15[20:13] <@VoxPVoxD> This is an age of sorrows. The world is diminished from what it once was, and from palaces to gutters people suffer what they've lost, and long for what they might yet claim. 15[20:15] <@VoxPVoxD> But in those dark moments, when all seems lost, those of valor and skill, blessed by the gods, can beat back waves of ruin and break, however briefly, the rising tides of despair. This is a time of heroes. 15[20:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Today, that hero is The Indomitable Nessun Dorma. [20:16] 14And, thankfully, not them. That sort of heroism is a lot more attention than they're probably ready for, at the moment. 15[20:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Even as the nightmares were washed away, the remnants of his handiwork are visible on Sentinel Hill when the sun rises to overlook the battle scene. The streets are torn up like a behemoth tracked across the city. Walls are subtly cracked. And there are fewer buildings in the heart of Nexus with buildings than there were before. [20:17] 7It's fine. It's fine. She's not angry. [20:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Speak for yourself, kid! That other fairy didn't even look like anyone Dorma knew! If Keldar'd had a damn great hammer- 15[20:19] <@VoxPVoxD> The glory is mostly his. It's his epithet, and the celebration in his honor, that have done much to ease the public's panic in the wake of the mysterious and ominous death of the Emissary. [20:19] <@Ferrinus> 12Well, maybe he'd be composed enough to format properly. 15[20:19] <@VoxPVoxD> But the glory is not his alone. 15[20:20] <@VoxPVoxD> All those who crowded around the murder scene remember the white-haired man who bid them back. They remember the iron in his voice. And now, wherever he holds court, people pay attention. He remains a Stranger, but he is more familiar. [20:21] 14More enthusiasm than sense, those people. All Stranger's holding court on at the moment is how he'll take his tea. [20:22] 05 Better Nessun Dorma be a hero for defeating an army of Fair Folk, than a hero for slaying the evil sorcerer Xu Sim. 15[20:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Those few who had some vantage point on the battle itself will recall the man who gave a good account of himself in that square, against the fae and the army. There aren't as many people with Keldar's name on their lips, but those few speak words of greater weight than multitudes. It's really quite remarkable, for a mortal to have acquitted himself so well. 15[20:24] <@VoxPVoxD> There's the young sorceress who found herself at the scene, trailing fire from her fingertips and raining it on the army. True magic is a novelty, even in Nexus, and those in the know now know Blossom by face if not by name. [20:25] 3As they say, all's well that ends well. Nobody got badly hurt, except for the guy who died. [20:26] <@Ferrinus> 12How the hell did the Emissary manage to die, though. [20:26] 14Very carefully. 15[20:26] <@VoxPVoxD> There's the little man that Nessun Dorma charged into that square to slaughter. The name that rung out from end to end of that square and up and down the city's gathering-places the day before. Xu Sim has made himself scarce for the moment. 15[20:27] <@VoxPVoxD> And Nessun Dorma has not given up the hunt. [20:27] 4More importantly, now that he's dead, he might be a little less inscrutable. Perhaps there's a reason behind his death, and his death itself might have the answer. 15[20:27] <@VoxPVoxD> ...but it's a more thoughtful man that seeks the Anathema today than the one that nearly slaughtered him last night. 15[20:29] <@VoxPVoxD> The man that brought another fae phantasm low by kicking a rock through its skull is the cause of much speculation. Nobody knows his name. Nobody can place that face. Theories abound; some say he is the Emissary come again. Some say he is some other local legend, like the Saint of the Undercity or the Black Judge. A fair few say that he was a demon summoned forth by the sorceress. 15[20:31] <@VoxPVoxD> And then of course there's the man of whom Nessun Dorma himself speaks most highly, when people crowd around at tea houses and on the streets. "...and the next thing I know, this man had tackled me..." 15[20:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud and Straw built a little legend of his own that night, and doors open to him. He receives a missive: he has a time and place to meet the Grey. [20:34] 3This is just and right. Mud and Straw closes his eyes nods upon reading the bold caligraphy, and folds the letter carefully to stow it in his pocket. With a mighty yawp the fat man rises from the stool at the bar and staggers off to his destiny. 15[20:35] <@VoxPVoxD> So the days after the death of the Emissary are bright and easy ones all around. The Green Apples are being approached for new business, and for the first time in months Keldar sees people signing up under his name for whatever assignment awaits his deft touch. And everyone has a few days to pursue their dreams in the City of Rivers. [20:36] 3From whom did the letter come? The Grey's cult? The Immaculate Order? 15[20:36] <@VoxPVoxD> It bears the imprimatur of the Gray himself. The ink had run a bit, and the letter had the rumpled feel of paper that had previously been damp. [20:39] 14Stranger is doing a lot of reading. Old scrolls and books, mainly secured via new "friends" in the local houses of learning who now know -- or think they know -- who he is. Social niceties and court manners of the lesser kingdoms of the East are his current interest, and there's a lot of material out there. [20:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's actually somewhat slow to find work, simply because many of the people of Nexus who suddenly fear for their security or want to take opportunities to even scores simply cannot afford his rates. The mercenary spends much of his time in a combination of calculation and soul-searching, asking himself what this massive upset means - and what it should mean - for Keldar's [20:39] <@Ferrinus> 12crareer. [20:39] 14When he's not reading, he's wandering about the city. There's something about Nexus, something he still can't quite place, calling to him across the years.. 15[20:40] <@VoxPVoxD> Where does Stranger wander? [20:42] <@Ferrinus> 12The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that the thought of Nexus falling, whether to wyld invaders or simply to whatever accident of contingency's managed to provide every other city in the Scavenger Lands with a ruling warlord or high priest or god-blood or what have you, simply doesn't sit well with him. It goes beyond simple economic inconvenience or unfamiliarity. [20:42] <@Ferrinus> 12There was something special here. Nexus can't just lose the force behind the Dogma, turn into any other Scavenger Lands metropolis. [20:42] 14About. He's not familiar with the neighborhoods of Nexus, nor is he particularly interested in learning them to a great degree. He wanders mainly by feel. He will make a point of not just sticking to the rich or traveller-friendly areas of town. [20:42] 4The Emissary's death is important, and dangerous, and the forces arrayed against it too much for the Judge to handle on his own. But there are others. [20:43] <@Ferrinus> 12So it is that Keldar informs his company that he's willing to offer lower rates to the Council of Entities itself, and decides that he's got to, got to get to the bottom of this thing with the Emissary, and the moron with the cabbage cart. He starts asking questions and making arrangements - he wants to see the merchant. He wants to see the body. He's an adventurer, he's a scavenger, [20:43] <@Ferrinus> 12he's seen all sorts of weird and dangerous shit. Come on, this is important! [20:44] 7It is, at least, not difficult to learn about the people the whole city is talking about. [20:47] 3Well then. Mud stumbles past the tap, refilling his flask, taking a swig, topping it off again and staggering out the door. Where's this meeting place supposed to be on the letter? 15[20:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger sees a bitter city off the beaten path. The rich prosper and the poor suffer from pole to pole of Creation, but in few places do they do so in such proximity, at such disparity, as they do in Nexus. There are palatial estates on one of Nexus's many hilltops, in whose shadow a slum grows like mushrooms in the shade. The humid Undercity, which would be stifling and noxious if not for the great old wonderworked fans that keep air moving down here, sits beneath temples and untold riches above. [20:59] 14The same story everywhere... [20:59] 7In fact, she has time to take Princess on morning rides, which is nice. It's much easier to avoid answering questions atop a riding-lizard, and it gives her time to think. [21:00] 7She's reasonably confident that 'Stranger-Visits-Heaven' is also a Chosen of the Sun, but how to broach the subject in Nexus? What about the others, as well? Keldar displayed skill at least on a par with Nessun Dorma, but that doesn't necessarily make him an Exalt... 