Paul
*The Oni made his way through the large forest, walking along one of the trails he had grown used to in his time there. While there seemed to be little success in his search for the others, he had decided to focus on the other issue of being able to accumulate enough magic to keep him going. The Oni was aware of his grown dependency of magic in his time spent in Amongko, but he'd consider himself doing quite well in reserving it for the time being, even figuring out how to embed it into other items so as not to waste as much. He gazed down at the talisman around his neck, watching the blue glow it accumulated and following its pattern as if it were a tracker of sorts. There was something nearby, he could feel it and soon enough his thoughts would be confirmed.

Lightly pushing past the overgrowth, his gaze had fallen upon the glowing rock. Its magic energy was so strong that it was a wonder nothing else picked up on it. Well, almost nothing. His gaze traveled over to the Macen next to it, chipping away at the magic source to his own distraught. Whether oblivious or intentional of what he was doing, Ryker had rather not let the object get too damage from the risk of its contents spilling out of it. He stood up more fully, brushing past the weeds and ferns just enough so that he'd be more in view. Not that it was hard. Against the green environment, his blue attire and glowing items he wore were quite visible. Even his horns which he typically kept hidden, stood apart from his dark hair in picking up on a nearby source as well.*"While it may be quite unaccustomed for me to approach a Macen in this way, I would like to ask that you step away from the rock."*He said to him in a calm way. Ryker took off the glasses that sat on his face, their purpose now served as he tucked them away.*
Scott
*Azrael instantly looked at the person who spoke, his hand raised and mana accumulating in it as sparks of electricity bolts lashes out at the air, meanwhile his wings open slightly as he assumed a defensive stance.

*He narrows his eyes, observing the oni as he grips the vial with rocks on it, pocketing it quickly so that it hopefully won't get damaged if a fight breaks out*
"Another step and you're getting a lightning bolt through the chest."

*About in the middle of the two lays Azraels bag, wide open to display all his research equipment and a.. Frankly a rather giant book with pages and notes sticking out all over the place, meanwhile his spear is stabbed into the ground next to the Ardent, but he doesn't bother reaching for it*
Paul
*Ryker didn't react much to the defensive Macen, simply moving his hands to fold them behind himself.*"I am quite capable in the art of physical persuasion as well."*He said to him. Ryker took notice of the equipment surrounding them, thinking maybe his latter assumption was more correct.*"However, it's not you I concern of, but rather the rock you are damaging."
Scott
*He keeps observing him, not responding quite yet. He glances around, looking for any other factors that he hasn't taken into account yet before looking back at the oni*
"Why do you care about the rock. Is this some kind of cultural thing?" *He narrows his eyes suspiciously, but he does end up letting the mana in his hand dissipate, the electricity fading*

*His wings twitch as he glances at his 'lab bag', honestly it's rather clear hes being particularly cautious/protective of the bag*
Paul
*From the looks of it, Ryker didn't appear to be carrying any weapons on him unless he had a pocket knife of sorts tucked away. With Azrael lowering dropping his 'weapons', Ryker began to casually skirt along the edge of the full clearing to walk over to the stone.*"Not cultural of my people if that's what you're asking."*He said back to him before placing a hand on the stone. The power in it was quite immense. It was a wonder of who could have left so much mana behind. A light blue coloring began encasing his arm, shrouding its way through the rest of his body as he could feel some of his own magic being refueled in the process. He turned back to look at Azrael.*"It is rather a source, similar to the food we eat or the water we drink. Someone had stored magic in here as a way of preservation. Either forgotten or to return back later for. But between the both of us, I wouldn't believe there'd be much left of it after this encounter."
Scott
*His eyes widen the moment the oni placed his hand on the stone and started absorbing some of the mana and quickly rushes to the oni and grabs his hand*
"OI OI OI, DONT SIPHON THE MANA IN THAT YOU COULD CONTAMINATE MY RESEARCH MATERIAL"

"Do you have any idea how rare this rock is?! I cant study its effects on the environment if it doesn't have any mana left to influence it!"

