15[20:14] <@VoxPVoxD> What is everyone thinking as they ponder their next moves? And what might those next moves be? [20:16] 05 Xu Sim is deeply concerned as he ponders the events before the battle. When Surik had screamed... Xu had fixed him with the certainty of his own knowledge. If this man had grown a third eye like Balor's, perhaps he had arrested some strange, biologically-transmitted Wyrd Anathema? Could he have stopped the eruption of a creature like himself, or the Emissary? [20:16] 14Stranger-Visits-Heaven is contextualizing. It now makes sense why this has immediately become an issue outside of Nexus. This is far larger than just one city's internal affairs, now. The Fair Folk might be on the march. [20:16] 14He would give...many things, for a planning session with the Ambassador right now. But she has her responsibilities and he has his. [20:17] 14Rocketing to the top of Stranger's priority list is this business with the Gray. The river god, that is. Not Gary's father. 15[20:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Kind of an awkward coincidence, but that's the kind of thing that happens when you're born by a river and live the fullness of your life within a day's journey of its banks. [20:19] 14There are only so many colors, and they describe a great many things. [20:20] 14If Mud can fit in a visit north around his planned work on the hideout, so much the better. But if not, they should complete the hideout and laboratory first, then set their eyes upriver. [20:20] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's thinking he hasn't got enough stuff to think about yet. This Balor business - it's shocking, incredible, and yet in the final estimation doesn't empower the Dawn to do much besides really thoroughly surprise people. Before long, Keldar's cornering (not really, but it sounds better than 'asking') Tarn Magala, who seems to know the city... let's avoid the word better... more [20:20] <@Ferrinus> 12minutely than does Keldar himself. [20:21] <@Ferrinus> "Listen," 12the Dawn caste's saying. "Raptor - he was sure he'd figured out why someone did it. Maybe even who. But we got interrupted." [20:22] 14Meanwhile, Stranger and Judge have presumably presented their, ah, samples to Xu Sim. There are a lot more bees in town, lately. 15[20:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Indeed, by all reports the town is abuzz with activity. [20:22] 14Ha. [20:24] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "You heard anything? Suspicious Civilities, weird movements of silver, whatever? And you actually find Surik, for that matter?" [20:25] "I found out quite a bit about our cabbage merchant. He's apparently a saint." [20:25] "What?" [20:26] 14Stranger: "Do we actually think the cabbage merchant was anything but an unfortunate casualty of...fate. Destiny. What-have-you." [20:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Meaning?" [20:26] "Everything I found out about him pointed to him toeing the line as much as he possibly could. I'm not sure if it means anything." [20:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "So he was probably set up?" [20:27] "Probably. Or he's a cover. I'm not sure which, but I'm leaning towards the former." [20:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Know where he is right now? We should get a word." [20:28] "Your choice of words may be appropriate. I am all-but certain that some spirit or essence relating to Balor has, or attempted to, colonize his body. I may have arrested the process as it began through the use of an order-reaffirming prana. But I don't know what effect that would have on a man. All I know is he had grown a third eye, that carried Balor's fire, as well." [20:28] "Grown, or perhaps, enjoyed some sort of instantaneous transplant." [20:29] "Fae things don't follow mortal rules. When the Emissary's fire went out, it may have immediately began to burn behind Surik's forehead." [20:29] 14Stranger: "Hrm." 14He will discuss the issues surrounding the Gray with the large man later -- after he's done working his art on their rather sparse hideout. [20:30] 14He did promise. [20:30] "This is, of course, only conjecture until I can at least interview, or perhaps vivisect Surik." [20:30] 14Stranger stirs at that. "We will not be vivisecting a citizen, human being, and suspect in a prominent murder investigation without extreme cause." [20:31] "The Council's got a hold of him. Getting a look at him would be... difficult." [20:31] "He may also be an important public official, now." 7She remarks. [20:32] "I hope not! But, I only mean we might not have a way to find out without direct physical access." [20:34] "I might be able to get in to him, but I doubt I could get him back out again." [20:34] 14Stranger settles back against the wall, his empty gaze lingering in Xu Sim's direction for a moment. [20:35] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Might be necessary... but all right, ignoring the actual guy for a minute. Raptor noticed something, and there's no reason we