15[21:01] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar gets politely rebuffed. His talent as an adventurer and his experience as a scavenger are beyond question. But the body and the merchant are not just of paramount concern to city governance, they are so bizarre even though who have kept them struggle to comprehend. The Crematory Temple is on triple guard, and more than one would-be interloper has been publicly and gruesomely executed. The Emissary, presumably, would have wanted it that way. 15[21:02] <@VoxPVoxD> If he wants legal access, he'll need either some official standing and sanction within the city, or the assistance of an expert. 15[21:02] <@VoxPVoxD> And frankly... the latter's probably a good idea anyway. 15[21:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud visits a solemn temple at the far end of Nexus, where the river crosses the border into the city. It's spare and, in times when the river runs clean and quiet, as it does right now, there are only a modest number of worshippers. A middle-aged woman in a gray smock will catch Mud's eye as he waddles up the steps, a small crowd of observers behind him like fleas. 15[21:04] <@VoxPVoxD> "Sir?" [21:05] <@Ferrinus> 12Okay, but the hell kind of expert does Keldar know that the city hasn't already got on staff, and who also isn't on the run for being an accused demon? There's Xu Sim, conceivably, but that'll make it harder to get access, not easier. Dorma's camraderie makes it real easy to get drinks, but not much easier to get security clearance. 15[21:06] <@VoxPVoxD> That's a good point, Keldar's internal monologue. [21:07] 3Mud and Straw bows, sweat gathering on his forehead and running painfully into his eyes as he strains to remain upright through the act. Politeness demands much of the portly. "Greetings Madame. I am Mud and Straw of the Grey River Alliance." 3He claps his hands together. "I am to meet with the Gray." [21:10] 7Hrmph. Blossom returns to the teahouse she's staying at after stabling Princess, and will wait until Stranger isn't overwhelmed by supplicants or gawkers. 15[21:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom ponders this as she rides through Nexus, Princess snapping at the odd honeybee as she bears her mistress down the streets. She hears much, with a careful ear, of her impromptu allies from the night before. Keldar is a mercenary, one of the best of the best, a former gladiator and one of the most prized members of the Ninth Orchard Company, known by the sign on their banner as the Green Apples. 15[21:11] <@VoxPVoxD> It's one of the premier mercenary organizations in the city, and by extension, the Scavenger Lands. [21:11] 14The Green Apples. [21:11] 14How...intimidating. [21:12] 7A mercenary is like a sword - not a soldier, but something a soldier uses. Still, he certainly backed up the Green Apples' fierce reputation. [21:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Hey! It's a storied mercenary company! [21:12] 3Mud and Straw has been staying at the cramped, stuffy offices of the river authority which are wedged between some princely estate's vanity project and a customs office. A handful of freshly-washed mumus are hanging on a string to dry out the second-story window, flapping like battle banners in the breeze. 15[21:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim studies and wonders. He finds a very strong system and lives just beneath the attention of the powers that be. His studies and auguries prove largely obscure, but precisely so. Something confounds his divination, and concretely so. He gets the impression that he would do far better with help. He has been able, via meditation, to deduce a strong lineage from the Emissary to the cabbage merchant. Something akin to reincarnation, perhaps. But not quite. 15[21:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Where is Xu Sim holed up when the Black Judge finds him, and what face does the Judge wear when they cross paths? [21:16] 05 Xu Sim is dangling, upside down, holding on to a rope dangling in a disused corner of a large Guild depot. He is deep in concentration. There is a small, hideous dog there as well, alternatingly licking Xu's face and helping itself to a small rice patty. 15[21:16] <@VoxPVoxD> The priestess, to Mud: "Yes, of course. He'll see you shortly. Right this way." Mud's led past prayer-rooms containing altars of a robed man of medium height, of vast millipedes, of the positions of the stars in the sky during the flood season, when the Gray gives life to the fields. [21:17] 4A dusky, feminine voice says from the rafters above the rope: "I've been looking for you, Xu Sim. So have others." 15[21:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Twice-Refined Princess has some competition for the rice. Whatever binding agent holds it together is apparently sweet enough to have attracted the attentions of a honeybee, which the little dog ably keeps at bay. 15[21:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom learns that Mud and Straw is here as the foreman of the Gray River Alliance, a collection of interests up the river, in the vast and feuding Threshold territories known as the Hundred Kingdoms. It's a levee project, easily the largest public work Blossom's ever heard of not being run by a Dragon-Blooded engineer. Rumor goes that Mud and Straw saved the levee from collapse almost single-handedly. 15[21:20] <@VoxPVoxD> About the others, there is less. Stranger is known now for what he's done since Blossom met him, rumors as to his origins are many and fanciful. Xu Sim is Anathema, a demon-summoner and kingslayer, and has not been seen since that faithful battle. And the Judge remains the Judge. [21:20] "I must apologize then, as I'm in no condition to entertain." 05 He opens a single eye to scan the room, to see where it could be coming from. [21:20] 4A dark-haired, dark-skinned woman sits comfortably, somehow, on the beam supporting Xu Sim's study rope. Her eyes are emerald green, and she's clad in a knee-length black dress, with hose for modesty. "Not to say it was easy finding you. Luckily for you, since I'm sure Nessun Dorma hasn't given up." [21:20] 3The fat man bumbles after the priestess, despairing as she leads him up another set of stairs. [21:21] "I can't believe he would. But hopefully next time, I have more than a moment's notice before two hundred pounds of Jade hammerhead tries to pummel me into the earth like a nail." [21:22] "You did an able job avoiding it, however, and convincing him not to try again. And it's that subtlety I need to find out what has happened to the Emissary." [21:23] "He has died." 05 He opens both eyes and narrows them again, staring down his body and up at the woman sitting there. [21:23] "Well done. Cabbages have killed the Emissary. But how? And why?" [21:24] "So, 3[huff] I must again thank you fervently for arranging this meeting. We at the Alliance have [3huff] so many questions to ask of the Gray. So much strangeness has occured and now, I'm sure you've noticed, the weather-" 15[21:24] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger returns to the teahouse having wandered the city, chasing deja vu. He finds it, in glimmers, in three places, each obscured to him in different ways. One is the Crematory Temple, the great white palace where the dead are protected and studied. He has walked those halls. Second is the churning confluence where the Gray and the Yellow give birth to the Yanaze. He has swum these waters. Third is the great gold dome visible in the heart of Firewander, which the educated say was the heart of city government in a bygone age, when the city had another name. He has presided there. [21:25] 3He halts to catch his breath before continuing after the priestess. "And Daspes is still missing.." [21:25] 14Presided. [21:25] 14He returns to the teahouse with new subjects to read on in mind. [21:26] "Most philosophers admit every thing that happens has a reason. But most philosophers would also agree, that getting involved in affairs of state can be dangerous business." 