*His wings flutter, his entire demeanor having gone from cautious and hostile to frantic and agitated. He even gestured wildly as he talked to emphasize his point*
Paul
*Ryker gazed over at Azrael, his horns flaring in light of whatever emotion he was holding back.*"Unhand me Macen."*He said to him simply.*"I am quite aware of how mana storage works and you breaking away at the storage containment will simply render it useless anyways. If you really wanted to study how it effects the environment then you should try embedding your own mana into something and seeing how other things react to it."
Scott
*He mutters something in annoyance, his wings fluttering in agitation*
"First off, Im not a Macen. Second, obviously Ive already done that and researched it, I study all aspects of mana and its effects on this world, not just that of people wielding it which is exactly why I cant have any foreign mana linger on this damned rock. For all I know this thing has been sitting here for thousands of years, absorbing the ambient mana around it! And for your information, Im not attempting to destroy the damn rock, I just needed to grab a few chips from the side to study" *His agitation and frustration just grew as he kept talking, ending with him throwing his hands up in the air in frustration and starting to pace back and forth*
"But hey if those fucking morons at the academy could stop focusing on weaponizing everything then maybe Id have the means to set up a temporary research outpost here. But no! Instead here I am out in the middle of gods fucking nowhere having to get this shit on my own!" *Hes.. Getting way off topic for some reason but at least his frustration isn't focused on the oni anymore*

"Its ridiculous! Its like they all think I'm supposed to get by on the random artifact or mana pebble that a random trader found and is selling at an exorbitantly inflated price!"
*His frustration peaks, his wings flutter and his hands light up with electricity again and he blasts a poor random shrub into ash*
Paul
*The Macen out here definitely were a lot more rowdy than he'd recall from Amongko. Then again, he claimed separation from such race.*"If you aren't a Macen, then what are you?"*He asked him. While Azrael went on a tangent, Ryker had returned his hand to the rock, taking up what mana he could during the Ardent's distraction before he eventually moved his hand away once more and let out a deep sigh. Much better now. The glow from the rock seemed to have diminished greatly, but there was still some faint light coming from it. At the very least, this should keep his mana up for a few weeks. Ryker pocketed his hand once more, listening to Az speak about all his research and work he had to do at the annoyance of others.*"I'd highly doubt anything too ancient would last long without another finding it or it running out of magic completely. Only the gates have really lasted for countless of years and people to this day have yet to recreate anything of similar permanence. Unless you plan on finding better containment for this rock, there is plenty of reason to believe the magic will be gone as well in due time, spilling out into the environment and returning to where it originally belongs. And, from the sounds of it, it doesn't seem like you have enough hands for transport of such."
Scott
*He glares at the shrub he destroyed before looking at the oni with annoyance*
"To answer your first question, Im an Ardent. Macen dont have wings unless they sold their soul for power or something. As for your second point, the gates aren't the only things with an ancient or strange mana property. Artifacts pop up all the time with weird properties like literally producing and leaking mana. If something is old enough, went through the right conditions, and is made of the right composition then it will be capable of absorbing natural mana. If this rock is..." *He freezes as he stares at the now much less glowy rock, a blank emotionless expression falling over his face. Its a bit weird considering just a few seconds ago he was angry enough to destroy a shrub and now suddenly he looks like he has no emotion*
" You absorbed the mana." *He states rather matter-of-factly*
Paul
"Ardent. Simply another type of Macen if I recall correctly."*He said in response. Ryker followed his gaze back to the rock.*"Indeed I have. You seemed like you were going to be talking for quite a while so I've decided to help myself. Mana has been running quite low since I've found myself out here so any source of it is considered great fortune in my eyes. It's nothing to worry of, I'm not one to consistently waste magic if I can help it."
Scott
*He silently stares at the oni, his expression staying completely blank.*
.
.
.
*He sighs and grumbles, annoyance returning to his face in a 'well fuck guess it is what it is' expression as he pretty much just resigns himself*
"People like you really make me seriously consider becoming immortal you know? And to be technical, Ardent are more fae than Macen on a biological level."

*He walks to his backpack and puts the vial of rock chips he took into it, takes out the large book and then takes a pen out from somewhere in his jacket, proceeding to open it at one of the many bookmarks and writes something before snapping it shut*
Paul
"Immortality may allow you to outlive the people you hate, but not the hate you develop from the actions of others. People 'like me' will always be around. Immortality will simply be torturous for you."*Ryker took a seat on the ground, folding his hands around his talisman as his body began glowing again in light meditation.*"You appear to have taken quite of disliking of me, though if it makes it easier for you, I can make what remains of this stone's magic into something more conventional to carry around. You seem to be quite attached to the stone rather than the mana inside, however."
Scott
*He waves his hand dismissively, putting his book back into his bag and walks to jis spear, pulling it out of the ground and then walks back to his bag and fastens it to a strap on top of it*
"For most people immortality would be like that. Ive already considered the different factors of most forms of immortality anyways. But regardless, I dislike your actions and disregard for the importance of the possible research that could have been conducted with that stones mana, instead you focused more on replenishing your own mana. But I don't know you so I cant say whether I dislike *You* Personally."

