As since was getting very close to lunch, the three elf-kinds returned to the war room. It was about time to put a break on the casual conversations and bring everything back together.
Mhyl ran off to go find Thanrie and bring her back. Qheria and Rhyde were still arguing, even after all of this time. Lwyn went straight to Qheria. "Qheria, just stop, please!" The seriousness of her tone had far more impact than her earlier attempts, and Qheria turned to Lwyn. In the moment of silence, Yuxzn also gave his report to Rhyde. "Commander, we've happened upon an unexpected tactical discovery." This in turn got Rhyde's attention. Yuxzn continued with his report. "Rather than investigate the matter at hand so informally, I would recommend moving us to lunch, so that we can explore the matter in depth. It will involve our four.. guests." Yuxzn took caution to not call them Hyenzaelni, out of respect for Lwyn's earlier outburst.
The room was rapidly prepared for lunch, with Mhyl and Thanrie arriving quickly into preparations. The food was prepared quite quickly, although it also wasn't anything special. Rhyde might be a commander, but he wasn't exactly high class. "So Yuxzn, regarding that unexpected tactical discovery you mentioned earlier, please do tell me more." "I have been inquiring with our two elven guests regarding the dramatic psychological profile differences from both reports. Exploring the matter in depth, it appears that we've been kept out of the loop of a rather exceptional secret." Lwyn noticed that Yuxzn had so simply in passing just profiled her as a pure elf.
"What had raised my suspicions on the subject was witnessing Mhyl and Thanrie communicating earlier, despite neither of them knowing the other's language. According to the reports from the Embers, they were known to have suddenly collected at the same location, having never met each other before, and then suddenly collectively moved on as if they were somehow bound together by some mutual terms. Upon being confronted by my suspicions, both elves had agreed to come clean regarding this shared secret." As Yuxzn proceeded, Thanrie and Qheria were stunned at the matter of discussion. This elf was too smart. Mhyl and Lwyn's downcast expression confirmed the proceeding.
Having ensured that the other half of their guest's party was brought up to speed, Yuxzn's explanation became more direct. "It is clear that each of them have been somehow exposed to information well beyond what should be naturally known, and have been affected accordingly due to possessing such additional information. It is highly suspected that the time of discovery was either soon before the four girls had initially set off to a mutual location, or soon after their mutual gathering. While the changes in their mental profile are impressive, I think you will find of greater interest some of the knowledge they had gained during this same process." Yuxzn pulled out Mhyl's drawing and set it in the middle of the table.
"By the divine, what is this? It looks like a Destroyer, but.." "Effectively, it is a Destroyer, the girls say that it's original name was something called a Zyianq." Rhyde was starting to catch on, as Yuxzn still could not properly say 'Tank'. Lwyn proceeded from there, as promised. "The four of us have memories of a life in another world, from different nations of a place called 'Earth'. We still have no idea how or why we got these memories, they simply awoke in each of us at the same time. This other world is very different from Celese, it's considerably more advanced, with 'machines' that are capable of far more than we've achieved here. 'Machines' that let people fly in the air, 'machines' that let people talk from any distance, 'machines' that carry far more than anyone could dream of lifting. However, there were also 'machines' like this one." Lwyn indicated the picture again. She had been using the English word 'machine' though her explanation, since she couldn't think of a decent Izhaethyx word for it.
Qheria recognized the picture right away, it's quality was so good. "This looks specifically like a model of tank that was used in the same nation my other memories came from. It was used to great effect in very large wars." Rhyde was very interested in this statement. "Wait, how personally familiar are you with it?" "Over there, I had some military training, which included a little on being taught how to drive a more modern version of this tank." Rhyde and Yuxzn were stunned at hearing the phrase 'more modern'. As if this one wasn't modern enough. Rhyde understood what Yuxzn had implied by a tactical discovery, this could yield quite an advantage, if only those with this knowledge weren't so inexperienced in matters otherwise of relevance.