05 He glances over at his dog, snapping at the bee as it flits about the rice-and-honey cake. 15[21:26] <@VoxPVoxD> In the teahouse, Stranger sees Blossom and a bandannad man in plain clothes. Each discreetly watches the door, and each shifts their attention as he enters: Blossom to Stranger, and the plain man away from him. [21:27] 14Hmmm. [21:27] "Dangerous business, Xu Sim, is my specialty. And I suspect that that's what you need. And I need someone who knows about sorcery and more, because there's something very strange at work here." 15[21:28] <@VoxPVoxD> And then there are, of course, the motleyed crowds of Nexus, who he cannot escape. Some of them are in the tea house, and some of them raise their glasses in a toast at his entrance. [21:28] 14He will nod to the young woman and return to his customary seat. Presumably if she's here to see him -- and he suspects she is -- she'll find her way to him in time. [21:28] 14Until then he modestly deflect the attentions of his public. [21:30] "You're quite astute, then. I am very well acquainted with many things, including sorcery, and I am in need of help from very dangerous people." 15[21:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud is borne upwards - the structure of the temple is quite marvelous. What looked cylindrical on the outside is revealed to be a long circuitous path with many stairs that circumscribes the rooms of worship and tribute, until reading the highest point, a wide open level with little altars and a sealed chamber at the heart of it. [21:31] 7Blossom will indeed find her way over to Stranger's table. "We should speak - privately." [21:32] "There were others there, at the scene of his murder. Others who I think can help us." [21:32] "Mmm." 14Ah. Good tea. "I believe there is a Gateway set on the back porch. Care to join me?" [21:33] 7Nice house. "That will do." [21:34] "Keldar, the mercenary. Mud and Straw, I believe his name was? The man who wrestled Nessun Dorma to the ground. The sorceress and swordsman who kept the crowd back." 15[21:34] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud is given a prominent place to catch his breath. It seems the god of the river has other business at just this moment. Maybe Mud's a bit early? [21:35] 14Once they're outside: "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I am Stranger-Visits-Heaven." [21:35] "There were hundreds of people there that day. Some of them certainly could - in fact, some of them have helped already. But to know me is poisonous. I am not even certain if I can know myself... But I do not believe I know you. What is your name, lady in darkness? Who do you serve?" [21:36] "People who can help are those I am interested in. As for me... the young blonde man, fighting alongside the mercenary and the Dynast?" 4She inclines her head. "I wear many faces in my work." [21:37] 3That is perhaps possible. But Mud cannot imagine that gods have a great deal of problems with scheduling. He sits down on a stout marbled bench and collects himself. 15[21:39] <@VoxPVoxD> "The NERVE of these cheap, greedy bastards! The money-men of Nexus would see a man bleeding to death on the street and haggle over the price of bandages." Khelendros is in a bad mood, when Keldar finds him. "No, Keldar, no work yet. The Council isn't willing to put up the money. 'The wrong message', she said. Let's see Pellicia say that to my damn face!" [21:39] "And you don't like to answer questions." 05 Xu carefully watches the bee as it flits about the remains of his dinner. He suddenly strikes out to grasp it. [21:40] 7Blossom: "I am Excessively Righteous Blossom, daughter of House Cathak." 7Quietly: "And we are both chosen of the Sun." [21:40] <@Ferrinus> "The wrong goddamn- this is exactly," 12Keldar slams a fist down on the nearest convenient surface. "-when the city oughta be drawing on all its resources! The damn Emissary!" [21:41] 14Stranger chuckles. It's not immediately clear whether this is at Blossom's full name, her revelation about the two of them, or both. "I'm not entirely familiar with the term, but I think I can guess its meaning. And I suspect we're not the only ones in Nexus right now to have been so, ah, Chosen." 15[21:42] <@VoxPVoxD> The Captain of the Ninth Orchard Company is an older man, his brown skin layered with many battle scars. He's lost most of the sight in his right eye, but the left is dark and keen and flashes with anger. One of his hands rests lightly on the great sword at his back - a thoughtful gesture rather than a violent one. That hand runs periodically through his green hair and the soft branches that run out from his temples. He's not a proper Dragon-Blooded, as far as Keldar knows, but he's got the blood of the East in him all the same. [21:42] 05 His hand shoots out, quick as a viper, holding the honeybee gently by its abdomen. He scoots the plate towards the dog, who drools thin gobs of the stuff in excitement as she horks down what remains. [21:42] "Perhaps not. Not being known is part of what keeps me dangerous. Do you want to investigate this matter? It sounds like you're already doing so." [21:43] 7Her face lights up with a fierce grin. "I knew it! What did he tell you? Did he give you that little familiar?" [21:43] 3Mud unfurls a scroll and, producing a feather-pen and inkwell from his pouch begins to dot down some figures in the free time that he has. This isn't uncommon. Mud sometimes fills his spare time with the crafting of steel or the construction of (what else) bricks and brackets- but as a guest in another city, he has neither the time nor the means. Instead, he busies himself himself [21:43] 3with doodling of the architecture he sees, the theorizing of construction, and the drawing of maps, typically of the levee and the ever-changing routes of the two rivers that become one. 15[21:44] <@VoxPVoxD> It's a mixed blessing. At this moment, and at this proximity, Keldar can smell field-fresh daisies. When he's outside it's common for a songbird to alight on his shoulder and sing merrily. These things typically serve to make him madder. "And what will they do when their precious hero is gone? What will they do when the public realizes it has no champion anymore? The crazy old sow - you bring the mercenaries in now, and it's least likely to cause a panic." [21:45] "I told you The Emissary died. But I am considerably less confident that The Emissary is dead. If you can help me answer this riddle, and keep my head, I'll tolerate..." 05 He releases the honeybee, and a moment later, rolls to the ground, and then at last his feet. He looks up at her. 15[21:45] <@VoxPVoxD> "But that's Pellicia. When you think she's going for her sword, she just reaches down to tighten her purse-strings instead." [21:45] "...A bit of mystery on your part." [21:45] 14Ra pokes his head out of Stranger's collar at the mention of himself. "He didn't speak with me directly. I am given to understand that he only has that sort of relationship with some of us, not all. I believe he did send this little fellow, however, yes." [21:45] "Say hello, Ra." 14The mouse squeaks. 15[21:46] <@VoxPVoxD> The bee is fat and stupid, and finds itself in Xu Sim's fingers swiftly enough. The stinger is delicate, but most remarkable is the fuzz that comes off in his hands. It's gilt and rough. It feels more like metal filings than a bee's dander. But the thing in his hands is a real and living thing. 15[21:46] <@VoxPVoxD> A touch of pollen lingers on his fingertips as he lets it go. [21:47] "To work, then?" 4The woman leaps down out of the rafters and lands easily on the floor of the depot. 15[21:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Khelendros: "And as if that's not bad enough, the people I can hire off have made themselves scarce! Raptor hasn't been by all day. Lazy bastard." [21:48] <@Ferrinus> "You can say that again." 12Keldar pauses - what did happen to that guy in the confusion? [21:48] "He gave me a calling." 7Blossom closes her eyes and her face softens as she remembers. "'You shall bring about the rule of righteousness in the land. You shall destroy the wicked and the evildoers, so that the strong should not harm the weak.'" 15[21:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor Quan didn't follow Keldar into the heart of the city when the bells began tolling. At least, not directly. But Raptor's always had a finer touch than Keldar. He's not a fighter. [21:49] "Lead the way, and not into a trap, please." 05 Xu says, as he sniffs the pollen for a moment before wiping it on his shirtsleeve. [21:49] 14Stranger's mouth straightens. "Well, you've certainly come to the right place." 14He shakes his head. "The Undercity is...appalling." [21:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I haven't seen him since the attack. Whatcha need him for?" 15[21:52] <@VoxPVoxD> As Mud and Straw calculates, he can hear the door to Gray's inner sanctum slide stonily open. Small, soft-shoed feet make their exit. Mud feels a presence behind him, and hears a little voice say, "Fascinating work, sir. A builder?" [21:54] 7Blossom scowls. "This entire city is appalling. You said you thought there were others like us. Who? Where? I thought maybe 'Keldar', but..." 15[21:54] <@VoxPVoxD> Khelendros: "Oh, one of the Guild concerns is getting paranoid. Without the Emissary, who's there to stop them from bleeding each other into the rivers like the dogs they are?" In mock sadness: "What a tragedy that would be." [21:55] "Why, yes!" 3Mud glances up toward the sound of the voice, preparing himself to stand if the precession coming from the sanctum are about to address him. 15[21:55] <@VoxPVoxD> "Have you seen him?" [21:56] 14Stranger: "The mercenary Keldar. The doctor Xu Sim. And that great big man who held back the mountain." 