[Indigo]

Askari. Interesting sound; name meanings weren't really her area of expertise, unless they were the names of paranormal creatures or were connected to mythology somehow, or something similarly old and often obscure. She'd encountered a lot of information along those lines in the early days of trying to figure out just what was going on with her.

She barely noticed the change in his manner, occupied with listening to the explanation; she found herself nodding. It wasn't quite the explanation she'd come up with, and it was definitely more cynical than she'd expected, but it certainly worked. Well, mostly. "But then I'd have to go back to what you said before--why not just destroy it? It seems like a much better way of protecting a secret than by moving the stone through time, which I think would take a lot more work. So whoever it was must have had a compelling reason to keep it intact." She didn't suggest any of the reasons she could think of; they all involved something about heirs or proving oneself worthy, and were therefore rubbish. Nobody that horrified by the idea of sharing power would want to pass the stone on to somebody else. Unless they were...

Hmm. Forced reincarnation. It was a theory, anyway, but she probably shouldn't say anything until she'd thought it through more. From what she understood--admittedly fairly accurate, since it was mostly information she'd been given by those who'd experienced it--it was often hard to be motivated to get yourself born again, and harder still to hold onto your memories. He'd have to leave some kind of cryptic instructions for himself...

Of course, her theory was more along the lines of "No one should have this kind of power!" and someone who found the stone piling safeguard after safeguard on it to keep it from being used again. But she had a feeling that Askari would laugh if she suggested that.

[Feint]

8

"Perhaps they merely lacked the ability to do so," Dhaifu responded, head hung in his shadow again. It was just so frightfully warm. "People who desire that kind of ultimate power don't really think so much about how to get rid of it some day--their focus will be how to keep it from being broken, or stolen. If they had the foresight to predict the necessity of destroying their own power some day, they wouldn't be making toys like an indestructible mind-bending rock, now would they?" he said, and laughed with genuine humor. He had a raspy cough for a laugh, and had the sound not come from a risen-again monster engineered for bloody slaughter, it might have been rather endearing. "It has its uses, sure, but it's severely limited. I could see it being used for domestic issues, but if one had the necessary power to create such a thing, I would imagine that they had plenty of other, more effective ways of bending people to their will. The existence of this stone, in all honesty," he said, pausing to pant in the heat, "confuses me."

[Indigo]

Scarlett smiled. "Well, just because he was good at magic doesn't mean he had a lot of power overall. I mean, it's possible he lived in a place and time where magic was reviled, in which case he probably wouldn't have much influence over people normally. That 'Burn the witch' mentality." It wasn't as if that was a thing of the past, anyway; she'd had plenty of experience with it herself, especially when noticing demonic characteristics of someone who was well-liked or trusted. "In that case he might have hidden himself away and enchanted the stone in order to get some kind of revenge. Though I don't know how well it would have worked, since it's hard to be sure how much influence it would have given him. But certainly enough for him to feel vindicated, I imagine."

[Feint]

9

Dhaifu shook his head.

"If someone made the stone for the purpose of protecting themselves from non-casters, it would not be for revenge. It would be for convincing the non-casters they weren't enchanters," he said dismissively--but in that instant, his ears started and his cold eyes glinted. Aha! "The protections surrounding the stone would be to keep non-casters away, so that the stone could only be used for its intended purpose--protection of a witch. No desert was always a desert--perhaps, at one time, it was a forest or jungle, and the stone was hidden in the trees," he said, casually, as though he had known this all along.

In reality, this revelation was somewhat disappointing to Dhaifu. If it really was a rock for such a purpose, it would not have much magic in it. A powerfully enchanted object could be sensed by one and all, not merely casters, and the sense of unease would lead to persecution no matter how manipulative the stone. He could probably pull more use from the objects protecting it! After a moment of thought, Dhaifu decided that that was what he'd do--in addition to taking the stone, of course. Manipulation was a child's game to him, and having a weak magic rock in play, preferably in plain sight, would make the game all the more fun. Lie straight to someone's face and watch them buy it?
Oh yes, please.

[Indigo]

"It's possible, I guess." Scarlett was of the opinion that it would be much more useful to hide something in a desert, if you really didn't want it to be found. How many people were likely to stumble across something like that in a place as big and miserable as this one? In a forest you had resources for food, water, shelter, and you could devote much more time to looking for something. But she supposed it was a nitpicky thing to disagree about. As for the purpose of the stone, well--she had her own ideas, but she had a feeling that bringing them up would just drag the conversation around in circles.

Time to change the subject.

"Hey, what are you doing out in the middle of the desert, anyway?" She said it as if it had just occurred to her. Probably best not to reveal how much she was wondering about his motives for, well, everything, since she still didn't know enough about him to be entirely comfortable. And there was that whole dead thing. Even if he'd been decent enough to start out with, she'd heard that death could twist you. "Doesn't really seem like your kind of place. What with you being part machine and all, you know."

