Updates Needed (D5, EA, Expecting)

[Jin]

Settled into his tent on as dry of ground as possible Jin set to work on updating his maps. The normally good natured man grumbling under his breath as he adds a swamp where there was none, and should not have been one, before or now.

[Agasha]

A harried but excited looking girl hurries into his tent. Then realizes what she's done, backs out, and pauses at the entrance. "Excuse me, are you Jin-san of the Unicorn? I'm Agasha of the Bat. May I come in?"

[Jin]

Over excited young women... was there a magnet hidden somewhere on him?

He placed the charcoal down and turned to the flap of the tent, "Yes, please, Agasha-san you may enter."

[Agasha]

"Sorry, sorry...!" She remembered to bow this time after she stepped in, then cleared her throat. "Thank you, Jin-san. Ah, I've been researching the swamp, and I remember Shinjo-san mentioning you were involved with the scouting expedition. I mean, I'm sure you've already noticed how the swamp shouldn't be here because you would have stumbled across it, it's a major natural feature, but that's kind of of secondary importance..."

"The point is, I figured you'd be the person I should talk to about what I found and thoughts from there."

[Jin]

Jin nods quickly, "Please, do, make yourself comfortable. It has been bothering me all day. I'd love to hear more perspectives."

[Agasha]

She hurried over and sat across from him, his maps separating them. "Well, I was curious about why the landscape was different than we expected, so I decided to take a closer look at the water." She took out several vials holding them up. The water in each vial went from mostly clear, to one that was a little greenish and the dirt had settled to the bottom, to one more brackish, and finally one that was very dark and it didn't seem to settle. "The farther out you go into the swamps, the more unpleasant the water gets. I wondered if it was some sort of corruption, but I thought it was too far north for that. It doesn't make sense."

[Jin]

"That... is an ominous thought. It would explain a lot though. But if the realm of evil can reach so far already that is truly foreboding."

He looks at the vials, "If we had some jade we could likely test it that way to see if it reacts. I suppose I could test that too, with magic, but I'm not certain how destructive that interaction would be and would prefer not to try it within my tent."

He frowns again, "But if you're right, and I fear you are, the closer we get to our goal the less we can trust the very land around us let alone the maps we have made of it. If it can make an entire swamp in such a time this far out who knows what it can do even closer to its source."

[Agasha]

"But here's the real thing that I was thinking about beyond the immediate dangers," she said intently. "If it can do that, and did so to impede us, and Fu Leng isn't yet under its sway... Then that implies that the realm itself is both highly intelligent, possibly self-aware, and active in its own designs. Horrifying, but fascinating, too. Intelligent locations."

[Jin]

Another frown, "A sobering thought. I suppose it could also be another intelligence within the realm, a dark parallel to the Sun or Moon in the heavens, but I suppose the end result is the same whether it is the realm or something guiding the realm. We are in more danger than we anticipated though less still than if we have to face both that intelligence and a god in its sway. We cannot stop but we must be alert and aware."

[Agasha]

She nodded. "Either possibility is interesting and terrible. We should try to look into it more... Keeping safety in mind, of course."

[Jin]

He nods, "Something that powerful and smart would be very capable of laying traps for the curious so, indeed, safety and caution will be key. Thank you for bringing this to my attention and, please, do keep me updated. Were there any avenues you had in mind?"

[Agasha]

The girl considered the idea. "... We could try misdirection. If it's thinking, then it's probably trying to predict our moves."

[Jin]

Jin ponders, "A decoy group might work... though that would split our forces and put both in even more danger."

[Agasha]

"... I wonder if it has spies?" She questioned, tapping her fingers against her chin.

[Jin]

"It is possible. Though, to be fair, the path we have taken so far has been the obvious one. The clearest and quickest towards our destination. Figuring out where we would end up along it would not require a spy if there is an intelligence at play. Though I suppose we should not rule it out either as long as we do not let paranoia consume us."

[Agasha]

"Oh, no, I was just thinking that... well, I don't really know, but it seems like it would be easier to fool one or two people than move the whole group weirdly," she explained.

[Jin]

Jin nods, "If it has the power to extend into this realm, this far, to make changes to the landscape then one must assume it could also observe this far out in some manner."

[Agasha]

"If it's intelligent and some of the swamp is corrupted, I wonder if it can observe that way? It's probably good no one's gone out that far much..."

[Jin]

He strokes his chin in thought again, "If the deeper into the swamp the greater this... taint, for lack of a better word..." he gestures at the vials, "grows then it would make sense that it would be more powerful the deeper in as well."

[Agasha]

She nodded enthusiastically at that. "Yes. Well, it's a bit like if you put anything in water - it's concentrated at the epicenter of where it's poured, then slowly spreads through the medium. Though with something like this, it's... I guess it might be more like algae? A little bit gets in and soon you have a whole bloom and the water's undrinkable."