The sound of someone violently emptying the contents of their stomach was heard in one of the cabins aboard the Clephsydra, as several concerned automatons were present. "Captain, are you alright? Perhaps we should turn back, and find an apothecary in one of the unaffected areas?" An armored myrmidon held a bucket steady before Shiloh as she hurled whatever she still had in her into it. "No…stay on course. I'm…fine." Pulling herself up, her complexion was paler than usual and she looked worse for wear. A sudden bout of illness hit once the new structure in the Bohar Plains had come into view, and she was feeling worse than she had ever been in a long time. Every so often she'd be running to the nearest repository to hold her vomited fluids, but despite her staff's concerns she insisted they fly closer until they had it in clear sight. She knew her staff meant well, but she knew the cause of her sickness wasn't anything potions or powders could cure. It was the fragments of negative cognition she had been holding inside reacting to the strong malicious presence radiating from the Warped Spire.

The intense nausea abating for a bit, she stood up and took a swig from her canteen to rinse her mouth, even though she'd likely be upchucking that too later. She didn't have time to deal with being physically ill. In one of the rooms, there was a large map of the continent of Canelux pinned to the wall. Nine locations were circled with red ink with a name of a Circle of Infernos next to them. Lines of red string were pinned from the geographical locations to a drawn black nonagon in the middle of the plains, signifying the Spire. "Alright everyone, listen up. Right now there are nine places that are being put through one of the Circles of Infernos. We have them lining the upper region, and the southern coast where Adeluna and Egjora are. Ironically, Vilpamolan is just fine but it's already suffering from vices on a daily basis."

The last weeks she had been collecting information on the state of the affected areas, determining their angle of attack. Rather than tackle the Warped Spire itself, the deity chose to instead focus efforts on alleviating some of the issues surrounding the nine places being thrown into chaos. Most of the areas were too dangerous for any of her staff, while others were possible points of consideration. Pointing, she tapped the capital of Arri, Mo'mey, the openings to the Umbral Depths, and Eyota Etu. "First off, these areas are completely off-limits to all employees of Antikythera. From what we've learned, they're just too dangerous for anyone. For attendants and myrmidons, the same goes for Egjora. I can't afford the risk of losing you if you go there." Pointing to Horae Island, Mamlak, Adeluna, and Endapano she circled them in blue ink. "Based on our intel, these four areas have been determined to be relatively less dangerous for us to begin our intervention. I'll be dispatching some of you to specific locations to help the people there."

She had been back in her home city when she received an urgent message from Shiloh to get out of Arri immediately. The Steward even came personally with the Clephsydra to take her back to the Machinarium. Normally she gave her employees a lot of freedom, so this sudden request must have meant something serious was going on. Nerine had only known the deity for a short while, but from the few times she had interacted with Shiloh she learned some things. The Steward was fairly reasonable, upfront, and candid about her intentions. Also, she never did anything without a very good reason.

Once she was in Parvpora she heard the news of Sularia devolving into madness. People were stricken with a maddening, all-consuming lust that drove them to death. Learning more on the details, she was thankful that Shiloh had extracted her out of the city when she did. Bringing her to Parvpora was the best that the deity could do to keep her safe. Soon after Canelux was in an uproar, Shiloh ordered all her employees not to leave the Machinarium while she and a handful of the citadel's automatons went to gather more information. Once the Steward determined they had a more complete grasp on the current situation, she brought Sylvain, Nerine, and a friend from Nisshoki on board as they set their course for the plains. With the eldritch and strange nine-sided spire in view, the deity began debriefing them on what they were going to do.

Pointing to the island off the Arriese coast, she looked at the scholar. "Nerine, you and Cymbel will be sent to Horae Island to rescue as many people as you can. The entire island's four sections have been overwhelmed with Glaciem, so we need to evacuate everyone to the Highlands and other unaffected regions in Canelux. For the time being we can't relocate them to Parvpora, so this is the best we can do." Shiloh then pointed to Adeluna. "Sylvain, you'll be dropped off at Adeluna City. There's reports of people turning into violent beasts without warning, so be prepared. I'll be heading to Endapano to further assess that region's condition, and after that I'll be heading towards Mamlak. Any questions?"

After raising a hand, Nerine voiced her concerns. "What about the Spire here in the plains? If the two deities responsible for all this are here, then wouldn't it be more sensible to bring it down so the chaos will end?" Shiloh clasped her hands together and went silent for a while, head looking down. Finally, she spoke. "I'm afraid even if I went up there, it wouldn't do much good. Do you remember that outbreak that took place in Adeluna months ago? The one started by that shop selling the Reaper's blood?" "Yes, I remember hearing about it while I was in Iria." Nerine said slowly, unsure of what the deity was getting at. "That time, after chaos broke out Dalanesca herself gave the city's populace a riddle. In that riddle was her answer to stopping the blood-frenzy outbreak. In order to convince her to put an end to it, people had to prove themselves worthy by making it through all nine Circles of Infernos to have an audience with her. But this time things are different. No riddles, no mention of salvation. Normally there'd be at least a ghost of a chance to turn things around–but not this time."

Nerine's heart sank as what Shiloh was saying set in. "You mean…she intends to keep things like this until she feels enough is enough." The Steward sighed, and nodded. "Also, it's not just her that's in on this. Xunatar's involved, and he's the one who caused that freak blizzard in the middle of Ignius that almost wiped out the entire summer crop. So the safest and best plan of action, is to go at this indirectly. If they feel that they can condemn the entire continent to the Circles, then I can choose to keep a few from dying before they face proper rehabilitation."

With the meeting reaching its conclusion, Shiloh instructed the pilot to begin flying southward to Adeluna. Everyone had received their assignments, and it would be a difficult trial for all of them. Even though Shiloh herself wasn't in good shape, she wasn't giving herself any excuse to sit back either. After leaving the docks, she watched as Adeluna grew further and further away. She was worried about what was going on in Sularia, but being there right now would just put herself in danger. Nerine knew that Shiloh was probably the most frustrated and upset out of everyone beneath that stiff face of hers, and likely felt resigned to just do what she could. As they were over the Nyella Ocean, the scholar closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself for the task set before her. Soon, her work would begin.