Yuxzn's tactical prowess didn't end so easily. "By my estimates, considering the similarities in design and function, I suspect that Khaexyn has himself been using knowledge from the same world. It would explain his rapid advancements over the last 18 or so years. Our lack of understanding of the principles and nature behind his every creation has brought new challenges at every turn. Having someone on our side that can help shed understanding of the nature of each new weapon would give us a sizable advantage against him. Having four.."
Lwyn had been trying to constantly translate for Mhyl over the course of the conversation into Elaethyx. However, her approach and formality weren't exactly of equal par. "So them not knowing a 'laptop' from a 'machine gun' has made it harder. They think it's good to.." Lwyn had been flavouring her Elaethyx descriptions with English terms. Thanrie then only heard 'laptop machine gun' and broke out laughing. "Oh, sorry, sorry, I was just listening to Lwyn's references." To Rhyde, nothing Lwyn had been saying had made sense, he just knew it was an Elaethyx translation, leaving him perplexed.
Yuxzn had however caught the two unfamiliar phrases in a foreign language. He had understood that it was more communication in such a foreign language. As Thanrie's explanation clarified nothing, Yuxzn made his own attempt. "Lwyn herself had been speaking in mostly Elaethyx, however she had been occasionally slipping in words in.. Hyxaethyx." Yuxzn had no other word to define it, but Lwyn was still bothered by the implications of the word, again stressed about Hammer-face. She didn't want to be seen as so unnatural, so she stepped in with an Izhaethyx retort. "Probably the best word for it would actually be 'Terran'. Shouldn't mix things up that much, after all, might get confusing." Her ending excuse for the phrase was at least accepted by the others. Rhyde and Yuxzn tried to pronounce the phrase, but with a bit of effort. Mhyl reflected upon their effort in English to the others. "It's like they are both saying it in French."
Rhyde had felt he had came to terms with the situation, going over every passing detail wasn't a good usage of time. Instead, he would need time to carefully consider the new resource made available to them. The idea that Khaexyn was taking knowledge from another world both explained a lot and was additionally further concerning. If the four girls also didn't know how they got this otherworldly knowledge, it might also need further investigation, dealing with the source of Khaexyn's knowledge could possibly be the best way to secure a complete advantage. If the four of them were going to stay, he would need to find a way to make them useful.. without getting them killed. He still did not relish another family visit, and knew it would be inevitable. The four families would one day return with enough power to address the issue, would join with these four and the knowledge they had, would bring everything they had to bear against Khaexyn, and victory would send the lot back home. It was the happy ending Rhyde could only dream of.
"Yuxzn, I think our meeting has gone on well enough. There is much to consider with this, and I'm certain our guests have much they need to work out between them. The four of you however need to keep in mind, your knowledge of this other world, this 'Terran' knowledge, it still does not give you much more present experiences. Your past failure should prompt understanding of your own weakness. Do not attempt any further rash actions. Yuxzn and I will instead consider more appropriate usage of your particular abilities, and will ensure they are applied appropriately." Qheria felt a twinge of victory, Rhyde had finally agreed to let them stay. She did understand that it wasn't a complete victory, it did come with certain conditions, but in light of the situation it was fair enough.
Lunch was completed promptly after that, and the four of them were dismissed. Having completed their task, the four of them decided to go check up on the smith. Once they returned successfully, they found Zyuixqs waiting for them. "Impeccable timing, ladies. Your offerings await." This reminded Thanrie of the situation, she was immediately concerned about what was prepared for her. Zyuixqs lead the other four to where their weapons waited for them. The smith was back at work on other projects, but stopped to properly introduce the results of his hard work.
Thanrie took the opportunity to express her concerns. "So, what have you guys managed to come up with?" Zyuixqs rushed over to start with Thanrie's weapon, visibly excited. The smith meanwhile begun his introduction. "So, all three of these creations came out really nicely. They might look a bit strange to you at first, being so heavily based upon Fortress designs, but I'm sure you will appreciate their efficiency." Zyuixqs held forward the first package, while the smith continued. "So, first up, the bladed spear. As mentioned before, the blade's shape didn't turn out as originally planned, so I had to make some additional compensations for the shape. The spear grip had to be shortened, to provide stability for the crescent-shaped blade. You've probably never seen a design like this before, but.."
