Ruins of Azlant Gameplay I

"That's probably a long way off, but it's certainly something I'd enjoy seeing," Eliza agrees.

The two soon set off to Amissa's home to deconstruct, reverse engineer, and repair the clockwork digger, Eliza watching Amissa handle the more delicate parts, and helping out with what she can. The pair make decent headway, with only a short break for lunch, a steady stream of conversation about Azlanti history and clockwork mechanisms going on as they work.

In the evening, Kaimana heads down to the beach to check out the classes, where he finds out that Lyra and Anya are teaching their joint class on survival tips in the wilderness.

Not wanting to disrupt the lesson, Kaimana hangs around the back of the students to see how it's going.

The survival class goes well, with Lyra's bubbly disposition counteracting the dour mood of the colony for the duration of the class, helped along by Anya's strictness whenever anyone shows signs they might be acting out. After the class ends, people begin to split into smaller groups, chatting as they disperse.

Kaimana keeps his smile internal whenever he notices Anya refusing to allow trouble, and notices this evening was smoother than working with the fisherman. He participates in the lesson as appropriate and waits until its conclusion to approach the teachers. ”Seems like the classes are going pretty well, huh?” he comments with a smile. "Those survival shelters were cool, felt like everyone was really getting the hang of it."

"Yeah, the survival classes are going well, they're pretty popular!" Lyra says brightly."And I'm happy to teach it, though, I hope people don't need to use them too often."

Anya nods. "The classes are very good. When we have more people here, I hope to continue them, and perhaps add more classes as well."

"Hopefully not, but better to know in a pinch, right?" Kaimana says to Lyra's last comment. "Or, maybe people will feel more comfortable going to see things for themselves if they have some tactics like that. Who knows?"

"That's true! There's so much of this island that's beautiful and wonderful and amazing!" Lyra gushes. "I'm glad I get to be one of the first ones to see it."

Kaimana nods and grins before shifting gears. "What kind of classes are you hoping to add, Anya?"

"I would have liked to see the weaving class continue," Anya says. "It is a shame there was not enough interest in it. Other classes like that, which teach skills that will prove useful again and again would also be nice to see. As for my own classes, perhaps if there were to be enough people, we could split them and make them more specialized, but for now, I am pleased with what I have."

The following day, come lunch time, Aisha seeks out Luetin and gives him one of her cheery smiles and a wave while walking over to join him. ”Luetin, mind if I join you?”

Luetin nods, scooting over to make a little more room. "Go right ahead, I don't mind the company."

Aisha settles down next to Luetin, still smiling. ”Thanks. I guess you’re keeping busy nowadays, plenty of work to do that needs forging?” she asks after taking a spoonful of stew.

"Mhm," Luetin says with a nod. "Wasn't expecting to be the only blacksmith here. Keeps me busy with everyone's forging needs. The town's lucky it was me coming along, and not some lazy, second rate smith who couldn't handle the work," he boasts.

Aisha chuckles at Luetin's bragging. "We're definitely fortunate that you're so industrious," she agrees. "Still, I hope the mood around the colony hasn't been dragging you down too much?"

"Not too much," Luetin agrees. "Anyone could see that this island is a paradise, ripe for the taking, we just need some stronger leadership to rally behind. Sending a firm message back to the Company that what we need is more soldiers, more men to build defenses, and more supplies shipped in more regularly until we've got a firm enough foothold here to think about starting to expand the farming."

"I'm not sure that strength is all that matters," Aisha muses. "We do need someone who will vigorously advocate for us to the Company, certainly. But being able to take perspective on the situation and assess what we need to grow long-term, more than just the troubles of the day, is important too. We could waste a lot of resources on just focusing on whatever seems most important at one time."

"Maybe, but you can't over think things either," Luetin counters. "Anyone can see what we need right now is more defenses, and people to man them, and the only way we're going to get that is strong-arming the company into giving them to us."

"Unless the company decides that the whole project isn't worth the effort. Think about it from their perspective. They already lost a ship, and now we're having some unexpected problems too, if we push too hard for more fighters, more defenses, more supplies, they might get cold feet and decide the whole thing isn't likely to pay off enough for them. They don't get to see the land like us. They don't see the community. They don't see the real opportunity. They see charts and numbers, and the moment those numbers look too bad, the whole operation is toast. So we might actually need a leader who can put on a brave face even when things are bad and find a way to make it work with what we have," Aisha retorts, trying to play to Luetin by building on existing stereotypes of pencil-pushing bureaucrats.

"We're already here, aren't we? They have to support us, they can't just hang us out here to dry," Luetin replies, with his usual bluster and confidence. "If we're united behind a strong leader, we'll force their hand, and they'll give us what we need."

"They can absolutely hang us out to dry," Aisha responds, some uncharacteristic cynicism creeping into her voice. "It would be the easiest thing in the world for them. They just stop sending the ships and leave us. And they'll do it if they think we're not worth the investment anymore." She takes a breath. "That's why we need someone they already trust. Instability will just scare them more. Think about it. They weren't brave enough to come here themselves, were they? They're more likely to cut and run than put more skin in the game."

"Their skins will be stretched and tanned if they leave us here," Luetin says with a laugh. "They couldn't do that, not with the backlash they'd get from everyone back home. That's what they'll be really worried about, and as long as we keep that in mind, we've got all the cards in our hand. So don't you worry about nothing like being abandoned. I'm sure after a few more weeks, Ramona will have had all she can take, and she'll be throwing in the towel."

"I'm not that worried about the Company. Not right now, anyways. I'm more worried about everyone here ripping one another apart because they're scared," Aisha retorts with a bitter smile. "Scared of what? The monkey goblins? Nothing worth being scared of can be stopped by a wall. Walls might make people feel safe, but they won't do anything to help us. Meanwhile we're all going to be too busy arguing with one another over what kind of leader we need to notice the real dangers. Besides," Aisha chuckles, shaking her head, "I think you're underestimating Ramona. She's strong enough to shoulder the burden of leadership, of knowing every problem, everything that needs doing and keeping a cool head on her shoulders all the while. That's real strength, more than sending an angry letter to the Company making demands would be."

"That's why we've got to have more trained soldiers too, to man the wall once it's built," Luetin insists. "We'll see about Ramona. My bet is she won't last another month."