Our first task as a unit (Day 3), Part 7

Almenar

While finishing the daily paperwork that often was passed down to me, I occasionally directed glances at a monitor of sorts, one meant to enable me to keep tabs of the situation surrounding the unit of my writing colleagues. Keeping track of their status was technically a part of my current work, yet more than anything, at times it was merely amusing observing them interact. The clashing of extreme and distinct personalities often makes for effective entertainment in my eyes, and to my fortune those traits fit that unit perfectly, both in their individual members and when thought of as a group. 

Of course, the fact that plenty of documents I had been handling that day were connected to the situation they were meant to solve also added additional purpose to watching them closely. The sooner they finished their job, the easier it would be to quiet the panic that incident had caused. More work would be following it considering the spark of this mess had been a mishandled attempt at starting an embassy, but there was plenty of damage to mend already, thus giving all the more reason to handle what already could be addressed, and begin planning for the following steps. As with any project between different folks that failed, restarting dialogue would create a lot of work, all the more so since the nation didn't have that many experts in talks with semi-socials, and hence they likely would need a lot of direction. With problems such as those on the coming days, all preemptive measures possible were valued. 

—Hopefully they won't send another trainee, once talks begin again. This one seems to have caused quite the headache in his test. — Stag and one of my royal hands currently had been assisting me, and Iskzarfris was nearby, yet I wasn't aiming my complaint at any of them in particular as I said so. 

The precise task I had been handling was the allocation of staff and schedule for the negotiations post this crashing plan. As much as this outpost had been created entirely from the Daokinyev's initiative, it hardly could be described as a negative to the nation or region, after all. Establishing friendships with folks from the wild world granted significant advantages to social states, as it granted us far easier access to resources only present in regions of high magical density, among many other benefits. Hence, it was hardly unusual for attempts at strengthening these connections to be made from our initiative. What resulted from such endeavors tended to vary greatly based on circumstances of the period and the folks making contact, yet what I can say without a fraction of doubt is that it is extremely rare for semi-social folks to be the ones taking initiative in these situations. This made a good result far more likely, and at minimum would make it so mutual communication would be far simpler, as it would grant them a faster method of contacting us than to speak through the outposts close to their borders. 

I should also make it clear that although my frustrations came from a merited point of critique, I saw this incident as a shared blame. If our citizens weren't so misinformed of semi social and other types of magical creatures, the only problem that would have happened would have been to rearrange the schedule for establishing communications officially. Not to mention, as upsetting as it is that the chosen envoy managed to mess up so many parts of the protocol in short order, we were warned of the nature of this mission and had also failed to prepare for the incoming incident. Especially since there was a delay in our end in responding to the situation accurately, partially due to the fact we arranged the schedule for this situation in a way that didn't account for significant advances in their expected arrival time, nor took measures to accurately gauge their progress through the offered route. Acknowledging none of our faults on this matter would have been an unproductive stance to return to the conversations with, all the more reason why allocating staff was a delicate task as of that point. 

—Still, my dear Stag. Might I ask a question regarding the trick Nalfimiria is planning? — Depending on the answer, the aftermath of this situation would have been a lot easier for myself and other arms of the state. I hadn't managed to get it through indirect requests up to that point, though. 

—Then speak, princess. I can't say I'll answer, but listening to you shall always be my duty. — Her voice was just as impassive as always. It offered no hints on how the question affected her, a reaction that was hardly unusual for her. Catching Stag off guard was practically impossible, even ignoring the fact I rarely disconnected my thoughts from hers. 

—Nalfimiria didn't head to the Temples yesterday just to hear the job's report. It seems she spoke to some of your direct colleagues there as well. What was she requesting of them? — I asked, referring to a blind spot in my vigil over that unit. 

Stag would cover this for me most of the time, yet as she was unreliable in matters concerning Nalfimiria, I still occasionally had agents other than Sowanar near them, at the sister's consent. However, the Temples weren't a place you could sneak into, or attempt to spy on. Hence, I couldn't know anything that Nalfimiria plotted in regards to the job within one. Stag wouldn't even bother handing me a false report in this instance either. Normally, this would be part of our agreement, however in this particular case knowing exactly what Nalfimiria planned would be very helpful for my normal job. 

—She was requesting assistance in utilizing a special kind of artifact. I shouldn't need to tell you what the goal behind it is. — That short answer told me enough, as it implied correlation between this plan and an oddity I had already noticed. After considering which exactly it would be for a moment, I swiftly reached my conclusion. 

—Is that so… Good, my own task should be made easier, then. What kind of fool would expect an agent of the Life Warden to act like an executioner in the first place. This type of forceful is far more like the sisterhood I know. — The Path Tracers of Will were the primary warriors of the sisterhood, but killing to them was only reserved for extreme situations. Their primary directive was to protect, after all. 

—But speaking off, is the compressed office ready for usage? As unlikely as it is that the morning will produce no sudden tasks for me, it would be best to pretend we can move all necessary documents and material to it ahead of time. Will I get to see the scenery this time, or is a blank void all that awaits, Stag? — Compressed space came in some varieties, but in terms of appearance the default was either that of an unfocused view of the outside surrounding its point of origin, usually while floating in the air, or an endless, madness-inducing void of white. The first is typically preferable, yet I had also been in some that actually imitated normal rooms well. Those usually involved additional layers of conjuration alongside their application, though. 

—The documents and reading material are already in place. I'll be landing the aides familiar assistance to speed up work over the morning as well. As for the scenery, it depends entirely on what you feel might distract you the most, princess. 

—Excellent news. Getting more time to view the land will be appreciated. I only hope this trouble might be finished nicely. — I mentioned, while taking the occasional glance at the paperwork I already had gone through concerning that situation. Having less matters to worry about would certainly never cause for me to complain. 

"If there is any good fortune surrounding this mess, it is the good timing it had for both of my projects. Here is hoping that angle might remain more consistent than the trouble itself." As I considered such, I got back to my task prior to that brief chat I took for a break. It took some additional time to finish that day's load, yet in the end I still found a decent amount of time to observe the main group interacting, which helped improve my mood over the situation. This eventually led to dusk and thus to bed, and hence to the end of this section, as the scenes for our report of that date have already been finished. Until we may next meet on these pages, I hope you remain well, reader.