Man, those were a lot of words! Spiders, monsters, all sorts of beasts under the sea for Beat to beat. He didn't like fighting things much... but if this was for an important cause, he'll do it! The rest of the conversation was just back-and-forth questions, so the creature simply waited for the crowd to disperse and listened to the waves.
Hmm... what could he do? What could he do? He kicked a hoof absentmindedly at the warm sand. He couldn't "enchant," nor did he have any water magic... perhaps swimming was the way to go? Yes! His head cocked to the side as a funny reptile invited any others to practice swimming with him. That seemed like the way to go! With a twirl of his tentacles, Beast trotted down to the shore and away from the meeting place.
Search as she might for an excuse... good grief, her heart was pounding way too hard. Pure thunder lighting up the machinery of her chest. She could hardly hear her own thoughts over the downpour. It just wouldn't settle. 'I thought I was ready...'
She got one bit of information, and then the stimulation was way, way too much. Yelling and argument and questioning and clamor-- agh, nope. Had to go... had to go.'I'm sorry Tahi-shei.'
He was capable of Enchantment, so she'd heard. And capable storing much information Madhukar knew nothing about, but hey, was that really new? New... She had to go. Sorry. She had something to Enchant back at "home", something she was pretty sure she could wear. Maybe he could... no, that was silly. If she wasn't ready to approach him in a crowd just to say hi and mend a gap, what made her think she could approach him and request that he enable her to join the fray? Tahi-shei probably wouldn't send a stranger, much less a friend, running from their problems straight into a battle for their life.
His eyes sought the speaking, winged horse without judgment. James had taken offense, it seemed, at two things that had not been meant offensively. Pelt's observations had seemed true enough to the Blacksmith, and his note that hostility was unneeded had made the steed defensive. That had not been his intent, but he could not force others to take things how he intended them. Ahh, well. Perhaps his anger was something he would find aid with.
He turned to Pelt, then. "She is called... her Leaf. A title. A... pet name. You are right, it is not a... true leaf." There was a smile in his voice; how silly that would be-! All of this for a leaf!
Whale's question puzzled him, if briefly. How long would this take? He tried to imagine it, but he didn't know the place well enough. Had it been carved out, and then filled with water-? He did not know if it had once been dry, but if it had, he had never seen it himself. "It may be an hour... it may be more. We must assume... longer, so that we are not caught... unprepared. I have never been there, but... the way should be marked." And he hoped that it was: to become lost in those depths would certainly spell their demise.
"My brother," he told Tahi-shei, and his voice held a somewhat mournful tone, "does not bear quite the same power--or purpose--as I. No... I would not involve him... in this task." At best, he would mock them. At worst, Algol might even interfere. As for the status of the 'Leaf,' the Blacksmith hesitated. There were... politics at work, here, and he feared word spreading farther. Would Nemean intervene-? Would there be opposition? And Aquarian-... If she sweetened him up, he could ruin everything. He did not want himself--or worse, these Gembound--caught between opposing forces. Nor could he exactly admit it, and tell them not to tell other Masters, or he would put himself in the crosshairs for having known. "It is best... to focus on preparation. There are... politics... involved," he said, not quite evasive, not fully honest, but as honest as one could be without putting them all at risk. He studied Tahi-shei's eyes, then. Blind, because of Algol-? "I am sorry," he told the deer, and there was genuine sorrow in it. He knew his brother's rules: the deer would have agreed to some terms, and Algol would deliver precisely what he'd agreed to. But it was never the full story, was it-? He preyed on others' greed, and his 'rewards' were equally punishments. Hard lessons to learn... or cruelties inflicted on the well-meaning.
The rest were offering aid to one another--which was good!--though one was trying to reason with a sword--was that good?--but regardless, they seemed eager to begin.
The Blacksmith breathed a sigh of relief. He had to trust in them, these Gembound; they held their own fates in their hands, for the time being. And perhaps his own, as well.
Tahi-shei dipped his head. He could hear the evasiveness in the Blacksmith's tone, and recalled Vargas's implication that not all of the Masters were kind. He'd been told outright to avoid Nemean and the One Who Eats (whatever the hell that meant). Vargas had said that his compatriots and superiors would have the inhabitants of these caves killed -- politics was a vague answer, but he understood that it was probably being given for the protection of someone involved in all of this. It didn't really matter to Tahi-shei who; he could accept that. "I will do as you direct, then." He could not deny that he had even more questions now.
Especially because now, something had been connected in his mind -- the Collector and the Blacksmith had a purpose? He hesitated as he considered it. It seemed natural, of course, from what Vargas had told him. But they did not seem to be soldiers. The Collector in particular seemed to just be... cruel. He'd have to ask the Blacksmith (or, Masters forbid, the creature himself) at... a later date. When things weren't quite so hectic.
An hour, maybe more, of holding her breath while fighting monsters was more than what Whale was confident in, and she decided that she would need this... water breathing spell they were talking about. And there were... politics involved? Whale wasn't sure what those were; maybe something like the 'script' Wolf Splishy Splashy Fishbeard had talked about? She remembered how badly that had gone, and felt a pulse of anxiety about this new mission.
She shook off the feeling as best she could. She was gonna win this no matter what! And besides, she was part of the good guys this time, not an evil akuma villain! The Blacksmith was being so nice; he had to be in the right. And Farina, whoever that was, sounded pretty reasonable too. I mean, who wouldn't be angry if their friend was locked up? Locking people up with a bunch of monsters was obviously bad, so she could be confident she was doing the right thing now!