shouldn't." [20:35] <@Ferrinus> 12The Dawn turns and paces, waving periodically at the air. "So who benefits? What's up?" [20:36] "He didn't tell you anything about it?" [20:36] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Nah, that's when you guys showed up. I haven't seem him since, and frankly I'm still working out how to tell him not to bother collecting on Xu Sim's bounty." [20:37] "I appreciate that being a priority." [20:37] "I'd say you could tell him you did already, but that'd probably piss him off." [20:38] 14Stranger: "Who benefits from killing the Emissary. Well, first and most obviously, anyone who wishes to replace the Emissary." [20:38] 7Blossom carefully examines the length of a fresh brush before continuing to write. "Half the city benefits from the Emissary being incapacitated, usually at the expense of the other half." [20:38] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I wouldn't do that to the guy, and I think it'd be too easy to see through too quickly." [20:38] "The Emissary has been replaced, if my theory is correct. But by a cabbage monger." [20:38] "I wonder if anyone knew what he really was, and specifically, if whoever killed him knew who he was." [20:39] 14Stranger: "Indeed. That could be a miscalculation on the culprit's part -- or an intentional move, to funnel the Emissary's authority to an easily removable form." [20:39] "Seven hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge." [20:39] 14Stranger: "...Or easily manipulated form." [20:39] "Could be a double blind? The cabbage monger is someone more powerful in disguise. Not necessarily the case, but keep it in mind." [20:40] 14Stranger: "It could be, given that Fair Folk are involved -- but if so, their motives are so opaque that further inquiry without further discovery would seem useless." [20:41] 14Stranger: "You said 'the Council' has custody of this cabbage man -- who, precisely, are we talking about? City Watch?" [20:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I don't think anyone actually, like, living here really benefits from the Emissary being dead. It's too... much, it'd fuck up too much. It's gotta be a grudge, or an enemy of the city, or someone who's really got a perfect idea for replacing the old order, or something." [20:42] "Oh. Councilor Hayle, I think. Caused a bit of an uproar with Doctor Udelph, but then, what doesn't?" [20:42] 14Stranger: "I agree. I highly suspect our eventual, top-level culprit is not native to this political eco-system -- but that's based more on instinct than evidence." 15[20:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar isn't able to track down Raptor Quan himself, and Raptor was quite cagey about revealing his sources... but by paying attention to the people he can get ahold of, peers and colleagues, fellow drinking buddies and contacts, etc, Keldar is able to piece together a bit of what Raptor's investigative trail looked like. [20:43] 14Stranger: "As you said, things worked too well around here to provide motive for most of Nexus's residents." [20:43] 14He clears his throat gently. "By that criteria, however, we are prime suspects." [20:43] "Well. Some of us are." [20:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Here's the best I can figure:" 15[20:45] <@VoxPVoxD> First, Keldar knows that one of the part-time functionaries of the city government, one in charge of keeping minutes and records of the Civilities, was contacted, and that after that Raptor Quan started digging around in the business of several different councilors, as well as their staunchest political allies. 15[20:48] <@VoxPVoxD> In the weeks leading up to the Emissary's death, there was a flurry of proclamations for and against the granary quotas - that is, the amount of food that the council keeps stockpiled in the city for emergencies. It's never been a very large amount - the River Province is a breadbasket, and even among Nexus's poorest starvation is rare (though malnutrition is more common). 15[20:50] <@VoxPVoxD> But there was an extensive power struggle over the prospect of abolishing them entirely. The food could be sold immediately, the space sold or leased. Gen, the councilor with responsibility for taxes, spearheaded the movement with backing from Hayle and Evening Master Brueghel. In opposition were Udelph, Pellicia, and Astrologer Kratz. 15[20:51] <@VoxPVoxD> It was so fraught and protracted a dispute that the Emissary was forced to exercise his rarely-invoked authority to overwrite contradictory or uninterpreted Civilities. The granaries stand full today. [20:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Was that the Emissary's last act as Emissary? 15[20:52] <@VoxPVoxD> It was his last notable one. 15[20:52] <@VoxPVoxD> Except... they don't, actually. Quan was looking into this. They haven't been gutted since the Emissary's death or anything, but as food is withdrawn or rotated out, the granaries grow increasingly empty. 