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Thanrie picked up her new weapon from Zyuixqs. Rather than being a spear, it was in the form of a crescent sickle, and holding it made her look like a grim reaper. She pulled on her hood for added effect, feeling very badass. Falling in love with the design, she immediately gave Zyuixqs a hug, without warning. Zyuixqs had no idea how to react. Thanrie turned to the smith in thanks. "Really, I love it already, thank you so much." "Oh, and we haven't even got to the best part yet. Feeling bad about having to reduce the length of the grip, I threw in some Fortress tricks into it. Bring it this way." The smith guided the four of them into a rather large room, mostly empty except for a few small empty wooden boxes scattered around.
"Okay, so, I know you like doing some sweeping with your blade and all, so I thought to myself that this isn't as much sweeping as you might have liked. So, I got you a very custom grip for it. You can see it has two parts to it, and if you push here.." The smith manipulated a section at the lower end of the grip to demonstrate what he was talking about. ".. as you can see it the handle splits into two parts. It's all connected by a really sturdy chain, didn't use regular metals for that one, very Fortress-branded stuff. Inside the handle is some weirdness that pulls or releases the chain. This means you can swing it and have the blade fly away from you, then with a flick of the wrist it will just all come back together. It can come back together very quickly, which is mostly for safety reasons. Moving quickly prevents the blade from coming back pointy side first, but it will mean that anything between you and the blade is in danger of being sliced in half."
Thanrie took the weapon up and gave it a few general swings. After that was completed, she faced into the depth of the room and tried the chain release mechanism. Swinging with a lot of force, she swung the chain a fair distance into the room, and at the end of the motion manipulated the handle to have the blade return. In a swift motion, the blade flew back, a slicing sound ringing through the air, followed by the impact as the two pieces came together. Thanrie wept with joy, it was the most beautiful weapon she had every seen.
"So next up.." As the smith moved on, Zyuixqs ran to pick up the next package. ".. we understand Qheria had been quite skilled with her kite shield. Didn't want to take that feeling away from you. However, this one isn't some simple kite shield. Lets get it on and show you how it works." Zyuixqs returned and presented Qheria with the new shield, which she put around her arm. It had a strange hand-grip to it. "So, the handle at the end also has some Fortress-branding going on. While still good for getting an extra-tight grip on the shield, we also know how much you love having your shield hurt your enemies too. So, that handle can rotate backwards, if you turn your wrist backwards into like a half-open palm.." Qheria did as instructed, and an thick arming sword extended from the base of the shield. ".. that happens. Will give you something good to cut up your enemies with, also works well for stabbing if you like the motions of punching your enemies with an open palm."
With the blade out for usage, Qheria looked incredibly intimidating. "If you instead still prefer to smack your foes with the shield itself, the shield is designed to ring like a bell, will leave your enemies reeling. Now, if that isn't still enough, since you would still have a free hand, we've got something for that too.." Zyuixqs presented the other item that came with the shield. ".. another shield, just like it. Why use just one, when you can have two, right?" It was like a market pitch for a two-for-one sale. Qheria put on the second shield, now dual-wielding shields, and looking outright fearsome. Qheria tested out the two shields with some free-form motions, her posture looking like some kind of monk.
"Lastly.." Zyuixqs ran off again to get the final package as the smith continued. ".. we have a crossbow." Thanrie did not like the sounds of that. "Lwyn doesn't use a bow though, she is far better at throwing things." "Ah, but this isn't a simple bow. Firstly, being a crossbow means she doesn't need to apply strength to pull a string, it's all about slight of wrist, which she seems to be pretty good at. Secondly, it's also Fortress-branded." Zyuixqs arrived with the crossbow in question and gave it to Lwyn. "It has a simple grip for quickly reloading shots, and the shots if uses aren't even simple bolts, but special sheet blades. The blades are simple to make, could easily get you more, but a single load contains 800 exceptionally light shots."
