Lea
Within the Exile's Watch, there lies an unnamed church that has not seen mass for many-hundreds of years. Construed of a marbled, white stone akin to that which forms the walls about the Embrace of Sol, the church remains quiet, its hushed and stilled interior still supernaturally illumined by the faint, miraculous manas that once resided within the First Floor so many thousands of years ago.

There are no pews as one would typically expect; rather, there are dozens-upon-dozens of indentations on the floor, each individually representative of a place for one to kneel on their hands and knees in prayer. 

Opposite to the entrance and some distance from it, the church is abruptly terminated by a smooth, out-of-place wall constructed of a chalky, grey marble.

Upon entry to the mostly-vacant church, Tabby would be met with the auric presence of its stilled atmosphere, a delicate warmth uncharacteristic of the rest of the First Floor trickling from the windows and throughout its midst. The greenish light, upon passage through the tinted windows, was hued a most brilliant gold, as if to imitate the faded light of a glorious sun long-past. Their false rays descend upon the manifold places-of-prayer scattered throughout the midst of the church, empty, yet still holding of a multitude of secrets.

Flanking Tabby, alongside each wall, were the **Gargantuan stone statues of two individuals, each clad in armor.** 

To the left, one who wore an unboastful set of armor with undefined and subtle traits — vaguely akin to Otaaraa's armor, were she to look closely — with accents of polished, untarnished silver alongside its form. It stood tall and proud, and even unmaintained, was in remarkable condition; as if it had been stopped in the very flow of time, itself. 

To the right, there was a statue that brandished the emblazoned, proud armor akin to one seasoned and proven on the battlefield, its traits strong and defining, accented with a rusted, brass-gold mixture of metals — quite like the Splintered Knights within the Embrace of Sol — that had seen much ware for their age. Unlike the statue to her left, it was not only out of repair, but it too seemed so that the statue had been *Purposefully* Damaged: its head had been torn from its form, and both of its hands remained cracked and crumbled, struck with blunt force a multitude of time as so to break the statue's once-glorious form.

There seemed to be slabs at the foot of each statue that once would contain engraved texts describing each of the two statues' nature; yet, now, the slabs remained only crumbled and worn away, any text they once had now rendered unreadable due to age and damage.
_ _

Most notably above all, **There was a man, sat in a windowsill to the right of Tabby, faced away from her,** With his arms folded. He appears relaxed, yet is not unconscious — and for now, he has not seen her. A most peculiar, and perhaps worrisome aura clung to the man, as if from an entity with a most malevolent nature; however, its energy was still too vague to make an immediate assumption. Whether he was an enemy, guardian, or a visitor of the church, was up for her to determine.
Jonathan
Walking into the church, she immediately takes notice of the odd wall — the statues, which she nearly attempts to cast *Mending* On, before deciding there might be a more pressing matter at this very moment.

The aura of that man irked her, and indeed everything she had seen thus far was basically out to kill her... But would it really be that fair of an assumption to make that this encounter is no different? Surely that would be unfair... She makes no attempt to hide herself away from this man; he seems to just be minding his own business, as is she. No, rather, she kneels before the broken statue in an attempt to make out the faintest of words on the plaque, before peering over and actually speaking to this fellow. If this were anything like Otaaraa or the Knights, the man would clearly already know of her existence in the room, right..?

". . . What happened to this place? It's... Emptier than other churches I've seen." *Surely this isn't a mistake..* Then again, someone in a church that has long since been abandoned rings only a few alarm bells. And, should things go awry, Tabby could simply start spell-casting as she always does when in doubt. Grease or Sleep would do the trick, yet she doesn't actively ready the spell. There is no combat, and thus no *Ready* Action needs to be taken. It is nothing more than a thought.
Steven
```diff
- "Mmm..."```

The strange man sat in the windowsill unhurriedly turned to view the one who spoke to him. Arms still folded, yet his face now revealed — though his mouth was covered over some sort of bandana — he peered at the form of the strange individual who interrupted his respite, with a somewhat groggy expression on his face. His features were describable as plain and common, yet his eyes had a fierce sort of tone behind them. Just by looking at the man, she could determine that he'd certainly be the type to have a multitude of stories to tell, and many more dreadful ones than good.

```diff
- "Never seen a mug like yours..."```

—he spoke in the Vektet's native language, albeit with a strange accent, much unlike the few other people she had heard speak within her ventures. The RASWALT, nonetheless, picks up on his speech, and translates it accurately.

```diff
- "Watch send ya...? Nah... Someone like you can't have been born down here."
- "Guess that means my little asylum is still safe, huh..."```
_ _

The man spoke discreetly, sharply squinting at her face and features, as he spoke to himself in a monotone, low tone of speech. His voice was slightly raspy, though not excessively sharp, husky, and above all, calm. He tilted his head slightly after he seemed to clear a few suspicions, averting his gaze back towards the golden-stained window beside himself.

```diff
- "Well, it sure ain't much of a story to tell."

