"The metals have some sort of protective rune on them. And, I'm not sure where you've got your information but raw crystals are only harmful in constant or large amounts of exposure." Athena replied, "The runes are rather unnecessary but I had the time to kill, so why not? We spend most of our time in transit or just waiting." She turned to Carrie, frowning slightly before reaching up and shaking her hand, "Mostly the time I had spent working for a failed research project to build a Shell from raw crystals. In the end, there was an amount of crystals left, about half a cart of it. It was too little for them to consider sending someone to bring down the crystals by hand from the mechanic's headquarters, so they decided have us keep trying with less regulations. I figured with that I might as well do something more interesting than Shells which were highly volatile." Held out a card, "And this is what I got. As for resources... I could try entering yourself into one of the mechanics' projects, they tend to rotate the mechanics after each operation, though you're a caster, which may hold different."<br/><br/>------<br/><br/>Judas waited until Athena was done with her little tale before beginning with the briefing, "We are heading to one of our camps and are helping to see to the defenses while they fortify their position and await a more permanent guard. While we are here, we will be observing the wildlife and recording our findings, mapping out the area will be done, though I hear the grove we will see at the station will quickly thicken into a forest. After the fortifications are set, we will proceed and clear a path in the woods with air support to find a mining location. I heard the Brimstone Gulf has particularly nasty surprises, so keep an eye out." He gestured to Daemon, "He has much better knowledge when dealing with wildlife, so be sure to pay attention when he says something is up. That's about it, after securing the mines for fortifications, we will return to the command camp." He did not mention the rumors he heard of abductions happening on a near-nightly basis.