15[20:53] <@VoxPVoxD> What was once a solid four or five days' worth of consumables is now down, by the last estimate, to about 48 hours' worth. [20:53] <@Ferrinus> 12But, technically, by the Emissary's edict, it's still the city's responsibility to keep them full? 15[20:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Yes. 15[20:54] <@VoxPVoxD> The Civilities are, perhaps predictably, silent on the matter of malfeasance or dereliction of duty on the part of the Council of Entities. 15[20:55] <@VoxPVoxD> It would've been up to the Council to police itself, which means it would've been up to the Emissary to resolve himself. [20:55] <@Ferrinus> 12Hmm. Is that as far as Quan's trail leads? Keldar's relating this to everyone in the room, natch. [20:56] 4Now the Emissary's a cabbage merchant. At least he might care about feeding the hungry, but does he have the power to do anything? 15[20:56] <@VoxPVoxD> There are a couple other loose ends Keldar picked up on, none of which relate obviously to that core line of investigation. Two things stuck out in particular: [20:57] 05 Bees pollinate plants, which are used to make food. Could it be a power play by... the lord of the bees? [20:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Bread falls, honey rises? 15[20:59] <@VoxPVoxD> One is, there's some kind of ongoing diplomatic issue with Lookshy. Nessun Dorma is only the first man sent out there; apparently he wanted some special dispensation to undertake the Wyld Hunt personally before his personal command arrived. It's a property dispute, a question of ownership of some artifact or other. A hearthstone, or possibly a weapon of some description. Accounts differ. 15[21:00] <@VoxPVoxD> It's not a hostile gesture, exactly, given the supreme prerogative of the princes of the earth to hunt Anathema wherever they hide. But it's significant. [21:00] <@Ferrinus> 12A hearthstone and/or weapon, eh? 15[21:01] <@VoxPVoxD> And the other is, apparently the River Gods' Court is in indefinite recess. 15[21:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Normally the great temples of the Gray, the Dame in Yellow, and the Sea-Dragon Yanaze are bustling with activity and petitions from all the minor and little water spirits and river gods of the Province and the Threshold. But for the last couple of months - consultation with Mud will reveal since roughly the incident at the Levee - those temples have been all but silent of nonmortals. [21:05] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "We need... a list of recent civilities, maybe? I gotta actually find that functionary." [21:08] 05 As others engage in the dirty business of politics or speaking to urchins, Xu Sim is closely examining the samples brought to him by the others, regarding the Bee Question. [21:10] 4Judge ducks behind the screen, and emerges a scrawny, scruffy looking character. "I'll go ask around." 15[21:12] <@VoxPVoxD> By leaning on his familiarity with Nexus's civil structure and his status as a famous semi-hero, Keldar can easily get the documentation he wanted. [21:13] <@Ferrinus> 12Excellent. "On that topic," 12Keldar says, reaching for a parcel he left on a table, "...anyone wanna go through these for me?" 15[21:13] <@VoxPVoxD> Judge's questioning takes him into the smoke-rooms, tea-houses, and other dens of ill repute of Nexus. There are a lot of words bandied about in these places, and if you know who to listen to, some of them are useful. Here's what Judge picks up from people who mark whatever face he wears today as a friend. He's able to pick up everything Keldar did, and two other interesting points. 15[21:16] <@VoxPVoxD> One, the Guild has been pushing to buy out the granary space for years. They haven't been pushing hard, because there's a lot of underutilized space in Nexus, but these buildings that were in a non-prominent district of the city in its First Age days have become prime real estate in one of the city's nicer neighborhoods. Funnily, the people who need the food in the granaries aren't the ones who go near it. Hayle's people run the granaries and dispense food in stamped and labeled parcels as needs must. [21:16] 14Given that Mud will be consumed by work on the hideout for the next fortnight or so, it might be in Stranger's interests to go see how well he can insinuate himself into the Nexus political scene. [21:17] 14That Guard captain; perhaps she's a place to start. 15[21:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Two, and this is the most outlandish thing Judge has heard in a while, one of the councilors apparently tried to flee the city two months ago. 15[21:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Namely, Astrologer Kratz. She booked it from her stargazing tower, full of censers and crystals, and got a half-day on the road to Great Forks before Pellicia's most trusted contacts pulled her back. 15[21:19] <@VoxPVoxD> It hasn't come up since, and Kratz hasn't been seen in public since then. That's not unusual on its own, however; it's rare that she makes public appearances more than once or twice a year. 15[21:20] <@VoxPVoxD> She made her way out through Guild handlers, and Pellicia's been making