[center][h1][b][color=gold]Lillianna Steiner[/color][/b][/h1][/center]

[quote=MacKensie's New BFF]"Morning Lilly pad-

You alright there?"[/quote]

To say it was at least nice that someone popped their head in to see if she was ok was a thing. To say that it wasn't slighhtly surprising for Zell to pop in out of the blue, or what felt like it in a groggy waking-up state at least, would have been a lie. It did make the mage jump a little when Zell came over to talk to her.

[color=gold]"...Ugh. Relatively ok."[/color] 

Her response was generally groggy and sore sounding, not that it would perhaps be very surprising that it was. 

'Relatively ok' was right, could always be a lot worse she figured, but Zell walked off and she moved to sit up on the edge of her little shelter Lillianna would try to pull her bedhead hair back out of her face as she looked over the others. Seemed everyone had rested well, and no weather to boot since the last night. All in all a successful camping event, if she had to call it something, though it made her little shelter feel...ugh. Nope. No more thinking about it, she was going to get ready to hit the road! 

Though as she got up and began to tidy her things up, Lillianna wondered why she hadn't come with a bedroll like the others seemingly had. A cruel trick of fate? A bad day for the magic tossing her in late? Something else? She had no idea. 

This was going to be a long day of more walking regardless, so before the group would leave she'd make sure to chew on half of the jerky from her second ration. Something to keep her going a bit at least. Maybe fill up water before they left too, actually, as she'd drained her water skin dry. 

[hr]

As they walked along, the mage carrying the cube closely in one arm as her staff was held in the other, she would mull to herself over what had been happening with the cube and herself. At least what had happened so far. The reaction she'd gotten from it was certainly something, and then her dream this morning had been-

[quote=Clive][color=F1B338]"I reckon if ya can't build no stick house maybe you can magic up a breakfast eh Miss Lili?"[/color][/quote]

[color=gold]"I wish I could, but the most I've got is maybe electrocuting some unfortunate animal to death for food. Could always try out the nearest lake for that.

Wouldn't be the Fillet O' Fish you'd want though, you'll have to talk to a manager about that one."[/color]

Lillianna ran a hand down her face afterward, though despite attempting to play along verbally nothing but a small sigh escaped her somewhat still-tired lips and somewhat 'exasperated' tone of voice. Sleep, after becoming exhausted enough, had eventually come to her. It wasn't her own bed back home, nothing ever would be again she figured, but it had worked out well enough. Maybe a bit more bedding next time she made a shelter, really, though when it'd ever come in handy she had no idea. 

But that blasted dream had left her waking up all of a sudden. She could still recall it properly even now, which was odd for a dream. 

A pair of giant red eyes, looking in on her. A similar sensation of power in that gaze as when she'd sensed from afar when she'd touched the cube earlier when Adam had come to her shelter to offer her fish. Her mind had thrown the sensation aside for a little bit, but thinking on the dream again now it all came back to her mind as well. A magical nightmare, perhaps? Considering the fact she could use magic, that is, and that this thing was found in the center of an undead leading-...wait. 

This cube was inside of the center of a stronger undead leading a force of undead. Upon its loss, the rest of the undead enemies had fled. That much she knew. She'd had her suspicions earlier, but the last two incidents with herself and the cube were indicative of something. A connection, powerful but far away, which was of a magical sort. That certainly helped her theories about it's nature. 

And then it finally clicked into place. 

[color=gold]"...Oh Shi-"[/color]

This was connected to the one who had made it, and had been placed inside a leader of a force of undead constructs. This thing wasn't just some random magical cube, this was a [b][u]magical remote control device[/u][/b] of some kind. 

There were a few ways she could theorize about it, but what were the facts she knew for sure right now? 

The leader falls and the device hits the ground, right after which the enemy force collapses into retreat. As if the morale had broken or something...or the line of remote control had been broken. So it needed the vessel to work, the 'outer shell' it was put inside, to do whatever it was doing. 

It also reacted to her and gave her a thrumming, magical sensation akin to her staff. Yet this one was like something very far away was connected to it, that she could feel [i]through[/i] it, but whatever that distant thing was was likewise very powerful. Magically very powerful, if she followed the logic this far.

That enemy force was that of the 'Witch Queen', and if this individual was a magic user employing the undead to fight for her then it made sense that they would be more than familiar with the methods of necromancy and necromantic tools. Tools such as a core made to direct, control, or create an undead. Including, presumably, creating necromantic tools or devices to compel an undead force into battle remotely. 

Well, not that she knew how the undead worked in this world anyway. She was already making the comparison to a remote-controlled car as she was doing in her head right now, though, so it felt reasonable enough to continue with that comparison for the time being due to a lack of knowledge of this new world she was in.  

So therein was a cohesive(-ish?) theory in the end. Make a core for creating a special undead, then use it to create an undead 'leader' to direct the undead forces remotely. Undead leader is sent into battle, commanding the undead force which is being compelled by the magic of the device used to make said leader. Leader with the core is cut down, making the core just a component part again and effectively non-functional in that state. This removes the magic compelling the force of undead, which force crumbles and dissolves.

The information racing through the mage's head made her take pause, long enough that Fenna had by then gotten up the tree she went to climb and back down again. 

[quote=Fenna]"I don't think skeletons will be our only concern," she stated. "I saw an animal run away that was large enough to be a concern if there are more of them."
[/quote]

Mustering up the nerves to try to do something now, Lillianna walked a few steps forward to put herself in the middle of the other party members (rather than the back of the pack where she'd been standing thus far). Her face seemed to suddenly be covered in some sweat, not that they could see the likewise cold sweat running down her back at the same time, and her skin seemed a bit more pale...like she'd just seen a ghost or something of the sort. 

[color=gold]"Umm...w-we actually have might have much more of a problem than, er, any of that actually. A much bigger problem. 

I just realized what this cube is, as well as who made it I think, and the enemy maybe knows we have it and potentially knows where we were camping last night."[/color]

The words came out clunky feeling from her mouth, the nerves apparent in her speaking now at least, but she spoke loud enough to try to get everyone to hear her as she glanced around whilst speaking to the group. 

At the same time, it was also a [i]very sudden[/i] and [i]out of the blue[/i] claim as well, and in her mind the panic about potentially being laughed at or not believed was very real. Because how would this not sound utterly silly, if not preposterous at that, to just say in the middle of things without so much as a hint of warning beforehand? Much less being the last, and perhaps least-acquainted thus far, member of the group...or, well, that's how she felt about herself at least by this point in time.