((Hmmm... Does tricking piecewise into thinking you have something count as belief-based magic?))
((Probably depends on how you trick him and if you're ever found out ))
The universe can be tricked, but the self righting mechanisms that kick in if it ever notices may be unpleasant.
Survey a particular warbeast. Does it have loot to speak of or have the thieving steppe monkeys and their trusty vegetation sidekicks claimed all? Our warbeast has houses, so it stands to reason that these might have some form of ruins on them or near them.
Though do bear in mind that what is dead cannot eternal lie and all that, and exercise caution nevertheless.
The warbeast itself appears to have transformed into dirt and stone; it's hair is gone and much of it has crumbled like dry soil. You can see the timbers of the back platform on this one; this one is laying on it's side, so the building is partially exposed, sticking out of the dirt and folliage. It is quite badly rotted. You'd have to dig into it to see if there's anything in there. There are scattered, degraded weapons on the battle field; the rusted shafts of spears being the most obvious. There are other bodies too, but very view are visible above ground. Most have been buried and overgrown you would assume.
"Hm. Origin I do not know, but its powered by blood. The grip and the rounds should be quite sharp, designed to cut flesh and leech some blood from the user. It's a powerful form of inherent magic, but its strength depends on the user and the potency of their blood. In your hands, it would be a powerful gun. In the hands of a general, with thousands of loyal troops and legions of fearful enemies, it could bring down a war beast in a shot. In the hands of the Conquering Great King, it could destroy gods and heavens."
- Whoah. Why thank you! That was very interesting to know, and it now seems a much better investment of my coins. But say, should I have not quite animal type blood, would it still work? I take it it just leeches on whatever vital bodily fluid it can absorb.
When John hears out what Engine Spirit has to say for that matter, he shouts to Mr. Bird:
- Hey! What do your elven avian eyes see? Do you see anything like a road? Or a wall of fog?
Watch around for the trail Warbeast left while roaming. Given we find it, we will follow it. If it ends/starts here, at this field, then, well, rely on any other landmark Mr. Bird can provide us with.
Also, think again about how Xan's arm is inconceivably getting better.
Think about his plant - about how dried leafs could probably be used for smokes, which fumes wouldn't cause canсer and stuff for regular people and engine corrosion for me. The square-ish leaf could dry out itself very quickly once torn; it can be then split into two layers, first one crumbling into ~5mm dry chunks to be used as the filler, and second one a bit sticky on one side, to be used to roll the filler in a tube.
((If somebody could put up a list of "features" our plant has I'd wiki that for future reference.))
"I do not know. It should still perform, but I do not know the specifics of how."
You can see what look like tracks as you head over to the battle field, but there are lots of them. It seems as though this beast wandered blindly around this area for a long time. The originals that lead it here are probably long gone.
You can do that, but doing that among actions is gonna have even less effect. To the point that neither xan nor the plant will really be noticeably changed.
"There could be a benefit to that actually - see if there are any engine spirits in particular, Mr. Bird. Or the husk of one, I suppose."
Xankarvo restrains his temptation to take the gun. What he wants is his magic back.
Actually wait, he hasn't even tried that yet has he?
Try to do magic! Specifically cast a fireball off into the distance.
(Note, I don't actually expect to be able to do magic this is just an action so Xan can start IC planning to get his powers)
((My plant currently has really smooth green leaves that are a narcotic. They give a rush when ingested.))
[6]
Your hand feels a little warm and you think you might have seen a bit of smoke.