Lwyn held the auto-crossbow like it was a pump-action shotgun. The auto-crossbow was itself kinda pump-action in how it reloaded, making it considerably faster than a bow. Thanrie was still skeptical. "Maybe, but I'm still not sure it.." Lwyn lazily moved it through the air, aiming from the hip into the air to her right, and suddenly fired. The blade rebounded off of the walls and tore through all 8 wooden boxes in the room, leaving them in shreds. "..nevermind." Thanrie was convinced, but the smith wasn't finished. "If you find yourself partial to a situation that asks for a throwing blade, the crossbow is designed to very easily retrieve the loaded blade, so you can throw it by hand. The balance of the blade was also designed to be thrown just as easily as it is to be shot, just be careful holding it." This crossbow practically had Lwyn written all over it.
Having completed his demonstration, the smith gave his closing remarks. "Just be careful with those things. Repairs are one thing, but replacing them would be kinda a big problem." Being so advanced, that made simple sense to everyone present. "Oh, and before I forget, there is one more thing. I had a guest who wanted to work on something of his own in the meanwhile. Communicating was rough, but it seems he's proud of how it turned out." The smith introduced Chyurae, who had just walked in shyly and approached Mhyl. He handed her a fourth package, before doing his own explanation in Elaethyx. "Mhyl, I wanted to make something for you, to help you take care of yourself. I know you're really good with books, so I made one for you." She picked up the rather heavy book. "Be careful with it though, it doesn't use paper. It has something called sheet-metal, which is a Fortress thing that is very sharp, and is like the bolts they made. It's extra heavy because of the metal put into the binding, which is like the shield they were making. The book's outer binding was made from the same material as the spear grip, so you can hold it safely." Chyurae had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the book, so Mhyl gave him a great big hug. "Thank you so much, I'll take good care of it."
The gentle kindness of the moment seemed to gloss over the fact that this was an unconventional book with the capabilities to commit harm. The smith clarified the fact for those who didn't know Elaethyx. "Be careful with her new book, it will give a person something much worse than just a paper-cut." With that and a smile with a wave, the smith returned to his other projects, leaving the six of them to explore what had transpired. Thanrie noticed something quick. "Wait, Zyuixqs had lost his weapon too, what about him?" "Oh, me? My father is having something prepared for me. It probably won't have all the Fortress tricks put into it, but when your father is the leader of the entire Rebellion, there is a slight matter of ceremony when it comes to my weaponry. Possibly is also insulting to have the son of our leader using enemy weapons."
Overall, this still left them with four custom weapons styled on Fortress designs. A detachable chain-linked crescent sickle with high-velocity return, two dual-wielded kite shields with palm-rotation extendable arming swords, a pump-action sheet blade auto-crossbow with throwing support for ammunition, and a metallic reinforced custom-bound book with sharpened sheet-metal pages. It was quite a significant improvement to the weapons they had been using in the past. They would need to make good use of these gifts.
On other matters, the four of them hadn't realized his position in the entire rebellion. Thanrie was shocked. "Wait, what? Your father runs everything out here? Doesn't that make you, like, really important?" Lwyn reflected on stuff she had learned earlier. "Thanrie, look whose talking. You left us all unaware you were the royal princess of Wyxir." Qheria, having missed everything due to her argument with Rhyde, was still unaware of this particular fact. "Wait, what? Thanrie, really?" The royal princess of Qheria's nationally esteemed enemy, it was almost mind-blowing. Lwyn's expression conveyed that this is why she should have been paying attention. "Yup, we learned about it from some reports. It seems our families have been looking for us, like your own mother." "Why would mother care? She's got my sister already looking after everything with her, there is no place left for me to mean anything. After just dumping me in with the Shieldbearers, would have thought she wouldn't have any reason to care I had gone a bit farther from her." Qheria claiming it was only a 'bit farther' was a clear understatement.
Mhyl was noticing everyone was getting carried away, though she couldn't understand, so she switched to English. "Okay, okay, everyone calm down. Lets just head back to rest, get settled, maybe wait for whatever we're going to end up doing next. It might even be good if you each find time to practice with your new weapons. A lot of things have been going on, and getting some time to relax would probably do all of us some good. Lets just go home." It seems that small part of the underground, to be visited for the third time, was being considered as their home for the time being.
The others agreed to return to the aforementioned home. It had been a long day already, and it was only half over.