[Feint]

10

"Being a machine has nothing to do with it," he grumbled, a little bitterly. "My ancestors lived in the heat, the thick heat, both in the depths of murky Craiss and the base levels of the Grand Cathedral--now known as Lya Pointa. In their depths, the cold shields the heat and blocks it from escaping. With our body heat to contribute, it could, at times, become as warm as the desert sun." He paused here, torn between saying something completely out of context or admitting his own weaknesses in order to save the logic of the conversation. Pride and pride clashed bitterly in his brain.

In the end, pride triumphed. "It's... been years since I last lived there," he unhappily admitted. "I followed... um... a friend into the snowy mountains of Basantha, and I'm afraid I've adapted a bit too much. I'm hoping I can adapt in the reverse soon, or I may have to bury myself in the sand to rest," he panted, woefully watching a sand lizard shovel sand onto itself to escape the heat as he spoke, envying the creature greatly and not quite paying attention to the words coming out of his mouth.

But he did remember that he forgot to answer her actual question. "Yes, why the desert when I can't stand the heat. I'm slightly crazy, that's why. But, in all actuality, I'm here on a whim. I've been cooped up in the snow for decades, and I wanted to see the world. This is merely one of the places I have chosen to go, and after this I think I shall quite happily return to those mountains and never venture off again," he said with a quick, unrestrained flash of a half smirk, partially joking.

[Indigo]

She'd noticed the dramatic edge to his voice before, the particular turn of phrase that made her speculate he'd originally lived quite a long time ago, but it seemed slightly more prominent now. Maybe something to do with the subject, which she imagined was closer to him than that of the influence stone. Certainly it was something he knew more about, unless he'd been hiding something from her.

"Basantha? That's quite a ways." She'd been there once, on a sort of expedition, investigating reports of an old statue which had disappeared, and a creature that had left without entering...interesting stuff, truly fascinating, the sort of assignment she'd kill for nowadays. The place where the statue had been had a magical aura so thick a mundane could have sensed it, and there were definitely signs, though it had been years, of some very complicated matter transmutation. One day she hoped to find the beast, but it was only a side project, of course. And, yes, she was lost in thought again. She made a note of the way Askari emphasized the word "friend", but as with so many things, now was not the time to ask.

She returned the smirk, briefly. "Still seems like a pretty strange whim, but I guess I can't fault you on that. I'm similarly crazy, to be honest. Right now I'm here on business, but I've been looking for an excuse to come to Wilt'No for years."

[Feint]

11 (I'm going to be a slow replier for the next few weeks, unfortunately.)

Dhaifu nodded slowly, the visage of the cruel mountains piercing his mind. They were jagged despite the snow, and the whiteness of the flakes made them resemble teeth even through the thickest, angriest, howling blizzard. Hungry, savage teeth. The kind of teeth that no bare flesh could hope to stand to, and the kind of teeth that were most often red with blood.

He had seen them stained once. A lone village had mustered all of its people and threw themselves against his old master's might with all the defiance a dying people could give, and they met him the way one would meet an immoveable stone at an incredible speed. Dhaifu's heart still twinged at their memory. He was not an empathetic person, no, but they had tried so hard. It would have been the least his old master could do to allow them to fight their way to him, so that they, so far from their home, lost in a blizzard on the peaks of a maw whose hunger they could never hope to escape, could die with their honor.

But no, he had shredded them like toys, and laughed as they fell. Dhaifu knew they only attacked because they had not wanted to die as slaves, and he was sure his master knew it as well. The callous disrespect he had shown them left the blue mekkayena deeply stricken.

On the other hand, he got to see what the mountains looked like with blood on them. He was unimpressed, really. The lack of red made the mountains all the more foreboding, as though they were cleaned and waiting for yours. Seeing them already sated was like... well, seeing them already sated.

"What sort of business, may I ask?" he asked, genuinely curious. "I don't believe you quite told me."

[Indigo]

"Oh! Yes, I guess it's only fair for you to ask," she said. And no harm in answering this one, since it would be fairly easy information to find, she assumed. "I do freelance photography--mostly newspapers, but this one's for a fairly reputable journal. Sometimes some writing to go along with it, too. They send me out to find paranormal or magical stuff, to get more information on it since that's a task I'm well-suited to. I was contacted by a couple of important magicians who thought I could help them learn more about the stone, and here I am."

She didn't usually take scholarly assignments, because they tended to be dry, academic--boring, as far as she was concerned. There was no adventure or seeking of answers, just cut-and-dried facts and objects whose background and location were already known. Far from her usual type of work, usually.

But she was having more and more trouble finding that kind of work lately--whether because all the mysteries had been explored or because nobody wanted her help specifically, she couldn't tell, but her normal source of income was drying up. And weird things were starting to happen around her even more than normal, people with sketchy wings made of light and faces that even she could tell weren't what everyone else was seeing. So she'd been taking sensationalist newspaper pieces that kept her relatively out of sight--she'd rather keep out of the public eye altogether, but she had to make a living somehow.

And then there had been a rushed, excited email about the mystery of the influence stone, interesting like nothing she'd been able to find in recent months and far from people who might threaten her to boot. She'd been on that like...like...like something you would be on quickly. Yes. She'd almost call it a godsend, but knowing what gods were like she doubted it.

