synflux | [OPEN] New Year Roombas

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[OPEN] New Year Roombas

WHO: Taryon and everyone
WHAT: Working on enchantments and programming his pet roombas
WHERE: Main Base Common Area
WHEN: Backdated to December 28th-30th
WARNINGS: None for now

[One month in this new world, and Taryon has already a few projects on his list. First are a few requests for enchanted equipment, then there are the modifications he wants to make on the four roombas he requested. One is enough to clean his room, sure, but they're more than cleaning drones. They're his friends. And they have the capability of doing more than that. Taryon has big dreams for these small automatons: they could become an early alert system, they could be given the ability to search for something specific in his room, they could be programmed to connect with his implant commands.

But first, Taryon must become an expert in programming robots.

He has claimed of the couches in the common area by covering it with papers filled with scribbled runes and notes. Some of the rough drawings are of gauntlets while others are of amulets and boots, while some are of the inner workings of roombas. Taryon, wearing a new thin shirt and vest he bought at a store, is reading through a manual for the roomba as he holds one on his lap - three wander around the floor with small radio speakers attached to their tops. His headset is connected to an international Christmas music playlist, all novelty songs to him, and the music comes out from all corners of the room as the roombas roam and bump into each other.

As teammates and fellow Outsiders pass by, Taryon looks up from his investigation and offers a smile.] Mind your step. Kalimac and Razanur have a habit of getting underfoot.

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[ True to his word, Wriothesley sends Taryon a message the next time he finds himself with some free time and arranges for a meeting to go over the task of modifying his gauntlets. He has them with him now, tucked under one arm, as he trots towards the space Taryon's set up for himself in the common areas.

He expects to see Taryon there (and he does!) but what he doesn't expect are the little roombas that shuffle easily across the ground, one of which zips past him without so much as a warning. He blinks at the casual greeting, gaze following the small robots around for a few seconds. ]

Oh. You named them. [ Why wouldn't anyone name them?? ] I'll be sure to watch where I'm going then.

[ Don't mind him as he carefully steps his way over to where Taryon's got all his materials spread out. ]

How's all your work going?

Of course I did. You need to give your pets names if you're going to keep them.

[And he even managed to program some base personalities with his rudimentary coding skills. The logic is similar to that of enchanting, even if the language is different. Taryon sets his papers and sheet of metal aside. It's cheap stuff, taking from a bargain sale at a local shop, but he's found use for it as test material.]

I think I've gotten the basics down. I've worked on armor before, not weapons, but basic strength should be easy enough to enchant.

[It wasn't like he was enchanting dragon scale armor to be resistant to cold - the gauntlets were already attuned to Wriothesley, and he controls how they are used.]

I could get started on them right now, if you so wish. The thing is, it will take some time for the magic to permanently stay, and some extra metal. [Nanami had urged him quite passionately to charge for his work, and as much as Tary hates asking his friends for support...] So, I kind of need a few funds to wire it properly?

[ The robots are….pets now. Great. Though if he thinks about it, it's not any worse than owning a live animal. Better, in fact, from a purely technical standpoint. No messes to clean up, no food that needs to be fed. Just the occasional routine maintenance to keep them going.

……

Maybe he should look into keeping one of the roombas as a pet too.

That's a consideration for later him though, as he carefully takes a seat nearby. Honestly even the act of a simple enchantment is enough to pique his curiosity. Visions aside, he's never had any personal experience with anything on a more supernatural scale. ]

I can't say I know much - or anything, really - about enchantments, so I'll trust your judgment on the matter. And as for the matter of payment, of course I'll pay.

[ There's no hesitation in his voice. Coming from a place where the fair exchange of goods and services had been a large factor in maintaining law and order, it only makes sense to him for Taryon to charge for his work. ]

How much do you need?

[Taryon looks at the gauntlets. If Vex were here, she'd offer decent advice for what was a fair price. He figures this would be about 200 gold in his world, assuming he was building the gauntlets from scratch, but he must include the cost of adding additional metal at the very least. Then there's the labor. Enchanting an existing object with a permanent spell is tricky, since there are unique shapes to enchant around.]

I'd say a less than 100 gold...[He holds up a hand and counts the cost of metal in this world.] I'd say 50 kryptos?

[He's underselling himself a bit.]

Is that something you can afford?

[ Truthfully he's still getting a grasp on the currency conversion around these parts compared to what he's used to back home. All the day to day expenses - coffee, meals, a few changes of clothing here and there - are easy enough to gauge, but when it comes to bigger projects like these, things get a little more muddy.