- "Last of those who prayed at this church are all died out. That's all there is to it..."```

He gave a harsh, yet straightforward response to the question, peering beyond the stained window, with his attention apparently elsewhere.

```diff
- "Mmm..."
- "You wouldn't happen to be a fresh exile, would you..."
- "Don't believe I've ever seen your species before..."
- "And anyone from the Fifth Floor would well know what this building is..."```

He murmured to himself, listing off several factors in a process-of-elimination. 

```diff
- "Then, last guess... You're not from 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, are you?"
- "Another foolhardy adventurer from beyond the Ground Gate... I suppose it is about time the cycles shift."
- "No human, though... And yet you've managed a way to speak the home language of this Ark. Very unusual..."
- "Tell me... What is it, the language that you speak in your homeland?"```
Jonathan
*Watch.. Asylum.. And a bunch of dead church worshippers.* A couple things that are very much out of context to the cat — but nonetheless, she attempts to commit them to memory so that she could get to the bottom of things a bit later on. 

She steps forward, keeping a respectable distance but just walking around to the other side of the statue, listening in to the man as he talks. Something about the fifth floor and the ground gate she came from.

"I'm a tabaxi," She replies, ".. An artificer from Ten-Towns in Icewind Dale — some place far, far away from here." She explains, confirming indirectly that she is not from the Vektet itself, and very much an unaware outsider. "Brief stint as a guild merchant that ended in disaster.. Ended up taking a few jobs to try and make it big on my own Magic here, magic there... Astral Seas... And when it was all said and done, I came here." *Wait.* - " Well, not *Here*-here, but to the place outside this tower. Saw a listing, thought it sounded interesting and took the plunge.."

_ _
Upon the question of languages, the cat thinks for a moment - it's clear that she's not exactly the best person to ask for that knowledge, as her phrasing is rather unique. "There's... A ton of languages I can think of. Let's see, here..." She unfurls her paw, counting them off, "There's Draconic, Gnomish, Deep, Abyssal, Celestial, to name a few... I *Personally* Have studied Sylvan and Dwarvish. Would've been hard to communicate to other guild members without those under my belt. But, for the most part, I speak Common." She pauses and puts her hand to her chin, turning to look at the other statue. "Common is like ah... *English*, I think it's called. Similar enough to that I can understand it, but the people talking sound a little *Off*."

"The people who organized this expedition gave me a device that helps translate what I hear, and what I say. It's pretty impressive that it's in such a small package.." She speaks very plain and bluntly, not putting much thought into the intonation of her speech, even though it is in no way threatening, due to her dump stat being *Charisma*. Tabby is rather at ease talking to this complete stranger, *If he wanted to tear my head off, he would've done it already.. Right?*

"What happened to the statue.." She says quietly, before finally turning her attention to the man — even though he is turned away from her. "What's the fifth floor like..?" She questions, attempting to gain even an inkling of information due to her natural curiousity.
Steven
The man seemed unconcerned by Tabby's description of her origin-land, and the many languages' names that were far, far from familiar to him. *Tens-Town, Icewind Dale, Draconic, Gnomish, Deep, Abyssal, Celestial...* Yeah, not a word was familiar to him. To be perfectly honest, they sounded like the names of places and languages that he, many years ago, once would read in the short-stories' section of an almanac... Those were the days. As she continued further, he continued in his distant, yet vaguely entertained mien — it was anything but boring to hear such fantastical vernacular, and the man had an unlimited supply of time to kill — yet was not thoroughly invested, until...

```diff
- "English, you say... Huh."```

He perked a brow, his callous gaze shifting towards Tabby. He, early in her speech, swiftly came to an understanding that she was using some sort of odd device to establish communications between the two — for he spoke in the language of the Vektet, one which would certainly be unfamiliar to an outsider to the superstructure's midst — yet her mentioning of the language *English* Would drastically change how he approached this conversation. He spoke, and this time her V.A.R.E.T would not echo back his words; for the man spoke, indeed, in *English.*

```diff
- "Been quite too many years since I've spoken this tongue... Quite too many years for my liking."
- "So it seems that the world you come from is not all too different from mine..."```

He paused, his disinterested gaze shifting to one of a familiarized nature. Yet still, he maintained his emotional distance, his tone still monotone, dry, and dreary.
_ _

```diff
- "To think that the same language would be spoken across such vast existential gaps... Almost laughable, as if to signify some sort of cosmic irony."```

He deeply clenched his gloved right hand, and a deep, potent, yet cold anger roused from within his eyes. The malevolent aura that clung to his figure sharply piqued, yet he gave no signs of hostility, his arms still folded and his body still rested within the windowsill. He described it as laughable, yet seemed almost infuriated by the connotations her statement held.

```diff
- "Well, well... I suppose there's no need to hide it now..."
- "You and I are cut from the same cloth... Intruders to this great Vektet; an Ark, of sorts..."