"Oh and dont bother with the stone. Hopefully it'll absorb mana overtime and probably act as a battery for some other thing. Maybe a plant will grow on it and siphon the mana. Hm.. That would be interesting i should work on something like that-"
Paul
"In that case I suppose I can say I dislike your repeated ranting of things that I have little knowledge over. I would be quite curious to know what it is you're talking about, but you seem to become very absent of the things going on around you when you do."*He said back to him. Opening his palms, a blue orb had managed to form within them.*"There are some picked up traces of aqua magic within the stone by the way."*He added.*
Scott
"Wonderful, we both dislike something about the other." *He comments sarcastically, his wings fluttering as he plops down onto the ground and takes a cigarette out from inside his jacket, lighting it with a bit of fire magic and proceeding to take a drag of it*
"Aqua attribute mana? You sure bout that?" *He eyes the blue orb curiously*
Paul
"Not the mana itself so much as its user. Of course it could be result of water and earth seeping into the rock and hiding the type of magic I still left inside. I did pick up on some Geo as well, but that was obvious enough from the rock. He held out the orb to Azrael which was soon encapsulated into glowing mechanical device of sorts.*"You can carry that around if you want, but it also has other magical properties in it."
Scott
*He takes the orb and inspects it carefully, not saying anything as he turns and prods it*
"Hm.. Aqua attribute is likely from a mana-induced rainfall, could also be possible that this rock was flooded at one point. Frankly the only real question is what the hell you just made"
Paul
*To the question, he gave a light grin.*"I've created an item imbedded with the mana from the stone by adding some of my own to it with the help of my talisman. I figured you'd want to use it with it being your main field of research. In very simple terms, you can put it around your neck or mouth to allow yourself to breathe underwater."*His words came out quite proud, showing some pridefulness in his simple work.*"It seemed to fit best given some of the rock's material. But I could remake it into a number of things of better use."
Scott
*He hums curiously as he keeps inspecting the orb*
"What exactly is that talisman? This metal casing around the mana is rather unnatural, let alone how you created it from nothing. This seems like artifact territory"
Paul
*He let out a chuckle.*"It's where I store any excess mana that I have in the event that I run too low on it. Much like how the item you have has a bit of excess mana now. Making it is simply a skill I've learned from some artificers out in these lands. It has helped quite a lot to keep the magic going for a while."*He looked back over to the rock.*"I'd have imagine something similar to it if not for how much it contains inside. Perhaps from a powerful sorcerer of sorts."
Scott
*He hums curiously. Its strange how his entire demeanor changed so fast. Probably not a man who holds grudges too much it seems*
"Artificers huh? Strange bunch those lot. Always focusing on what they can make instead of understanding what theyre using to make something. Probably the second most explosion-prone department at the academy"
*He looks at the rock as well, a brief flicker of annoyance passing over his face as he recalls all the potential breakthroughs and information he could have gotten from the mana-rich stone*
"Cant make any speculations before Ive tested the mana and rock composition properly. Might have to send a sample of the rock to one of those geologists or whatever the stone researchers were called to see if theres any particularly mana-siphoning material in there somewhere if I get a negative on alien external influence though"
Paul
*Ryker stared at him rather blankly at his explanation, unsure of what this 'alien external influence' was that he mentioned.*"Perhaps the artificers aren't the only strange ones."*He said in a low tone as he took out a handful of small objects and began tinkering away with them.*"I'll admit I don't know what you're talking about at times, but my knowledge of this place is quite limited to my short experiences here."
Scott
*He shoots a quick glare at the oni for his comment*
"Its just formal language for when something or someone does something to the object of research that normally wouldn't happen naturally"

"Like if a mage pumped that rock full of mana, that'd be an alien external factor because something was forcibly done to the rock. If its full of ambient mana that its absorbed then thatd be natural external influence"

"Its pretty simple once you just cobble the definitions of the words together"