things as hard for the Guild as she can ever since. Unfortunately, that's not very, Nexus being Nexus. [21:20] 14He also could just wander Nexus some more, and see what nostalgia does for him. But first! There is some reading to take care of. Specifically, a bevy of accounts of Wyld mutation; how it occurs, how it progresses, how it eventually -- breathtakingly -- ends. He knew how to avoid that peculiar strain of defeat once; Stranger is sure of that. He'll know how to avoid it again. [21:21] 14Over the next few days, when he has the time, he will amble to his favorite teahouse, sit down in his favorite corner, and read and sip and read and sip and sip and sip and read. [21:22] 4So the Guild wanted her out to break up Pellicia and the Doctor's voting bloc, which is why they helped her. But why did she want to leave? 15[21:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Good question. [21:24] 14Stranger would be honored to meet the respected Astrologer Kratz, should the Judge need a second. [21:25] 4She probably wouldn't be honored to meet us. We'd have to find her first. [21:25] 7Blossom still has to meet her own contact. [21:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Since no one actually wants to volunteer to do paperwork, Keldar supposes he's going to have to break out this list of civilities and scan it for irregularities himself. [21:28] 14Stranger will help with that. [21:28] <@Ferrinus> 12At least he can amuse himself by making a note of what percentage of them he's broken unwittingly. [21:29] 05 Xu Sim putters away in a small alcove that Mud and Bricks has set aside for him. The ventilation isn't very good, and in such close quarters, spills can be a deadly risk. But fortunately, Twice-Refined Princess is there to assist. In addition to sneaking nibbles at Mud and Bricks' various snacks (never the ones he generously offers her), she is quite adept at licking up any reagents... [21:29] ...whatsoever Xu spills. [21:30] 05 Working in an environment like this, for some reason, feels so fundamentally right that Xu is more focused than ever. He carefully arranges every single one of his instruments as he proceeds, mindful of the possibility of the smallest infiltration - even insectile - representing a hazard to his work. He arranges every reflective surface in such a precise way as to be able to monitor the... [21:30] ...whole area from his central location. [21:32] 05 Various herbs, feathers, and strange implements soon hang upon the walls and upon the narrow doorway. Their slightest motion in a breeze gives him at least a second of warning for nearly any interruption. [21:33] <@Ferrinus> 12Meanwhile, in a half-complete room of the circle's hideout, Keldar's pacing back and forth and muttering to himself, occasionally counting out numbers or appearing to play rock, paper, scissors against an array of invisible opponents. An entire wall behind him has been covered with paper, each sheaf tacked up beside its fellows. Sometimes, the mercenary whirls to point accusingly at [21:33] <@Ferrinus> 12one or another. [21:35] 14Stranger, meanwhile, has acquired his own copies of the Dogmas and the Civilities for a different purpose: self-tutoring. Once he is finished with tales from the Wyld, he will seek a deeper understanding of one of the most complex bureaucratic underbellies in the Scavenger Lands. 15[21:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar consults the Civilities. It's tremendously complicated, elaborate, and hugely boring. The immediate impression, mostly borne out by research, is that the daily political operations of Nexus are both small-scale and unfocused. It's very rare for two Civilities to outright contradict each other, because so many of them deal with such nonoverlapping magisteria at such finite detail - take Udelph's proclamation that the carp from the 100-block to the 400-block of a riverside district wedged between two tributaries to the Yellow River, for example. 15[21:38] <@VoxPVoxD> However. 15[21:38] <@VoxPVoxD> *Yellow River are not safe to eat, 15[21:38] <@VoxPVoxD> However. [21:39] <@Ferrinus> 12That's not even an imperative. Do they really put public service announcements in these things? [21:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Maybe you're supposed to beat up anyone you catch eating one? 15[21:41] <@VoxPVoxD> They do! And PSAs embedded with the Civilities have the force of law. Udelph's warning is as good as a ban. Each councilor's proclamations have a different voice to them. Udelph makes assertions about the unwiseness of a course of action, for instance, while Pellicia will more straightforwardly forbid, eg, people from hiring mercenaries to 'rescue' estranged spouses. [21:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Just like her. That was good business! [21:43] 14As he reads, he finds his mind drifting often to her skin; eyes; neck. Her feathers, when she has them. He tarries there awhile, then drags himself from daydream. The sooner this business is concluded, the sooner thought is made flesh. 