Platform Construction [N/A] Spirit Forest Dev

The team would get to work.

Torches are hung against the ancient underground trees that grow beside the titular oasis of the caverns, and the Neries begins their work on the platform. The schematics were simple: The discus that one stood upon, which normally acted as the base for which you could project your body, would be reworked. The battery - the spire shard - is kept purposefully outside of the platform while the Neries goes about finishing the rest of the work, with Tezoxochel leading.

She's only here for grunt work, to be honest.

"We need the runes inscribed on the platform, for now." Iosefka dictates. "Think we'll need to resize the apparatus. Uhhh." Before long, the Neries stops and looks over to the Runescribe.

"... I'm not going to lie, I'm totally lost on this one. Can you just tell me what you want me to do building this thing? A role reversal and all that?"
(Iosefka Coza)

It's put together, slowly, meticulously. A spire shard as a core, a focus, a projection apparatus, surrounded by steel and adamantite and a mass of deep, wide, woven runes across the surface.

It begins, all, as a projection platform, crafted into being their base and basis for a portal to another realm entirely. Even the very basis of it was ridiculous, and the mechanical beginning of their journey into making this reality was...

an expensive one.

But many great things have humble beginnings. Not this one, no. A great thing with a great beginning, this'd be.

" … Gateway. "
(Tezoxochel Coza)

"Gateway. Sounds simple enough."

The spire shard is whisked out of the core - Soon pocketed once Tezoxochel was done directing the metalworker on where to place each beam of worked steel and adamantite casing. The hardware beneath the platform itself was quite advanced, and much like her work on Tinkerer's automaton, she follows the runewriter's instructions carefully.

By the end of it, she's covered in sweat and grease from sliding each steel beam into place, and burns cover her soot-stained fingers. But the platform, which would soon become something new, was done. For the most part. Iosefka handles the spire shard in her hand, before flashing a smile to Tezoxochel.

"We're going to need to find someone who knows a thing or two about spirits, but. Yeah, looks like we're good to go, Tez. Can you power it down entirely before we go?"
(Iosefka Coza)

T'was never fully activated, of course. It's left in a dormant state-- a little bit of a casual affix Tezoxochel put an extra five minutes, to draw a minute amount of mana from the air around it just to keep it from running cold entirely. An unaffixed, uncharged projection platform without it's spire shard was effectively a pretty hunk of metal, after all.

" … Spirits. Maybe Eiphraem knows somebody? Cruxati is pathetically empty, or we'd look there. Ezmara isn't exactly versed in that sort of thing, either. Oh, and. I never really powered it up. Only enough to see slight glow in runes and makes sure all was well. It never tapped upon the shard in place. All me. "

Right. Even that small flickering as part of a test had actually halfway sucked the goddamn soul out of him. But he was holding it in. No temp injuries here.

But note to self. Tezoxochel is not a reliable replacement for a spire shard.
(Tezoxochel Coza)

Thank goodness. Iosefka, as soon as all is well with Tezoxochel and all is well on the platform, throws a small tarp over the structure. She flashes a smile at Tezoxochel before leading the Nagual out, shard in hand.

"We should be fine with just the spirit shards with the spire shard." She'd say with a smile. "Come on. Gateway is down. Let's get back to the tower and start planning."
(Iosefka Coza)