14He frowns and moves a piece on the Gateway board. "And someone else, too." [21:56] "Did you see a blonde man when we were in here last?" 15[21:56] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud sees a bald man with small, dark glasses. There is no other procession emerging from the sanctum, though Mud's priestess-guide scurries inside in the little man's wake. "What do you aim to build?" [21:57] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar probably hasn't seen the guy, but has he heard anything? 15[21:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar's a bit surprised to hear Raptor hasn't been in, since by all accounts he's still out and about in the city - probably at whatever teahouse hasn't kicked him out for nonpayment yet. Raptor's a cheapskate. 15[21:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim snuffles a bit of the pollen into his nostrils, and sees stars briefly. There's a dusty, hazy feeling behind his eyes, and he feels ever so slightly out of it, as if he were drowsy or sleepwalking. [22:00] 3He sets down the featherpen and, inhaling, adjusts his weight on the bench. "Most anything, friend. At the moment, I find myself at the head of a public works project!" 3He beams with enthusiasm, rolling up the scroll and replacing it into his robes. "Have you heard of the Grey River Alliance?" [22:01] "Are you alright?" [22:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar squints into the distance. "Isn'e, uhh... gods, what's it called. The teahouse south of Sentinel where the statues still have inlaid jewels for some reason? Thought I heard." [22:03] "In the end, I guess it's a means to an end. It's so hard to get anyone to work together in this age. I've read history books, you know.." [22:03] "Pretty, uh, unusual pollen. Don't recognize it. I'll have to figure it out, later, but later. Later! First, we have work to do." [22:04] "But there's so much!" 3Mud beams, clinging to his pouch full of writing utensils. "You once, in my apprenticeship, I visited the ruins of the Gray's dam. So. Great. I mean, what, what would it be like if we had its like in our time?" [22:04] you know* 15[22:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Khelendros: "Well, wherever he is, he's avoiding me. And I can't haul him in. He's not scared of me." The emphasis on the last word is heavy, and a significant look at Keldar accompanies it. 15[22:05] <@VoxPVoxD> "A profound question," says the little man to Mud. "But those days are gone, are they not?" [22:05] 4The woman nods. "Let's go, then. Keep your head down." [22:06] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Alright, alright. I got business in that direction anyway." 12Not strictly true, but Keldar's always liked the old man. Before long, the Dawn caste's off. [22:06] "They can come again! I mean, probably. Time in a wheel, or so I'm told the philosophers say." [22:06] "I'm Mud and Straw" 3He offers the little man his hand. 15[22:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "Bubo Malcavet," the little man replies, shaking it in turn. His grip is firm but he's quick to retract his hand. "Attache to Nessun Dorma. He speaks quite highly of you, you know." [22:07] "Should be easy enough." 05 Xu throws on a rough woolen cloak he's picked up somewhere, with quite a large hood that he throws over his head. He snaps twice, and the dog swallows the last of his dinner with a loud gurgle, and trots along just behind. [22:08] 7Blossom: "No." [22:08] "He was here. And he was also at the scene of the Emissary's death." [22:09] "I'd speak highly of him, if I had any friends in this city to speak to!" 3He chuckles. "I am glad that he did not take our roughhousing the wrong way. That's happened before, you know." [22:09] "Might not be one of us, but certainly appears to have a vested interest." 15[22:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Mmm. I believe some of your friends were able to cast the struggle in a positive light for him. Almost inspirational, really. I haven't seen him in so fine a mood in... I can't recall ever. You did good work together." 15[22:13] <@VoxPVoxD> The Judge leads Xu Sim through Nexus. There are two concerns here, one simpler than the other. Finding the others should be easy enough - they are known, now, more or less. But Xu Sim remains a wanted fugitive of the Wyld Hunt. So: who does Judge seek out first, and what do he and Xu Sim do to evade attention? [22:13] "Speaking of unremarkable people from the teahouse. Did you see a man with a bandanna when you came in?" 15[22:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom saw him, certainly. He's still there, minding his own business by the looks of it. [22:14] 7Blossom: "Yes, what about him?" [22:14] "He seemed very interested in not looking very interested in me when I entered. I was wondering if you knew him." [22:14] "I know many men like Nessun Dorma.It was nothing we did, really. The goodness was in him from the beginning, otherwise he would not have been so dedicated to his late king, as is just and right." 3Mud adopts a serious tone for a moment as he places his quill and the inkwell into the pouch and ties up the knot. "He is a good man. It is a sign of this age that we ever came close to [22:14] blows in the first place." [22:16] 7Does she? 15[22:16] <@VoxPVoxD> She doesn't. 15[22:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Too true. Too, too true." He sighs. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, sir. But I have pressing business. Many things that need my attention, yes yes yes. We simply must speak again, in a slower time. I would love to hear what you dream of building, sir. Good day." [22:20] "Good day, Bubo!" [22:21] 4The Judge leads Xu Sim through tunnels and sewers and all manner of dark places. Shady characters abound, but a swift hand signal from the woman sets them aside, murmuring respectfully. "Hopefully we can find the rest without complication. The city's... different, lately." 15[22:21] <@VoxPVoxD> The little man is gone, and the priestess has taken his place at Mud's shoulder. "If you're ready, sir." [22:21] 3Mud beams pleasantly, waving at the departure of his new friend. If no other matters draw his attention, he returns to sketching of the temple's archit- ah, well. Another time then. [22:22] 3Mud levers himself to his feet and folows, smiling. 15[22:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar's investigations are discreet and efficient. Asking around some mutual acquaintances, Keldar learns that Raptor's been poking around in Windburn district, and after heading there he sees a tea-house, the Solemn Bear, and even from the bottom of the hill Raptor's bandanna is apparent inside. It's only as he gets closer that the angle affords him a view of Blossom and Stranger at the Gateway set in the back. [22:24] 7Blossom: "No." [22:24] 7Blossom: "No." [22:25] "Hmm." 14Stranger sips his tea. "Months and months without running into another one of us, and now what? Perhaps a half-dozen of us here in Nexus. All at once. Interesting coincidence." [22:25] <@Ferrinus> 12There we are. Keldar peers at the two strategists for a moment before deciding to see about his business first, and his voice is easily heard out the back as he goes stomping in through the front of the building. "Oi, Raptor! Where've you been?" [22:26] 14Stranger hears the loud, gruff booming of Keldar the mercenary and turns, frowning. "Apparently the man's name is Raptor." 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> The heart of the temple is all but featureless. The room is hexagonal, the barest remnants of prayers carved into the stone all around the walls and then eroded to near-nothingness. At the heart of the sanctum is a large pool, also hexagonal, filled with cold clear water that reflects the room's diffuse light against the walls in rippling waves. A middle-aged man's head, gray at the temples, is visible above the gently bobbing water. 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> He greets Mud and Straw with a closing of the eyes. 