Still, he's pretty sure 50 kryptos is a pittance of what he should be paying. He raises an eyebrow. ]

You sure that's enough to cover everything? [ What does he know about mechanical modifications on this level, very little really despite how often he's worked with Research Institute back home. ] Even if I can't afford everything up front, I'm sure we can work out some sort of payment plan.

It's the price for the extra bits of metal. Well...I should've factored in the time I'll spend on enchanting it, huh. So I can add a few more kryptos into it. [It would take a few weeks. What's a rate he can charge? more than minimum wage? How do you factor in a reasonable pay rate?]

What if I just said 200 kryptos? How much do you feel you should pay? I have to admit, I haven't charged for my work before. It's all been for my friends so far.

[Even the continent-wide alert system he designed for Tal'Dorei leaders was for a project lead by a dear friend. And it was for the benefit for society, so why have people pay him for it when he was still a learning enchanter?]

[ 200 kryptos is quite a bit more, but even so there's no overpricing quality work. He may not have the funds here he did back home, but money is far easier to earn than the trust of others. He thinks about it a moment, then nods his head once. ]

I'd pay it, though it might take some time.

[ His dreams of re-collecting his tea stash, pushed out further yet again. But all things considered, tea is a small price to pay for an extra edge over what they'll have to fight soon. ]

But if you're worried it's too much, then how about this. [ Wriothesley spreads his arms apart, leaning slightly back in his chair. ] I pay full price, but in return you tell me about some of your projects you're working on. Call it a little free education for an interested party.

Really? [That's a benefit to Taryon: a free friend who will listen to explain the details of his work.] I don't see any issue with that. Just one thing. I don't have too much I'm working on at the moment. Some short-term, some long-term. But I wouldn't mind having someone help me out when I'm working.

[Not that he thinks Wriothesley understands the science behind his inventions, but it's better that being locked up in his room for hours with only the roombas to keep him company.]

How much do you know about mechanics?

[ Honestly? Even better if he gets to be all hands-on about it, even if his own knowledge is limited at best. But he's always been a quick learner and - more importantly - interested in science and mechanics. That's gotta be half the battle, right?

He sits up a little straighter, expression an odd combination of excited and yet somehow also serious. ]

Not much. I've done a little tinkering here and there, and I designed the first iteration of these gloves [ with a tap on the gauntlets on the table ] back when all they could do was shoot nails a couple feet.

[ Don't ask why he needed gloves that fired nails in the first place. ]

I've picked up a little more from the researchers I've hired to work on them since, but there's plenty I don't know still.

[Taryon runs a finger along a seam on the gloves.These gauntlets are well-made, clearly the work of multiple versions improved on each other.]

That's really impressive. Did you use a magical force to propel them, or did you use some sort of chemical pressurization to shoot out these nails? [Sometimes, people come up with strange weapons. Nails would make for effective projectiles.] That could compromise the durability of the gauntlets if you use them to hit things.

[ If only he could use magic with such ease, then so many of his problems would be solved.

But it's a more than reasonable question, and the immediate dive into the nuts and bolts of mechanical engineering has him focusing on the task at hand. ]

Chemical pressurization. I had a [ friend? teacher? ] associate at the time who knew a lot about chemical properties and reactions. He taught me a bit.

[ Wriothesley taps his chin, thoughtful. ]

But I'll admit there's still a lot I don't know, so if you have suggestions on improvement or replacement, I'm all ears.

Oh! That's smart. [He taps the tips of this fingers together.] So something like a localized chemical reaction, or a gunpowder explosion? I think the latter's more common in this world, but it sounds more dangerous. [Since the firearms his friend developed have a chance of blowing up in his face.]

But for now, reinforcing them to hit harder sounds likes our best bet. Let's see... [He holds up a narrow steel tube with etchings carved along the side.] This should be able to amplify your strength to the limit, as long as you're wearing them. I want to work on the cushioning along the wrist. Strength doesn't always mean durability.

[ It's all fascinating stuff to him, the science behind how and why things work they way do, and even moreso the fact that Taryon's going over options that help protect and reinforce instead of simply destroy. It's always easier to destroy than create, even if the latter has always been more worthwhile to him.

Wriothesley nods along, offering agreement to both the suggestion as well as the general information being provided, before piping up with a different question. ]

What got you interested in all this anyway?

[His head had been bent over the gauntlets as Taryon explained his ideas, and it shot up at Wriothesley's question.]

I had a lot of time to myself as a boy, between lessons and whatever obligations I had. [He sets the metal onto the sofa and shoos a roomba that was roaming over the seat away.] I was particularly fascinated by adventure stories, and I started tinkering with building sets to recreated characters and settings I read about. That's where my fascination with mechanics and enchanted objects all started from, really. From there, it just developed into...this.