"I'll go and prepare!" Whale told the Blacksmith cheerfully, making a mental checklist of things she needed to do. First, get that fancy water breathing magic! Then eat up, so you have plenty of energy for the adventure. Then practice some fight moves, so you don't get stung or hurt by the monsters!
Politics involved. And the Blacksmith's very own brother might be working against him, from the sound of it—! He'd made the deer blind, even. Oh, this was good. Sibling rivalry, an angry Master with an imprisoned loved one... The question was, would it be good for her? The Blacksmith's brother, the Collector—he might be a dangerous one too. And Farina had already failed to protect her Leaf from this underwater prison. Who could say if they would be safe, if they helped free the Leaf?
Pelt could be getting herself into more danger than she bargained for... but at the same time, this was an opportunity. The excitement of it all! But would she be strong enough, fast enough, to make it out relatively unscathed? If she did, then hopefully Farina could make her even faster—but would that be fast enough to outrun Farina's enemies?
"You said that there are politics involved," Pelt said, staying with the Blacksmith even as the others departed. A dragon sent out a wave of magic, and she felt a vague sense of being refreshed (or maybe that was just placebo). Either way, her now-comrades would be sure to provide some degree of protection, which made her feel a little better. "Will Farina protect us, if those who imprisoned her Leaf are angry at us for freeing her? Who should I watch out for; who should I avoid when this is all over?"
Hard questions, from Pelt... and even harder answers.
"I do not know..." the Blacksmith replied, with a helpless little shrug; "but... I do know... that this is making right... something which should have never happened." There was sorrow in his tone.
A rebellion; that was almost understandable, given all that had transpired. And eliminating enemies... that seemed to be a common necessity, by most viewpoints. But what had been done to Farina, and to her Leaf... that transcended "necessity." It was a cruelty that very few would have willingly inflicted.
Would they see it, though, as an injustice righted? Or only as these hapless creatures doing "their jobs?" The Blacksmith didn't know that, either; but he knew that this had to be done.
Still... one could make concessions for such ignorance, and he offered that now, in a hesitant tone. "If you are unsure... you do not have to risk it. I ask... only for willing volunteers."
"Blacksmith!" he called as he made his way back into the Workshop. He was carrying with him a metal astrolabe, which was about the size of a dinner plate, and a handful of rocks with shiny bits in them that honestly could have been anything. The astrolabe itself was some kind of miscellaneously brown metal with silvery accents -- Talys had no clue what it was, naturally. It wasn't as though there was a spell to help him find metal, so he'd sort of just been grabbing anything he thought might've had some in it as he went about his day-to-day. "Alright, I don't know if any of this will be useful, but you're welcome to do whatever you want with it."
He presented the array proudly -- getting to watch while the Blacksmith worked was already appealing, even if he'd not be getting any proper instruction. Even just the heat of the forge warmed something within him that he simply adored -- it was exciting, and he was bright-eyed and eager in the face of it.
Pelt fought back a grimace. How could the Blacksmith not even know who their enemies were? And how could he be so unsure of Farina's protection, too? The more he said, the more it sounded like Farina was some kind of angry, ungrateful wretch, unworthy of help. She might have better hope of a reward with the Blacksmith himself. He seemed to be the kind type, a goody-two-shoes that would help this Leaf both out of fear and because he thought it was the 'right thing to do'. If Farina refused, could she guilt him into providing a reward?
And he was powerful, wasn't he? He had taught many to enchant things, so he had to be the best of them. He had friends: the crowd that had gathered was evidence enough of that. You can defeat a lot of things with numbers, too. They might provide adequate protection, if Farina proved insufficient.
But most of all, the thing that drove back her hesitation and urged her to accept was the promise of fun. It would be a challenge to her speed and ability, and an opportunity to give land creatures a shellacking underwater. Oh, what a hilarious role reversal that would be–! No longer would she be the one who struggled to keep up with the majority in an environment that did not belong to her. The corners of her mouth twitched upward as Pelt imagined the race to free the Leaf. A competition, a chance to show off and improve herself, and a magical reward at the end to sweeten the deal. "Of course I'll do it," she grinned, retreating into the water. "See you later, Blacksmith."
The Blacksmith's hammer was still ringing away at the anvil when Talys returned with his gifts. He had not rested in his work, and beside him now stood a small pile of crude, but resilient, pieces of metal in the shape of rings, greatly varying in size.
His head lifted, the hammer-swinging arm pausing midair, as Talys spoke; and for a moment, he hesitated. He regarded his anvil, but--ahh, a few moments' break wouldn't change things, would it? Farina was unlikely to turn up right in that gap. And the enthusiasm in the young elf's face was infectious.
He set the hammer down beside the half-shaped piece of metal; he'd need to reheat it again, but that would not take long. Cloak swished as he came to inspect what Talys had brought. "Beautiful work... So precise. Not of these caves," he observed, reaching out one hand to lightly touch the metalwork. "Where did you find... this piece? Do you know... its maker?"
He looked down again, considering, and murmured. "So many things... that can be done with it. Set it down... and we will look at it later... together. Tell me... ahh, what was your name?--What do you know... of smithing? Of... the forge?"
He moved back to the anvil, having spared the stones a brief but not dismissive once-over, and lifted the half-shaped steel with a pair of oversized tongs. He seemed used to these, however, bringing the ring back to the flame with a practiced hand, to reheat it.