- "Mmm..."
- "Still... I'm not one typically wise to give answers... And nor am I ever wanting to give away information to those I haven't a clue who are."```

He raised his chin upwards, his gaze now shifted slightly downwards towards the tabaxi, his posture and tone reserved, as he initially refused her an answer to her questions.

```diff
- "Though..."
- "From one pilferer of a divine domain to another... You and I might just be able to strike a deal. What says you...?"```
Jonathan
"The multiverse is a vast expanse." Tabby replies, attempting to speak common, but unable to fight the VARET should it override her. "It would only make sense that there be repetition at some point.. Worlds that stray far from the one that you can presently observe. Worlds where, maybe, you - or someone you know - never existed, and worlds where even the most basic of society was ever created, to name a few." 

So, he too is someone who came in and.. Seems to have never found the way out. Or, maybe never bothered to find it. But, he knows so much... "A deal..." She says softly, almost seeming to just mull it over, not sure what would happen should she agree. "What kind of arrangement would you desire? I don't think I've much to offer, aside from a fraction of the arcane knowledge I've studied and honed over the years. Or, stories."

On her person are only a few visibly magic items — her gauntlets, and her armor, which glint a slight gold & silver, respectively, emanating their colors. But, she would obviously be unwilling to give those away should the deal take a more "Earthly possession" Turn. After all, they are the reason she's still kicking. No, I can't give those away. The bags on her belt appear to just be harmless pouches filled with nothing of note — perhaps not even a coin in their depths. That is to say, they look completely devoid of anything at all.
Steven
```diff
- "Oh, believe me..."
- "I've heard plenty about what resides beyond a single world... The ᵗʰⁱⁿᵍˢ that crawl in the darkness of the void..."
- "...Trillions of living entities, writhing, like degenerate insects..."```

He spoke, his gaze averted out the window, responding in revolt to Tabby's explanation of the multiverse. Indeed, he, likely being from beyond both Tabby and the world of this Earth, itself, was one who had come to know the *Infinity* Of the cosmos. Endless realities, sprawled throughout multiverses that extended for infinite infinities upon end... And so too did he know of their horrors. The mere thought invoked the disgusting, crawling sensation of unease across his entire body, the malevolence that clings to his figure irritated, his umbrage unconcealable.

```diff
- "..."```

With a pause, and a slight *`hmph,`* The man relented the thought, and so his presence eased.

```diff
- "Mmm... What I require of you is nothing so direct as goods or information. No..."
The man paused, briefly staring down at his gloved right hand.
- "Right... I need someone who can move beyond this church."```

He oncemore lifted his gaze out the window, glaring at the landscape beyond its midst, hued yellow by the tint of the window. Folding his arms and tucking his right hand out-of-sight, he closed his eyes, collecting and organizing his speech to follow.
_ _

```diff
- "A filthy pilferer of a divine realm is all I am... No more, no less. And so too are you. You and I are of the same cloth, I said."

- "Our goals are very similar — to reach the end of the First Floor. You... To continue climbing. Me... To leave this infernal structure, and to die a simple death, as any man would."

- "To do that, there is only one method. Kill the King of this Floor. The abominable Root-Crown who resides at the foot of the empyreal tower."

- "Oh, how many men — no... Pilferers, — I have seen, attempting in their feeble might to overpower that monster. All dead. Lost, without remains to bury. Directly, I would not stand a chance. And as for you... Well, let's say your fate is as certain as the last of those who tried."



- "I've planned years. Dozens of years... Decades. A method to kill that monster. Planned, down to the very last jot and tittle."

- "Except I am 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 bound to the foundation of this church... It is an asylum, of sorts. As for why... It matters not."```

He glared back at Tabby, reaching the pinnacle of his statements. —The essence of his plan, and the deal that he mentioned previously.

```diff
- "So I would have you act as an agent... You follow my plan to assassinate that beast, down to the very last detail, and I will not only deliver you from this Floor, but I will provide you with the information I have gleaned, over my decades-long wait."```
Jonathan
She listens intently to the words of this man. "I see.." *An interesting proposition - one where no one seems to lose. Except, this man's aura.. It bothers her, yet she can't put her finger on why this man seems so... Angry? Evil? There ought to be a reason why he was trapped in here in the first place, right? And the way he waved it off is suspicious to say the least..*

Except, Tabby isn't a terrible person. She bows her head and speaks. "I don't see a reason not to. I'm game.- I just need a few hours to work on some equipment in this town — hoping there is a smith so that I can work on my blades and my defender.." Obviously, the defender is not present, as it is currently powered down in her bag, but.. The point stands.

"If you need a way out, I have an... Unorthodox method to leave this place, but judging on the magic binding you seem to have, I'm not sure it would work as expected, and the other side would spell doom more than whatever plan you may have. Definitely not simple, but an option. But, this brings me to my next issue. If I do as you say and destroy the king, what would stop you from simply leaving and not giving the promised information? If the crown binds you and it gets destroyed, you would be able to just... Run." *No weaseling out of that one.*

Should she be allowed a few hours to work, Tabby would end one of her infusions while working, transferring it into another piece of gear currently stowed away in her bag. The gauntlet can only power so many things at once before it runs out of juice, after all. This guy probably wouldn't allow Tabby to spend a whole *Eight hours*, but she could at least work as fast as possible.

She doesn't show it, but the repeated use of *Pilferer* Is starting to get horribly frustrating. Tabby is not a thief, just a scientist! She's never stolen anything!

Well, except for the sword that she just took off of Otaaraa's dead body, but... He couldn't possibly know of that, right?