15[21:43] <@VoxPVoxD> The striking thing, that Keldar discovers just as Blossom is ready to leave for her meeting, is this: Kratz doesn't deliver any proclamations. She never has, not once. 15[21:44] <@VoxPVoxD> She's been on the Council of Entities, by these records, for fifteen years. She's never made a public statement. 15[21:44] <@VoxPVoxD> In a legal sense she's more obscure than even the Emissary. [21:44] 14The nature of some of these Wyld anecdotes does little to push her from his mind, however. He redoubles his efforts. [21:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "We gotta find this lady. What in the hell." [21:45] 4Probably tough to find her then. [21:45] 14Assuming they've shared their findings: "Are we proceeding under the assumption she's even real?" [21:45] "At the moment." [21:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Someone tried to skip town." [21:46] "Should we proceed under the assumption she's not? There's some evidence of her, but it could be a ploy. However, two months ago, she evidently tried to flee and was dragged back by Pellicia's goons." 4The Judge looks at Keldar. "Sorry." [21:46] 14The curiousness of the revelation had gotten him to lean forward. Now Stranger reclines once more against the wall. "Hmmm." 15[21:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Incidentally, what or who, if anything or anyone, does Blossom care to bring with her on her way to her contact's home, which is just past the border of Firewander District? [21:47] "I suspect, then, our trail begins with Pellicia." [21:47] 14Stranger: "We could sneak around her, but I feel she'll respect a direct query more. And it will give us a chance to gauge her level of involvement." [21:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Pellicia ain't that helpful when you're trying to - ...well, anything, really. I'd just see if I could track down Kratz directly." [21:49] 7Blossom hadn't planned on bringing anyone, but she will announce where she's going. She'll bring a sketch-pen, ink and paper just in case. [21:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Just inside Firewander, eh? Hmm... well, Keldar does have a ton of iron charms and good luck talismans and suchlike. [21:49] 14Stranger: "I should like the chance to speak with her." [21:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Anyway, I'm - wait, you're seeing who?" [21:50] 4Judge shrugs. "Another Councillor is a likely source of information about her. But why would she talk to us about her, especially after Guild people have tried to smuggle her out?" [21:51] 14Stranger: "Because it's in her best interest for us to succeed in our investigation. We just need to convince her of that." [21:52] 14He smiles slightly. "With the proper framing and leverage, I'm sure she'll turn out to be a reasonable woman." [21:52] "She's going to be very suspicious. I'm sure I can come up with something that will make us seem as if we're set out to be against the Guild." [21:53] 14Stranger: "She knows who I am already. To her, I'm the man who stopped a riot from trampling all over the Emissary's corpse." [21:54] 4The Judge shrugs again. "I'll follow your lead, then. Let me change, however. This is not a good face for her." [21:54] "And seeing as that is a perfect representation of my actions, I'm sure she'll at least give me the time of day." 14He picks up his cup and sips his tea. He's started brewing it himself here in the hideout. "The time of day should be all I need."A [21:55] 4'He' reemerges as a stern-looking well-muscled woman in plain travelling clothes. "Then I'll just make sure she isn't hiding anything from us." [21:56] "Who's a good girl? Who's a very good girl?" 05 Xu Sim wanders by, holding the small dog at chest-level. Twice-Refined Princess is begging, for a small pot of ink he is carrying. After a few moments, he relents, allowing the creature to drink its fill of the glue-and-soot mixture he typically uses to write. [21:56] <@Ferrinus> 12As soon as Keldar's gotten confirmation of who it is that Blossom's meaning to see, he invites himself along. He needs an appointment too, see, kept meaning to arrange one. Maybe old Omph's got an idea about this faerie attack business, eh? Or even the Emissary's secret identity. [21:57] 14Stranger shakes his head in admiration. "Your gifts are unmatched, Judge." [22:00] 7Blossom: "Omphaloskepsis of the Drifting Disk. A 'civilized' Fae, if such a thing is possible." [22:01] 14Stranger will go through the necessary and entirely above-board motions to schedule a citizen's appointment with Pellicia, making it known precisely who he is without making it obnoxious. It's more slight-of-hand than it is preening: by focusing attention on himself, hopefully the Judge (in disguise) can slip into the meeting with him more or less unnoticed. [22:01] 14Then, the waiting. And in the meantime, the reading. [22:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I don't get it myself. I mean, best guess is he just eats drifters or something." [22:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What