask you to take the lead... While I know what I wish to find, it is difficult to say where it might appear save in a secluded quiet place. Your decisions of what direction to take are as likely to find it as mine."

"I was under the impression you needed an escort," says Zenyatta with humor in his voice. "If we separate, then I would not be doing good at my job."

But regardless of that little detail and jest, Zenyatta hovers forward. If the elemental spirit wishes for quiet, then he thinks that deeper inside the caverns, away from the outside noise, would probably be where it is. He tries to listen past the hums and clicks of his own internal workings. It's almost like he has fallen into a meditative trance.

Then he randomly pick a path that takes the western wall because it looks interesting. Zenyatta's wandering and curious heart makes the choice for him.

It's as good a path as any, and Hope has no objections. At least, none that she voices, anyway. The walk along the western wall is quiet, eventually going down further steps and platforms which curve into the belly of Mekiv Caverns. Hope stops once, when there's the sound of metal grinding along stone, but it's only an echo from some elsewhere.

"It seems you chose a good path," she murmurs as she makes her way around a pillar of stone that twists up from the floor to the ceiling. "We haven't run into any creatures yet."

NPC: Hope

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