*He stares at the rock silently for a few seconds*
"So why is an oni out here anyways? If I recall correctly your species are generally very rare in the Macen-Silnari dominant countries"
Paul
*He blinked for a moment, wondering if that meant anytime a mage invested magic into something would be considered an alien external factor by his logic. Ryker didn't take the time to ask though. Eventually he was given another question and he figured it best to explain with very careful detail.*"So I've noticed."*He began.*"Silnaris and Macens are quite rare in Oni dominant countries. Well except for the..."*Ryker paused, thought it over for a moment, and eventually decided skip over that part in the Ardent's presence.*"In quick summary, my group and I have gotten ambushed and separated. I am currently looking for someone of quite high status where I'm from as they were part of said group."
Scott
*He takes a long drag from his cigarette, tilting his head back and blowing the smoke up into the air in a small donut form*
"Knowing people of 'high status' ~~sarcasm/distaste noted~~ this was probably some kind of tour gone wrong thing isn't it? Noble wants to go travel, hires some people and then gets ambushed on the road cuz they made their wealth bloody obvious so now you need to find them or your heads gonna roll. That about sum it up?"
Paul
"Mostly correct."*He told him, placing his new trinket on the ground and watching as it began to animate itself to life. Ryker smiled down at it, it being quite a while since his magic could freely flow this way. At some point he'll have to keep his reserves in check, but for now all was fine with it.*"The trip was completely against their will, however, they had little say in choosing whether to go or not."
Scott
*He snickers at something, probably a thought and his wings twitch and rearrange themselves to a more comfortable position while he shifts his one leg up into a triangle pose while letting the other just lay straight, proceeding to rest his one arm on said leg*
"Oh I get it. This is a 'daddy is done with your shit so go on a trip to see the world and expand your horizons'. Or something like that" *He takes another drag of his cigarette. His distaste for people of.. High status is rather obvious to be frank*

*He looks at the trinket idly, watching it with a idle curiosity*
Paul
"Correct, though in our terminology we call them Lord."*He says in return. The trinket gradually began to move about, its metallic appendages appearing more obvious as it took on the appearance of a spider.*"Nevertheless, I won't be able to return until I find them if they're even still alive. With any luck, their father will still be oblivious to any mishaps that's happened along our trip."
Scott
*He takes a last drag of his cigarette and then crushes it in the ground.*
"How did you end up escorting a Lord? Money? You really don't seem like the mercenary type, and considering how you seem well learned compared to the average commoner it makes even less sense. You the Lord's tutor or something?"
Paul
"I was taken under the wing of someone in close relation to them and became their pupil in the practice of magic and combat. Perhaps they saw promise in me."*He explained before sitting up more fully and stretching.*"Where I'm from, trust is a hard thing to obtain. However, there are many strong, capable Oni there. They simply wanted someone more knowledgable to keep an eye on the group."*Ryker eyed Azrael for a while, eventually smoothing his hair back over to cover his horns.*"Nonetheless I have much more traveling to do. The land beyond Amongko is much larger than I would have preferred it."
Scott
*The same strange expression falls over his face again as he sort of just... Observes the oni. But he soon glances at the small spider-like trinket, breaking the mask*
"Do you know where your Lord was taken? If you're traveling beyond Amongko you'll need to pass through the entirety of Salvainia, so I suggest going to a port city and just boating your way to Amongko instead"
Paul
"If I did I'd mostly likely have returned home by now."*He said, coming to collect his trinkets and stand back up.*"When I came to after the ambush, everyone was gone and I was quite lost for a long while. I am... Very unfamiliar of this place."*He said, his brows furrowing as even he was trying to figure out why things were so confusing out here to him. The customs, the terrain, even the people themselves carried some kind of different energy to them. He absorbed the mana out of the spider and soon enough the trinket pieces fell out of place once more.*"I'd suppose I'd have to visit the capitols again sooner or later. I'll admit I've been avoiding them when I could though. Amongko would be a last resort, admitting defeat if I may and possibly losing my position there as is or my head if unmerciful despite connections."*For a moment his unchanging expression faded before he eventually let out an annoyed sigh.*"A wild goose chase is the last I could have wanted out here."
Scott
*He casually watches him idly, not saying anything or reacting. Its difficult to tell what's up with his demeanor the last few minutes, hes pretty much just become a blank slate. But thats irrelevant because he just shrugged*
"Visit the capitals sooner, you may be able to organize a search party or something. Even if youre unfamiliar with this place, I think your life is a pretty good motivator to put your fears aside no?"
Paul
"I suppose you make a fair statement."*He said before turning to leave, only to stop and glance back at the stone.*"Which would you like to know what the rest of the magic was inside the stone?"