do you need 'im for?" [22:03] 7Blossom: "I need a savant who isn't afraid of the Wyld Hunt. Someone who can tell me, among other things, the proper prayers and rituals for the Unconquered Sun." 15[22:04] <@VoxPVoxD> One wonders what it says that a raksha prince doesn't fear the Wyld Hunt. [22:05] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Huh. What're you gonna tell 'im you need 'em for?" [22:06] 14The Wyld stories. They're familiar. Soon he knows the tragedy before he reads it; divines the fault from the storyteller's basic premise. He has known these monsters before. And he has found some of them moral, and some of them just; but he has always known there is a line between them. A clear demarcation that the Wyld seeks to blur. [22:06] 14He perfects the fortress-temple of his own self-image. 15[22:07] <@VoxPVoxD> In any case, Stranger and Judge eventually find themselves at the Barracks of the Dawn Sergeant, a fine, albeit plain, old building of rough stone and wood polished to a metallic sheen. There are Old Realm characters over the doors, elaborate glyph structures that might communicate, depending on which direction you read them from, anything from STABILITY to SILENCE to JUSTICE to DOOM. [22:07] 14And then he reads about...domesticated animal ordinances for dwellings housing over 12 people. [22:07] 7Blossom: "Hm. Do Nexus savants usually ask questions like that?" [22:11] 14(As it turns out, per the first issued Civility on the matter, it is illegal to keep animals smaller than 'a judiciously-sized ham,' as they are vermin and could spread disease. Later issuances instituted more standardized units of measure.) [22:11] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Depends on the savant. I doubt Omph's lookin' for the kind of payoff that Raptor is, but it pays to be careful." 15[22:11] <@VoxPVoxD> In the waiting room they cross paths with an older man, glowering and smelling like a spring breeze as a songbird carefully perches on a twig growing from his scalp. Judge will immediately recognize this as Khelendros, one of the mercenary bosses of Nexus, in fact the boss of Keldar's own Ninth Orchard Company. 15[22:12] <@VoxPVoxD> He grunts as he sizes the two of them up. "You hear for Pellicia too?" [22:13] 14Having an affinity not just for Old Realm but some of its more exotic dialects, Stranger will spend a bit of time examining the glyphs before turning to face the speaker. [22:13] 14Stranger: "We hope to be, yes." 14He looks the man up and down. [22:14] 7She shrugs. "Then I am Gentle Breeze of Autumn, rejected from the Wyld Hunt but still burning to learn all I can about the Golden Anathema, and the ways an Immaculate could kill them." [22:15] 14He half-turns back to the door. "A beautiful language, Old Realm. So many different meanings, depending on the light." [22:15] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, I like that. And, hey, there's supposedly at least one kicking around here and there's a huge bounty on 'em." [22:16] 4Judge's new face appears to mostly just be surly. She doesn't disrespect the man, just doesn't answer beyond a gruff grunt acknowledging his question, all while looking while pretending not to. [22:17] "Perfect. Shall we be on our way?" 7As they leave, she'll ask: "Have you been to the Firewander District before? What should I expect?" 15[22:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Khelendros has the look of a veteran about him, a man who fought through many battles and has taken to managing them from afar. Judge can deduce that he favors his right leg, indicating a limp from war wounds, and that from the way he holds his arms there's little to no feeling in his sword hand. Stranger can tell that he's been recognized, and that Khelendros is suspicious of this seemingly-benevolent stranger. 15[22:18] <@VoxPVoxD> "She's in rare form today. Hope you duck as well as you yell, stranger." [22:18] 14He traces the glyphs in the air with the end of his cane for a moment, then turns to fully face the man. No sense in withholding his name, especially if he already knows who Stranger is. "I am Stranger-Visits-Heaven." [22:18] 14He simply smiles at that. 15[22:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger gets an offered hand. "Khelendros, Ninth Orchard Company. You've met Keldar already, I understand." 15[22:19] <@VoxPVoxD> "Don't judge all of Nexus's mercenaries by his example." [22:19] 14Stranger takes it firmly, but not aggressively so. 15[22:19] <@VoxPVoxD> "Some of them are bastards." [22:20] "Wouldn't be a very good mercenary company if some of them weren't." [22:20] 14That gets a laugh. "I did rather think the Green Apple standard...unconventionally agricultural." [22:20] "But then, I am new to Nexus." 