[He flattens his hands on his lap and shrugs.] Most of this I taught myself from books. It's the first real skill I had.

You're self-taught?

[ It may be a question, but there's a hint of genuine respect underneath. To have the concentration and dedication to work on something so long while being self-guided...it's impressive, to say the least. ]

You really are an impressive guy, Taryon, you know that? [ He means it. ] Did you ever end up getting to go on those adventures? You mentioned something about adventuring before, didn't you?

[Taryon's eyes briefly dart away at the continuous praise, but ultimately, he absorbs that genuine amazement he hears and lets it puff himself up.]

Well, not everyone can build what I do. [He sits up straight and flicks his hair away from his face.] Or go from a newbie to someone this capable in a year. But...thanks, anyway. It's good to hear that from other people.

[It's a far cry from his hobbies being criticized for being pointless.]

I certainly did. I hired a group of experience adventurers to teach me the ropes, and eventually they like me enough to let me join officially. [It's a massive oversimplification of what happened, but it's not like Taryon is lying, right?] If we're counting Earth as another plane of existence, this is the fourth one I've visited, counting the plane of water, hell, and the fey realm.

[ Wriothesley did not think he could get more surprised than he already was but here he is, eyebrows lifting more off his face at this revelation that there are multiple planes of existence beyond just the current.

Man, there really is so much more to the world than what little he's experienced, huh? He'd always known that, but in the face of all this new information, he's starting to realize just how small and insignificant he is in the great scheme of things.

But hold on a minute— ]

Hell? You mean the place everyone talks about is really real?

Yeah, you have to have some way to travel between planes to get there, but that's where devil's reside. [Not everyone meets one in their lifetime, but the stories of corrupted souls and beings that thrive on enslaving said souls are out there. Taryon leans over to smile jokingly. ] It's not a great place to be, if you ever had any doubts.

[Funny that hell exists in other worlds. Has it been so long since anybody signed a contract with a devil that Wriothesley thinks its all just folk tales?]

But from the sound of it, your world doesn't have recent history with that place.

[ Recent history? More like has there been any history with hell? He can't say he's a well-learned historian by any means, but he's done his due diligence and read what books have crossed his path, and he's pretty sure he's never encountered anything about hell as more than just a concept. ]

I'm not sure we've ever had any type of history at all with the place. [ But instead of sounding fearful or worried, he just sounds interested. ] Is it really as bad as all the stories say it is?

[ Taryon did say 'not great' but that could mean any host of things. ]

But you are still aware about it? [It's strange - it's one thing if he doesn't see many stories in Neo Tokyo about the fey because they don't exist here. But to have stories about Hell without a history?]

Whatever they say about it, it's way grosser. Did you know that the second circle of Hell has a huge tower that never leaves your field of vision solely dedicated to torturing corrupted souls until they become subservient minor devils?

Yeah. That bad.

[ His face twists a bit at that description because…yeah, that does sound pretty bad. ]

Remind me never to visit even if I get the chance.

[ He might like to travel and see new places, but there are some places that are better left untouched. Time for a slight topic chance to something better (hopefully). ]

What was your favorite place to be?

Hopefully you’ll never have a reason to go there.

[He shakes his head. Horrible memories were made there, but he bonded with Vox Machina thanks to closely working together to reach their target and make a harrowing escape. In exchange for a much-needed shakeup forcing him to reevaluate his priorities, he had to suffer.]<\small>

I like anyplace in the world. I was pretty much confined to the family estate or vacation homes when I was growing up, and seeing what else is out there…it’s the best. But my second house is in Whitestone, where two of my friends live. I have a lot of good memories there.

[ On the subject of being able to go out and see the world they can both agree, and Wriothesley nods in support. ]

It really is, isn't it?

[ Not that he's been able to travel much himself, first lacking the funds and ability to do so and then lacking the time. Even if the Fortress had settled into a state where it no longer needed his 24/7 supervision, there's no way he could leave for more than a day or two at a time.

But hey, since they're both somewhat free now— ]

Why don't we go exploring here sometime? It's not like they keep us busy all the time, and maybe you'll get some cool ideas from seeing new places and talking to new people.

I've seen a lot of stores in the downtown area. I think some window shopping will do both of us good. [He calls the roombas over, and they gather at his feet, bumping into each other in anticipation.] Maybe we'll even find some old-fashioned books for the library. There has to be more somewhere.

[The library is perfect, but Taryon misses holding a physical object in his hands. If he could ask LILITH to bring things from home, his book collection would be one of the first requests he'd make.]

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[OPEN] New Year Roombas

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