Fascination (D7, LM, Open)

[Jin]

Pushed up against one wall of a tunnel, purposefully to be out of the way of any passing nezumi or other travelers, Jin was scratching away with charcoal on scrap parchment. Now and then his good eye would squint, his brow would furrow, and he would scratch something out and start over.

"So if tunnel A connects to tunnel B... but tunnel C runs over tunnel B then connects down into A..."

[Yogo]

A scrawny figure came around the corning, almost bumping into Jin before managing to dance out his way with all the grace of a drunk ogre. "Uhh, my apologies!" the young man stuttered, bracing himself against the wall. "What are you doing?" he asked the other man, eyeing her parchment suspiciously.

[Jin]

Jin barely notices the almost collision, lost in his work, only looking up at the voice, "Oh... sorry... didn't see you. I was trying to map what I could of the city during our short time here. I'm on my way to the market but I've hit an impasse. This tunnel connects to two others on either end... but also a tunnel above it... and that tunnel apparently descends gradually to connect to the tunnel behind us." He shows a scrap of paper with many arrangements of criss-crossing lines - an attempt to try to figure out how to depict a three dimensional space, with overlaps and connections, on a two dimensional medium.

[Yogo]

"Uh-huh." The young man nodded. "Why?" he asked. "We are just passing by, aren't we?" Why would you need a map of a place you weren't planning to visit again? This place wasn't nearly comfy enough to warrant a second visit as far as he was concerned. "Uh... I see." Yogo replied, totally not seeing what Jin was trying to point out. "More of those things, maybe? One for each layer?" A long finger pointed at the scrap of paper he was holding. "Oh, my name's Yogo. Um. Of the Shoji."

[Jin]

"Oh, right, I'm Jin... of the Ki-Rin." He smiles awkwardly, "And I thought of multiple pages but parchment is so scarce and I likely won't have time to make any more anytime soon. But you might be right... it might be the best choice. As for the why." He shrugs a little, "You never know when you might be back somewhere, or someone you know will be, or even when someone might find such a thing valuable."

[Yogo]

"Ah, the followers of Shonjo? No, Shinjo!" the young man snapped his fingers as he worked to recall the name. "Doesn't look too hospitable to me, though." Glancing around, Yogo nodded at the long winding tunnel. "Haven't really been underground before. Can't say I am fond of the experience. It's bit cramped here, yes?"

[Jin]

"I've stayed in caves but nothing like this, that's for sure. It's not a spot I would choose for home but that might be in our favor. If the nezumi prefer to live like this, instead of out in the open, it would be possible for our settlements to co-exist in areas of plenty."

[Yogo]

"I think it's bit too humid here, but I guess you could find someone willing to relocate?" Yogo sounded bit suspicious, pressing his hand against the wall. "They don't seem too friendly either." he added, glancing nervously around. "I understood that the Seidou and the rat-people don't get along too well either."

[Jin]

"Indeed the nezumi have no reason to care for us, and the Seidou no reason to care for them. But, if we survive this and succeed, there will be two empires growing near each other. If we wish to avoid all out war finding ways to make peace and coexist will be vital. We've seen how hard it can be for tribes of humans to thrive with each other... all the harder when one of the 'tribes' is walking rats with very sharp teeth."

[Yogo]

"This one doesn't look like doing much growing." Yogo noted dryly, patting the wall. "The rat-man I talked said that their realm is in ruins. Because of Fu Leng." he coughed softly. "So no, I suppose they have no reason to love us, let alone like us. We are here for the spirit that ruined them."

[Jin]

"Not growing now but, if we succeed, I suspect that can change quickly. If they are anything like their mundane counterparts it does not take many or long for a nest to thrive and grow."

[Yogo]

"Not something I'd like to dwell on." the young man murmured, shaking his head. "And if so, what guarantees that they won't need more land. I mean, there's only so much you can eat underground, yes?"

[Jin]

Jin nods, "Outside of areas of plenty, yes. We'd still need delineations of borders and territory I suppose. But the fact that there are areas where man could live above and nezumi below is reassuring for potential for peace."

[Yogo]

"I mean, not like we are running out of space any time soon. I walked to Seidou lands from the north and well, there isn't much there. A lot of places where you could put up a village, if you had the people. Arable land? Different story. Then again, do they even grow crops?" The rat-rats back home for sure didn't, though they would happily eat any and all grain they found.

[Jin]

"I have not yet stumbled upon a farm down here nor saw any such above so perhaps not. Though to have a city this large there must be something of the sort somewhere. There is not enough game for hunting at this scale I would imagine."