15[22:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom and Keldar make their way down Sentinel Hill, towards Firewander. The air over the District is very hazy, as it often is, and the golden dome at the heart of Firewander is barely visible. Luckily, it has no bearing on them here, since their objective is a tall, thin house wedged into the side of the hill, on the far side of the street that separates Sentinel from Firewander. Much farther down the road and the paving becomes cracked and twisty. [22:23] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I've only gone in deep once, and that wasn't by choice. Got out in time, fortunately, but it was a close thing. [22:23] 14Stranger: "I take it you've already been in to see her. I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to her without an angry mob bearing down on us; should I expect it to be more or less stressful than that?" [22:24] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Shallow as we are now, you don't notice a lot of differences. Here's my favorite, though." 12He takes out a single dinar, twiddles it around the fingers of one hand a bit, then flicks it into the air, squinting at it as it glints in the light. 15[22:24] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim's hall of mirrors is complete, with Mud's help. Where has the engineer set the alchemist up in the hideout? [22:24] <@Ferrinus> "Edge," 12Keldar calls, and then grins as the coin lands as predicted. [22:25] "'Magine she's been on edge, what with the whole Anathema thing cropping up in the middle of all this ruckus." [22:25] 3Mud and Straw isn't quite certain, because in the course of installing the hall, he has become lost inside it. 15[22:26] <@VoxPVoxD> Khelendros snorts. "I'll put it like this: if you're of use to her, she's gentle as a lamb. If you walk in with your hand out... you're walking out less your hand." [22:27] 3With a harness securing a number of replacement panes to his back, the fat man wanders through the basement in abject confusion. It has been several hours; this cannot be right. "Xu Sim, can you hear me!?" [22:27] "Why do you even need a hall of mirrors!?" [22:27] 14Stranger's eyebrows raise at that. "Well. She sounds very competent." 15[22:28] <@VoxPVoxD> To Judge: "I wouldn't know, ma'am. Wyld Hunt's not my business. It's not good business at all. No money in holy war. Not in the River Province." [22:28] 3He stops to polish one of the freshly-installed mirrors of a streak of dust. [22:29] "Interesting." 7Is there a way to objectively judge the amount of Wyld contamination in an area? Something to think about, later. 15[22:30] <@VoxPVoxD> The door of the raksha's brown stone abode is old wood, painted green. The knocker is a brass butterfly. [22:31] "I want to be able to keep an eye on any intrusions. I think you followed my schematics admirably, because I can see you just fine. Turn left. Straight ahead now, and I should be in the next chamber." [22:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, it's your appointment." 12He gestures onward. [22:31] 7Blossom will knock firmly, three times. [22:33] 05 At the heart of the (three room) labyrinth, Xu has a series of benches, cauldrons, and of course a variety of dangling herbs, spice pouches, distillates, powderboxes, and so forth. He huddles near one, Twice-Refined Princess at his heel, chewing on a piece of peppered chicken that Mud had left sitting out somewhere. 15[22:33] <@VoxPVoxD> Khelendros will let them pass if they have nothing further to say, and head out himself. The moment he steps out of the door, a fat squirrel drops down from a nearby tree and plops onto his shoulders like a bunched-up scarf. He shakes it off like an enormous flea before stomping out of sight. [22:34] 14Filing away the man's responses -- and facial tics, and grunts, and unconscious twitches -- Stranger will endeavor to make charming small-talk with the man until either he leaves or they're summoned inside. [22:34] 14Ah. [22:34] 14Squirrel. [22:34] 3And so it is. Mud neatly stows the remaining mirrors in a small nook at the far side of Xu Sim's room. "Ah, good. Good." 3He wipes his nose. "You've gotten nested." [22:34] 14Stranger's blind eyes narrow. [22:35] 14Ra pokes his nose out of the collar of Stranger's robe and sniffs the air. When his golden eyes alight on the fat squirrel, he makes a high-pitched raspberry sound. [22:35] "Yes, thank you. Come, stand here, and look into the facets of these vials-" 05 there are a few dozens of varying colors and sizes, suspended on small strings from the ceiling [22:36] "Behave," 14Stranger murmurs, but allows him to remain perched on his shoulder for the moment. [22:36] 3A sausage-shaped finger points out the features. "I channeled the creek through the basement into a reservoir behind the far wall. If you pull this chain over here, it'll pour out water from the basin overhead. I figured, y'know, you're an alchemist..." [22:36] "And, you know, fires." 