[Feint]

12 (note: I am speaking purely in terms of Dhaifu's character.)

She took pictures? This girl was becoming less and less interesting. This whole time he expected some sort of archaeologist or esteemed student, not a picture-taker that worked with circus entertainers for some tiny local news source. How disappointing. He had overestimated her, and this rock, badly. It slightly embarrassed him, but he took care not to let it show.

"Interesting," he said. "I'd suppose it's my turn to share, but I believe I already explained I was on vacation--or did I forget? I've a bit of a soft spot for odd locations," he said, licking the front of his nose to cool it afterward. "When we find this rock, what do you suppose we do with it to make sure it's not a fake?"

The implications were crystal clear. He couldn't help himself. He was fond of company and pleasant conversation, he most certainly was, but it was too hot for him to bother thinking of a craftier way to steal the rock, and he wanted the sick pleasure besides. If it was on a tall enough pedestal, she might break something if she suddenly decided to launch herself off of it.

Dhaifu expertly suppressed a smirk. It was unlikely that the stone was anything other than buried, given the nature of desert sand, so he didn't make any special plans for that to happen. It would be highly entertaining if it did, though.

[Indigo]

"You had explained, yes." Sort of. And...she was surprised by the question. Somehow it had never occurred to her that the rock might be a fake. The magicians she'd spoken to had been young idealistic types, passionate about their work, maybe inclined to rush into things with too little evidence, but they had sounded so very sure. They seemed diligent enough, to her mind. (It occurred to her that she wasn't yet old enough to think things like "young idealistic types", but she had seen a lot of things that other people her age hadn't, and sometimes she forgot.)

Anyway, she'd be able to tell easily whether it was real or not, once they found it. An object like that would have quite the visible aura, probably along the lines of some sort of tendrilly things grasping at whoever came near. Something that provided influence over others doubtless had some inherent power even when not in use. And depending on how strong it was she might be able to see it from some distance away.

She said, "Oh, I have some tests I can run. I do know a thing or two about magic, after all. Should be pretty simple to figure out, really, once we find the thing."

[Feint]

13 (I'm so sorry, my internet died ;u; )

Dhaifu very nearly loosed a massively amused smirk out of humor. He had fully expected her to read where his mind was going and snap at him for it, but it appeared that the notion had flown clear over her head. Perhaps the suggestion that the stone was a fake was too distracting for her--he preferred to believe that over the possibility that she might be too naive to think that her little stranger friend would want to test the stone's abilities on her.

Not that he overestimated her abilities, not in the slightest--he was erring on the side of caution, all for the better for himself.

"That's good to hear," he said truthfully. He was not particularly talented with magic--as a matter of fact, he only knew a couple different spells--so trying to locate and identify the rock would be a mortal challenge for him. He was glad for her skill. "Can you find it just as easily? It seems as though this stone is on the smaller side, no easy feat to handle in such a large desert. Not even a large rock would be any simple task."

"Speaking of which," he continued, "Does the sun appear to be setting to you?"

[Indigo]

She'd hardly expected him to voice what she was already thinking, and now she wasn't sure what to say. Well, yes, she could find it roughly as easily, since it was all the same power, but there wasn't really a way to say that without opening the whole thing up for discussion. And if she just said yes then he'd probably still question her. She squinted at the horizon, frowning; half trying to buy time and half just trying to catch a glimpse of something that might indicate the stone's presence.

"Oh," she said, after a pause she knew was much too long. "Yes, I can find it. Do you think I would have come out here otherwise? I do have some sense. I don't just go wandering around a desert for the hell of it." Which was something of a non sequitur, but maybe it would draw attention away from her methods.

Scarlett looked toward the horizon again. "You know, it does. That's not a problem for you, is it? It makes things a bit easier for me..." Easier to see auras and fields and whatnot at a distance in the dark, and so she was scanning the ground ahead of them again, looking for a glimmer of something not quite right. She figured the stone's aura would probably be green--she saw a lot of that among magical artifacts--and she thought she might see a flash of it somewhere out there. Maybe.

They were definitely going the right way, though. That she could be sure of.

[Feint]

14 (...I just learned that avocados and watermelons are berries.)

"I have commanded worse," Dhaifu said bitterly. A distinct memory came to mind, that of him frantically attempting to direct a pack in locating a panicked and wandering mekkayena who had been told to isolate a specific target... Dhaifu hadn't explicitly told him to research their location first, so the grunt had sort of wandered to a place that looked good and poked around for a while until he got lost.

"That matter aside... It very well might be. It is good that the dark is helpful to you, but I might remind you of the cold. Deserts are notorious for their nightly freezes. Do you have a jacket?" he asked, genuinely concerned. He needed her for the moment, yes, but he also didn't have any pressing desire to wish her harm. When he got the stone, that would be a different story, but he expected that to be at least some time away. "I am well-adjusted to extreme cold, so I'll be fine, but I've no way to warm you, should you need it."