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> The priestess departs to give man and god their privacy. [22:28] "You must be dangerous to know, if you go by routes like these through the city," 05 notes Xu. [22:30] 3The fat man bows once more. Would it be more appropriate to suplicate? Mud's sweatier than usual. He knows very little of the proper etiquette for meeting a god. 15[22:30] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor flinches at Keldar's voice and looks around the room, not looking in Stranger or Blossom's direction. Then he motions Keldar over. [22:30] 3There's a moment of uncomfortable silence. Mud breaks it the only way he knows how: "You must forgive me. I was raised in a barn." [22:31] "You must forgive me. I was raised in a barn." [22:31] "What brings you to Nexus, Blossom?" 14Stranger asks, eyes still on Keldar and 'Raptor.' "What are you looking for?" 15[22:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu finds the trip blissfully short, periods of quiet movement elapsing in subjective seconds, as if he were drifting from one significant moment to the next. When the woman's many guides and allies point her through shadowed roads to the bright and airy Windburn, where Judge wore a different face and heard foreign bells a couple of days before, his eyes are drawn to flowers like eyesores. [22:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar wonders idly if he's ruined something before sitting down across from the man. He gives him an expectant look. 15[22:32] <@VoxPVoxD> A single rose grows up from a crack in the cobbles, its red so violent as to linger on Xu Sim's retinas after he looks away. 15[22:32] <@VoxPVoxD> It's a slightly untidier section of the street. People park their carts there, from the looks of it, though at the moment that spot is empty. [22:34] 7Blossom: "Forbidden lore." 7She counts off on her fingers. "What prayers does the King of Heaven find pleasing? How can we recognize his Chosen? The Immaculates must know. Also the introductory secrets of sorcery, and where the treasures of our ancient kingdoms are buried." [22:34] 4The woman seems way more interested in the flower than Xu Sim is. She guides him on a wider path, to give herself time to study it carefully. [22:35] 14Stranger: "I have some suspicions about the latter." 14He taps his forehead, where his caste mark would be. "Thankfully they're not permanently stamped on there." 15[22:35] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "So who's maddest right now?" [22:36] 05 Xu is quite interested in the flower, in fact! He glances at it from his peripheral vision. What a strange and beautiful thing to observe, such eye searing beauty, singularity of purpose... [22:37] 4She steers Xu Sim towards their destination at least, leaning in to whisper. "That rose is new. I suspect your bee friend has something to do with it." [22:37] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Uh, regarding you? Probably the chief. What're ya doin'?" 15[22:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor leans in, whispering. "I think I'm on to something, here." [22:38] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar mirrors the motion. "Yeah?" [22:38] "It's also where the cabbage cart came from." 15[22:39] <@VoxPVoxD> The Gray's voice is deep and bassy and flat in affect. "Manners aside I am obliged to respect the man and the office. Good day, foreman. You have proven a hard man to ignore." 15[22:40] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor speaks very softly, so quietly Keldar can't be sure if he's whispering or if Keldar's just reading his lips. "About the Emissary." [22:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, shit." [22:41] "What? That's extraordinarily..." 05 Xu Sim yawns. [22:43] "I mean, the honeybee, it was an odd creature. It felt strange, in my fingers. And the pollen might be making me..." 05 he yawns again. [22:44] 3Mud beams. "Uh, likewise, likewise! Few can ignore the will of the Gray, it is said." [22:44] "Should we... try to take it? Study it? It's very... obvious, but also potentially dangerous." 15[22:44] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "You were there, right? It doesn't make sense what happened. A cabbage cart? He's the Emissary. So I asked around a little, tried to see if I could get a look at the body. No good. They blocked me out." [22:44] "But there are some things that the Alliance needs to know of... things that I would ask you." 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "...so I tried asking about things they would talk about." [22:45] "People have died, Gray. A god, as well." 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> "Daspes." replies the Gray. [22:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Same story here. What'dja get?" [22:46] "If it's dangerous, it doesn't belong out here in the street. Let's pluck it carefully, and wrap it in something. Gods know what a prick of its thorn would do to a man." [22:47] "You're the expert. I'll keep eyes out to see who watches." 15[22:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "The trick was to pretend the Emissary's just another guy. What do you do if you come across a regular murder that looks suspicious? You look for a motive. Who wanted the victim dead? So I started trying to figure out who had the most to gain if the Emissary swung out." [22:48] 3He's nodding, looking for any change in the Gray's demeanor as he speaks, finding none. "I saw Daspes dead at the levee collapse, when the drowned dead arose. She has not returned since. I am no priest, so I cannot discern the signs of what any of this might mean." [22:48] "But I, and the Alliance, wish to know." [22:51] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar frowns to himself and looks off at a wall, here. "...can't be anyone on the Council. Can't be a guildsman, right? Wouldn't it come down to some fairy or demon or somethin'?" [22:52] 3Mud folds his hands into the sleeves of his mumu. "Who has attacked us, Gray?" 15[22:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "Your curiosity is genuine and sensible. I can satisfy some of it." [22:54] 05 Xu Sim makes his thinking face. His brow lowers, he takes a grand step with each leg, once, and then slowly walks a circle around the rose, studying it from every angle. He folds his arms and leans in to look at it very, very closely. He wags one eyebrow at it, and then the other. All while doing this, one of the greatest geniuses in all Creation is carefully pondering the mysteries and... [22:54] ...the vibrant, violent, red of this one, red red rose. 15[22:55] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "See that's what I thought too, but- ssh! Keep cool, but a couple of the other guys from the square are up here. It's like everyone but the big two, now. I knew this place was important." [22:56] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "The big- Hey. Hey, maybe you weren't watchin', but I damn near carved that fucker apart." [22:58] "Thank you, your M-"3Majesty? Mightiness? How does one address a god, anyhow? "Gray." 15[22:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim contemplates it. He could write a koan of his insights. The rose and bee are kin to one another, it's true. Each exists for the other. And they represent not the culmination but the rudiments of ecosystem. The bee and rose alike are the first seeds of a garden to germinate. Grasp it gently beneath the bud as one might cradle a child's head, and pinch it off from the ground, where the thorns are bluntest. Do not touch the stem. Do not inhale too deeply of the exile's rose. 15[22:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor raises his hands. "I just meant by size." [22:59] "Our principal concern- my principle concern- is with the attack on the levee. Lives were lost, and the project was set back quite a bit." 15[23:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "I had considered it folly from the start. You may recall this. Time has proven me right but in a manner most unnatural." [23:00] "The project continues." 15[23:03] <@VoxPVoxD> "Daspes suffered a wound and been slow to recover. It festers. She has undertaken to rebirth herself. She will return in time. The sickness that plagues her is the sickness that plagued the river and your men. In the distance, I can feel a foreign presence tainting it. Past the highlands the river's sick with sin. Its object is shadowed from me, and the poison itself bars my soul's waters." [23:03] 05 What a strange ecosystem it must represent, all but hidden to him if not for the annoyed yips of a dog harassed at mealtime. Xu Sim abruptly bends at the waist, reaching down with both hands to pluck it, with the care of a gardner trimming a thousand-year old juniper. 15[23:04] <@VoxPVoxD> "It pains me to admit this but in that distance I cannot feel its currents. It is a numbed limb." [23:04] 4The Judge is watched and watches. He hopes that Xu Sim will hurry, but knows it can't be rushed. [23:05] 3Mud: "Yikes." 15[23:05] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "Wait, shit... that's the guy. That's the guy! The guy Nessun Dorma's looking for. You know the bounty Lookshy put on his head?" [23:06] "Pffhhhhhhhhhew,"3 Mud exhales, after a time. "That sounds.. bad." [23:06] "What would cause such a thing?" [23:08] 05 Xu Sim hurries back over towards the woman, whose name he still does not know, with the rose in hand. [23:09] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Okay, so where were you going with this. Who's the sayyyyy you're right." [23:09] 4The woman strolls up to Xu Sim and puts a hand on his shoulder. "A rose? For me?" 4And then, quietly. "We are being watched. By the mercenary... and another." 15[23:12] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "Even split two ways, you could buy a mansion with that money and have enough left over to throw the kind of party that'd knock it down." 15[23:13] <@VoxPVoxD> It's abrupt, the shift in Raptor's attention from a mystery to money. But it's not unprecedented. Raptor Quan might be the only man in the company greedier than Keldar. [23:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah, but look. First, if he's some sort of forbidden sorcerer - who was on the scene right there - he might have some idea of what actually went on. And second, literally the same people stopped him getting taken in the first time are all within a block." [23:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, besides the fat guy, but that had to be some kinda fluke." 15[23:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "So what's the play?" [23:15] "How could I refuse such a charming and mysterious woman?" 05 Xu Sim presents it with some aplomb. [23:16] "Be careful, it's only to be looked at; not touched or smelled." 15[23:16] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "I have met with men in pursuit of an answer to that very question and they have denied me. But I can do little to object. They did intimate I would be able to enlist you to find out in exchange for a more favorable posture towards your project." [23:16] "You keep it, my dear. To remember me." 4Quietly, "Let's approach them." [23:17] "Teahouse is getting crowded," 14Stranger murmurs. [23:17] 3Mud frowns. "That seems pretty low if you ask me!" [23:17] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "See what he knows, get him to help look into the cabbage thing, drop him in front of Dorma as soon as it's settled." [23:18] "If I wanted to persuade you to favor my project, I'd be happy to do a presentation or something. To make you trade favors in order to find out- that's pretty messed up!" [23:18] "Who were these men?" [23:18] "As you wish," 05 He slips the rose into one of his long, loose sleeves. [23:19] "Hopefully they won't attack us. If they do, I suggest dodging again." [23:19] "What are they up to?" 7she wonders. 15[23:19] <@VoxPVoxD> "An agent of Heaven. The name escapes me. This is their custom." 15[23:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "You think you can handle him if things get hot?" [23:20] "Well that's awful! I'll find out who did this, and fix it! You don't need to like me or the levee! That feels.. dirty." [23:20] 3The fat man waggles his fingers in disgust. 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "In exchange for what?" [23:21] "Let's have tea sometime?" [23:21] "I've got a running bet with a few of my workmen about whether or not you're made of eels." 15[23:21] <@VoxPVoxD> For the first time, something like emotion crosses the Gray's face. In this case, abject confusion. "...you wish to have tea?" [23:21] 14Stranger: "We could go inside and find out." [23:22] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Sorcerers are easier than regular folks as long as you start up close." [23:22] 4The Night approaches the Dawn. A confusing time. [23:22] "We.. we could work it out later." 15[23:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "...your terms are acceptable." [23:22] 7Blossom: "Let's." 7She rises and begins striding purposefully back into the teahouse. [23:22] 3He waves the thought away. "What can you tell me about this poison?" [23:22] "Anything would be of use." [23:23] 14Stranger will follow in the purposeful young woman's wake, an amused smile on his face. [23:24] "Hello, gentlemen. I saw you watching us. Are you botanists?" [23:24] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "So what were you saying? You follow the money, who's gonna-" 12Keldar leans back a bit and looks around as, apparently, people are entering the actual teahouse itself from front and back at once? "Sorry?" [23:25] "No. Mercenaries, then." 4The young woman smiles winningly. "You do work for silver, yes? Soldiery?" 15[23:25] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "It purges the river of life. You may already have noticed that the fishing is thinner now than in seasons past. Far upriver where people depend on me for food there is famine." 15[23:25] <@VoxPVoxD> "Humans are fighting to feed themselves." 15[23:26] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor looks Judge up and down. "Who's asking?" [23:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "That's what everyone works for who's smart." [23:26] 05 Xu Sim rather lurks behind the woman, not speaking. [23:27] "Who could possibly benefit from this? Do you know of anyone or anything?" [23:27] "Isma. If you haven't noticed, this town has become much more dangerous of late." [23:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, certainly." [23:29] 4She offers an arm to the young mercenary. "Let us walk and talk. Your friend here won't mind, will he?" [23:30] <@Ferrinus> 12I'm not actually sure how old Raptor is, but Keldar's in his early thirties. [23:30] 4Judge is in his early forties, but this woman doesn't appear to be. [23:31] <@Ferrinus> 12All that said, a babe's a babe. Keldar stands. "Tell me later, Quan. Like I said, Khelendros is after you." 15[23:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "I try very hard to avoid human politics and the upper reaches of the river are too lonely to visit. I have only the news the water brings me. On this the water is silent." 15[23:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "...I'll go see him, then. You gonna be alright, Keldar?" [23:31] "I suppose the only way for me to find out is to go there myself and see what's happening." 15[23:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "Alone?" [23:32] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Don't worry about it. After that accident I ain't gonna be fazed by some basic contract negotiations." 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Raptor: "Keep steady." [23:33] "I've got a pretty good idea of who I'll have accompany me." 3Mud strokes his beard thoughtfully a moment. "Gray," 3he kneels, "May I have your blessing in traveling up your river to find the heart of this corruption, and pluck it out?" [23:33] 4The woman smiles, and steers Keldar towards where she last saw Blossom watching the two of them. "Come along, doctor. We have more companions left to inquire after." [23:34] "Keldar?" 7Blossom inquires, as if she didn't already know. "What brings you here?" 15[23:35] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "You have it." [23:35] 05 Xu steps past the other mercenary, to follow the competent one and his new companion-of-sorts. [23:36] "Some would call it fate. Others just well-laid plans. But I believe we are short one guest." [23:36] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar doesn't actually already know, and is visibly getting steered over rather than coolly playing a part. Whether he ends up in the back of the teahouse or out in the yard with the Gateway tables, he stops to look around at the four people around him and try out a few theories as to what's up. Few of them augur well, and he's glad he sent Raptor away for reasons most likely [23:36] <@Ferrinus> 12dissimilar to those in the minds of the others. [23:37] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "This lady, it looks like. Where'd she dig you out of, physician?" [23:37] 14Stranger's just along for the ride. For now. [23:39] "Maybe we shouldn't discuss this here. Somewhere... less public." [23:40] 4She releases her grip on Keldar. "And when we've collected our jolly friend." [23:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Discuss what?" [23:41] 4A wicked grin. "How careening vegetables, lone flowers, and stray bees are ruining this town." 15[23:42] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "Will you remain in the city long? I may have further news in a few days." [23:43] 7Blossom: "Bees?" [23:43] "It's certainly very odd to all come into contact with each other, just a few days after the first time. But the philosophers say, every thing happens for a reason." [23:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, in a growlier voice: "Bees?" [23:43] "Bees." [23:43] 05 Twice-Refined Princess yips ferociously. [23:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Any of them buzzing around here? Is this the season for 'em? [23:44] 3Mud stands, albiet unsteadily. The buzz from that gourd-beer is starting to wear off and he's getting a bit of a headache. "Oof. I believe I will. I will need to get a boat, and provisions, and get a crew. If you have news, send for me!" 15[23:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray: "I shall." [23:45] 3He claps his hands. "Alright!" 3He pauses. "Uh, it's been.. great. Take care of yourself, Gray." 15[23:45] <@VoxPVoxD> It's a bit early in the season for bees, though Keldar can in fact see a couple of them buzzing around out the window. Not near the tea house, but... around. They're definitely out early. [23:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "They're a bit ahead of schedule, I guess...?" 15[23:46] <@VoxPVoxD> Gray simply closes his eyes and sinks beneath the water. [23:46] 3Ookay. Mud scuttles out of the room. 15[23:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud finds the priestess waiting for him. "A good communion?" [23:49] "Not just any honeybee, but a honeybee wreathed in the finest furs, carrying possibly psychotropic pollen. And, I believe, from a flower like this," 05 Xu Sim produces the rose, mostly for the benefit of the second woman - the one he knows to be another sorcerer. [23:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "You think this has something to do with... the cart accident?" [23:51] "Yes! Quite. We spoke at length and I am prepared to write to my superiors about what we've accomplished here." [23:51] "Quite.. a lot." 15[23:52] <@VoxPVoxD> The priestess nods, leading Mud on out. They pass the bench where Mud waited, and spoke to that man, the one called... uh. Hang on, his name was- 15[23:52] <@VoxPVoxD> He was Nessun Dorma's attache. Mud remembers that much. 15[23:52] <@VoxPVoxD> The name's slipped his mind, though. [23:53] "It grew in exactly the same spot where the cart was, before it rolled down onto a man too powerful to be killed by vegetables." [23:54] 7Blossom: "You think the Fae had something to do with it?" [23:54] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, yeah? Any idea what it... is?" [23:54] 14Stranger: "They've been rather publically involved in the aftermath, at least." [23:55] "Maybe it would be logical for it to be Fair Folk. But, it's not what I think it really is, in my heart." [23:55] "I'd say it would make sense, to take down the great protector, then immediately attack. But why would a man such as he fall for such a trick?" [23:56] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar makes a 'go on' motion. [23:57] 3So Mud's gonna have to set up an expedition. Okay, that's good. Let's see. Provisions for... ten? People. Less than ten. Mud will make up the difference in the cost of provisions. He'll need guides, probably. He could sail the boat himself? Maybe? He's got the Gray's blessing, which probably will make it easier to navigate? Will it? [23:57] 3He'll figure it out later. First thing's first: He'll need to enlist some help. And he knows exactly what to do next. [23:58] "In all my studies, I have encountered very strange things. I once saw a Demon of the Second Circle, for a moment. I've seen Fair Folk, and a few Gods here and there. But this makes me think of something else. I can't explain it, which is very aggravating. I can tell you I have experienced several times a strange optical phenomenon, like seeing stars." [23:59] "What's more, the day the Emissary died, do you remember the baleful star in the sky? It brought back... that is to say, it made me recall, uh, something, hmmm, a great treason against powerful kings. I must have, er, read it somewhere, surely.." 15[00:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud trundles sweatily across Nexus before catching a streetcar. People clap him on the back, and one of them plucks a bee off the fat man's damp neck for him. "Ah! Little bugger stung me." [00:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah, yeah. I was there, point of fact. But what was it, and why'd it give that dude an extra eye?" [00:01] 7Blossom: "I thought it was anointing the Emissary's replacement." [00:01] "I believe it is something akin to a reincarnation of the Emissary, into the cabbage-monger." [00:03] "A cabbage-monger? I would hope there's a more stringent selection process than 'whoever's standing over his corpse when he dies'." [00:03] 3Mud hi-fives a few people on the way through Nexus. There's a few fist-bumps and even one chest bump that predictably leaves its recipient lying dazed on the ground. Mud's still pretty enthusiastic as he boards the train. "Ach! I'm sorry. You didn't need to do that. Bees only sting in defense, you know." [00:03] "It costs them everything to sting you. Rips out their lil insides something fierce." [00:03] "They're such useful creatures.." [00:04] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "See, that's what I figured. But it doesn't explain how he managed the kill. Obviously it's some sort of insane murder succession thing - but how do you get the ball rolling at all?" [00:05] "I don't know if it was him at all. Something surprised him, before the cart struck." 15[00:05] <@VoxPVoxD> "Yeah, yeah..." the man who was stung smears his stung finger against his rough tunic. In any case, Mud has little to no idea where to look for the others, except- "Hey, are you going to visit the Stranger? I saw him coming up this way." 15[00:05] <@VoxPVoxD> "You two must be old friends, right?" [00:06] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Right, but it somehow counted for him. Who are you all, again?" [00:06] "You should remember my name," 05 he mutters. [00:06] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I do, I do! I meant you all except Dorma's target." [00:06] "...Yes. That way? That way. Thanks!" [00:07] 3Mud has little to no recollection of who this man is, as he was suplexing Nessun Dorma at the time. 15[00:08] <@VoxPVoxD> It was probably the guy who calmed Nessun Dorma down. The one with the white hair. [00:08] 3Oh, yes, of course! [00:09] "Oh, but you haven't met Twice-Refined Princess," 05 The dog by his side yaps. It's really quite an ugly little lap dog. Extraordinarily ugly, write-home ugly. [00:10] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Goddamn. I guess my first instincts were right." 12He pauses for effect. "You want your princesses as impure as possible." 15[00:11] <@VoxPVoxD> The streetcar lets Mud off at the foot of the hill that comprises most of Windburn, and is directed to a teahouse atop the hill - The Solemn Bear. The chosen inside can see him trundle up the hill with a pattern of movement that could easily be accompanied by tuba music. [00:11] 7Blossom: "Excessively Righteous Blossom, daughter of House Cathak." [00:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar at least knows where House Cathak's from, and gives Blossom a guarded look, for all that she's a teenager. [00:13] "Ah. Our last guest arrives." [00:14] 3Mud brushes a few stray droplets of rainwater from his beard as he steps into the teahouse, huffing and puffing. Why is everything in this damned city atop a hill, or a building, or a building atop a building on a hill? 15[00:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Not everything. Just the things that matter. [00:15] 3He exhales and turns, beaming, at his new companions. "Friiieends!" [00:16] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's facing away from Mud, so it's only a few of the other Solars who can see the Dawn's mouth turn into a perfectly horizontal line and eyes narrow slightly. [00:16] 05 Xu wrinkles his nose at the mercenary's jab. If she was impure, she wouldn't be any good as a test subject, and she wouldn't be able to metabolize quicksilver! [00:17] 7She's twenty-one! [00:18] "We need to go somewhere where we can be sure we're not overheard." [00:19] 3They'd better hurry, because Mud and Straw will soon be upon them. Boards squeak under his gait. [00:20] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Not overheard's really hard. Ignored's a lot easier." [00:21] 05 Xu Sim beams at the sight of Mud and Straw, someone he knows he can trust. As long as it doesn't involve discretion, silence, or abstention. [00:21] "I can find a place, I'm sure. But it won't be pleasant." [00:22] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "For theeee... six of us?" [00:24] 3Mud and Straw arrives, throwing his arms playfully around Xu Sim or whoever else is closest and savagely bear-hugging them. Workers under Mud soon learn to fight him off or go limp in his embrace and wait for it to be over. [00:24] "Friends! I'm so glad to see you again!" [00:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Essentially, Keldar's only agreeing to this if Mud's coming along, because while these four all seemed to know each other there's no way that guy is on on some kind of long-game assassination plot. [00:27] 7Mud and Straw is so large he can bear hug three of them at once, and unfortunately Blossom is one of them. Her expression of horror and fury while the hug lasts is, fortunately, not visible to him. [00:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's not suffering that indignity, and isn't, at the moment, heavily armored, so he's able to step smartly out of range. [00:30] "The bravery you all displayed yesterday 3(it was yesterday, Mud's pretty sure- unless this has all been one, very long bad-wine hallucination) was without compare!" [00:31] 3He backs away, allowing those entangled in his grasp to mercifully escape. "What nobility! What grace!" [00:31] "I require some bravery from all of you, then. Follow me. I'll take us somewhere where we can talk without being disturbed." [00:32] 7Blossom straightens her armor grumpily and then, as tact requires a reply: "Immobilizing Nessun Dorma like you did, so that he fought with us against the Fair Folk, was... impressive." [00:32] "Mud and Bricks! What a relief to see you again, and so soon!" [00:33] 3He slaps his forehead at his forgetfulness. "Oh! I forgot, I'm sorry! I am Mud and Straw, Foreman of the Gray River Levee!" [00:34] "Xu Sim and Keldar are known friends, but I have not had the pleasure of knowing the rest of you!" [00:35] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Immobilizing Nessun Dorma like you did was insane. That was a grand goremaul he was swinging around." 12This is, presumably, said on the trip; 'Isma' receives a professional nod. [00:35] "All very impressive." 4The young woman looks around worriedly. "Now let's go. We probably shouldn't be together in the open like this." [00:37] <@Ferrinus> 12So where do we end up meeting clandestinely back up? [00:37] 4The smartly-dressed young woman leads the group through back alleys and dirty streets until finally, they meet in their proper destined meeting place. [00:37] 4Behind an enormous trash heap. [00:38] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, this is great. This is real cool." [00:39] "No one ever said secrecy was glamorous." [00:40] 3Mud doesn't seem to mind. He sniffs and wipes his nose on his palm. [00:40] "I don't recall you, miss..." [00:40] 4There's a small run-down hovel behind the trash heap, big enough to house the group with a little room left over. "No one will bother us here. It's not like we have to stay the night." [00:40] <@Ferrinus> 12There isn't even something safe to lean cross-armed against. "Alright, so - what? What's the secret? Anyone about to try and kill anyone else?" [00:40] 05 Xu whispers something to the dog, and, its tail flapping back and forth, it wanders off into the midden to find dinner, or perhaps something to roll around in, or, better yet, both. [00:40] "I've found a relatively inexpensive, legitimate bath house if you need a referral later." 7Blossom remarks to Keldar. [00:40] "Not many do. I'll explain in a moment." 4She opens the door and steps inside. There's some very spare furniture, and a dressing screen. 15[00:41] <@VoxPVoxD> The good news is, the route is all downhill. They're in the undercity now, where the impoverished live and the mostly-impoverished toil. Great mechanisms are visible here, the ancient devices that through muscle-power and some lost genius keep the air here breathable, and the lochs and canals and streetcars up above moving as they ought to. [00:42] 4Isma steps behind the screen, and throws the dress over it. The silhouette through the screen changes noticeably, and a man's arm reaches for a shirt next to the dress. [00:43] 3Mud is visibly excited for a moment; then he sighs sadly. [00:43] 4A middle-aged, bearded man steps out. "Sorry for the deception. But we are not the only ones with keen eyes in this city, and it would not do to be... noticed." [00:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar gets halfway through a spit take before remembering he wasn't drinking anything. "...all right, fine." [00:44] "It's true." 05 Xu Sim is legitimately impressed - where the hell did the beard go?! [00:44] 3Mud coughs, signalling that he is prepared to say his name again, louder, until he gets an introduction. [00:45] 4The man sits atop a rickety desk towards the back of the room. "We are all here, those who would stand and fight when chaos comes calling. Even those labelled Anathema." [00:46] 05 Xu Sim sighs at the word. [00:46] "Anathema? Where?" [00:46] "You wished to know my secrets, scholar, so here are two. First, my name is Tarn, but if you have lived in Nexus, you may know me better as The Black Judge." [00:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Woah, shit, really?" [00:47] 3He glances around, looking for recognition before returning his gaze to the judge: "Tarn it is!" [00:47] 3Mud's willing to give Keldar a pleading look until he explains [00:47] 4He puts a finger to his forehead, and draws a circle. "And second, you are not alone." 4The imprint of the man's finger seems to have drawn a circle of golden light on his forehead-- [00:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar glances over. "The 'Black Judge' is, like, rumored to be a demon or something that comes after criminals at the stroke of midnight and devours their souls or whatever. Been popping up across the city for a little while now." [00:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I figured it was awoah, shit, really?" [00:49] 05 Xu Sim goes pale at the Black Judge's revelation. [00:49] "Oh! Oh are you like me? I've been dying to ask someone about that." [00:49] "I was about to write the whole incident off as a bad batch of wine from the northern provinces." [00:50] 4The Judge smiles at Mud. "Am I like you? I'm not sure. But I knew there were others. And it was no normal man to throw about one of the Dragons." [00:51] "You know, the fungus can get in there and really alter the humors." 3Mud listens to the Judge and smiles sheepishly. "I suppose not, no.." [00:51] 7Blossom: "Well, if we're making formal introductions..." 7She concentrates for a moment and a brilliant golden disc appears on her own forehead, shining like the noonday sun. "Excessively Righteous Blossom, daughter of House Cathak and Chosen of the Sun." [00:52] 3Mud wipes the sweat from his forehead. "Wait, wait, let me do mine again, with the thing!" 3He focuses, scowling and grunting. "I am Mud and Straw!" 3A golden disc, its lower half obscured behind a bowl-shaped patch of emptiness appears upon his brow. [00:53] "I am hunted for being Anathema, but I have no evidence to believe I have been possessed by a demon." 05 Xu Sim focuses for a moment, before a coruscating golden mark appears on his brow. Hints of glorious golden-red give way to pink and purple whorls. [00:53] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's leaning a little farther back with each of these displays. [00:53] "I am definitely not a demon, friend." [00:53] "You, Eversnake, Keldar. You are not a demon!" [00:53] "Xu Sim is very old, but not a demon!" [00:54] <@Ferrinus> "Aw, man," 12Keldar says. "Aw, man. I am gonna get so much silver when I turn all you demons in." [00:55] "Good luck finding me. Or alternately, escaping." 4The Judge says flatly. [00:56] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Ah, I can do at least one of those, though, 'cause check it out." 12His brow glows a deep red, which rapidly rises through pinks and oranges towards a brilliant yellow with glimmers of white at the center. "Eh? Eh? Actual proper sun, too." [00:56] "What? Come, friend, let's not make such jokes!" [00:56] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "This is nuts." [00:57] "Well, at the very least, if we're demons... then we're all demons together!" 3Mud bellows in triumph. [00:57] "With little sunbeams and all. Cute." [00:57] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "It's awesome is what it is. Golden anathema's the worst kind there is, I checked the books." [00:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Worst for whoever runs into it, I mean. And here's fuckin', look how many. Can you believe it?" [00:58] 7Blossom: "Of course we're not demons. We're the Chosen of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, King of Heaven and first of the war-gods. Did he speak to any of you other than me?" [00:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Huh?" [00:59] 3He shrugs. [00:59] "I guess not." 7She smiles juuuuust a little bit. It is nice to be the favored child, for once. [01:00] "I didn't bring you all here to bask in our collective radiance. There's been a crime. And we owe it justice." 15[01:00] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: Bodies