15[22:36] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim's got a fair bit of material to work with here. First and principally, he examines the remains of the bees he and Stranger recovered. Of course, after examining the Emissary, he makes a connection almost immediately. [22:37] 14To Judge: "Suspicious man, Khelendros." [22:37] 3He squats before the row of glass vials. "What am I looking at, Xu?" [22:37] 14He absently strokes the fur on the back of Ra's head with a finger. "Can't say I blame him overmuch, under the circumstances." [22:37] "I figured him for a Wood Aspect, but he seems to really hate the Dragons. So that either discards that theory out of hand, or doubly confirms it. It bears investigating, were we not so busy." 15[22:38] <@VoxPVoxD> The bees' fuzz, which before he'd attributed a peculiar metallic character, now has a far more obvious nature. It's pigmented, indistinguishable at a distance from a regular honeybee. And on some level they are regular honeybees, albeit Wyld-mutated. But the most peculiar thing... their torsos are dusted with expended iron thistledown. [22:38] "Here, watch this-" 05 Xu hurries towards the entrance. As he leaves, Mud can see his reflection in one, then the other, until he is all the way back into one of the common areas. [22:38] 14Stranger nods. "It's something to keep in mind at least, should worst come to worst and the city comes down to choosing sides." 15[22:39] <@VoxPVoxD> Beneath the thistletown, they're anatomically incorrect, possessing four wings and nine legs and three body segments, all of which are masked to superficial undetectability by the dusting of iron. These are from the Wyld, and also they are covered in spent iron. 15[22:39] <@VoxPVoxD> Once Blossom releases the door knocker, it knocks itself three more times, and then the door creaks open. [22:40] 05 Surely that would be toxic to any true Wyld creature, and injurious to a mutant? [22:40] 14Quietly: "When we're in there...speak your mind, as far as it goes. I've no interest in stepping on your toes, and you have a better feel than I for your limits. But my suggestion is: let her focus on me. The more we get this city looking at me, the less they're looking at the rest of you." [22:40] "That's the idea, anyway." [22:41] "The whole city could look at me and not know it, friend. Don't worry about me." 15[22:41] <@VoxPVoxD> That'd stand to reason, and of course the fact that the bee Stranger recovered the other day is already dead speaks to that. [22:41] 14That gets a quick grin and a nod. [22:41] 7Spooky. Blossom will cautiously step inside. [22:41] "Yeah! Wow, amazing. Yeah, that was about four-fifths of the glass I'd prepared, and every single drop of quicksilver I could find. I hope the others do not mind the rest of the windows being quite small." [22:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar does the same, but with less overt caution, especially since he's not first in marching order. [22:42] "Don't mind me, though. Continue your works! I'll be over here, listening, while I finish this load-bearing wall." 15[22:43] <@VoxPVoxD> In the foyer before Blossom and Keldar is a pale man with long, lank hair, and two large, mottled brown-gray horns. He's wearing stiff, layered clothes that move like silk, look like paper, and sound like steel armor. He clucks his tongue in time with the clocks. There are so many clocks. [22:43] "They want to be discrete, right? It won't do for every passerby to be gawking in through them. Anyways, help me figure this out. After we examined the Emissary the other day, I've been trying to figure out these bees." 15[22:44] <@VoxPVoxD> There's one on each wall, and down the corridor behind him, and to his left and right. One halfway up the stairs and a great wooden clock atop them stretching from floor to ceiling. They're marvelous constructions of varying make. Wood, metal, sand and running water... demarcations of time Keldar's only seen in theory. 15[22:44] <@VoxPVoxD> "Excessively Righteous Blossom," he says, reaching for her hand to kiss. [22:45] "Bees are fascinating creatures," 3Mud adds as he sets his back against the wall, standing in for a column while reaching into the sack fastened to his back and producing brick after brick to shore up the support. He squints at the dissected remains. "But I can tell you that they don't have that many legs, or wings." 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> His own hands are covered in fine silk gloves, lavender. [22:46] 7She will reluctantly allow him to take it, startled. [22:46] "Omphaloskepsis of the Drifting Disk?" [22:47] "They do not. Nor are they typically covered in spent ammunition from a weapon that hasn't been fired in seven hundred and sixty eight years." [22:47] <@Ferrinus> 12By gods, he's even got a clock clock, which is just a glass box a smaller, functioning clock is sitting in. Keldar will give the faerie a falsely fraternal nod once the creature's done greeting Blossom. [22:47] "Though they do share that characteristic at least with the late Emissary." 15[22:48] <@VoxPVoxD> "The very same." He bows to Keldar, looking for a moment like he's about to reach for Keldar's hand too, before he thinks better of it. "Your name, sir?" [22:49] <@Ferrinus> "Keldar, with the Ninth Orchard," 12say Keldar, businesslike. "We were hoping for a word." 15[22:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Judge and Stranger aren't kept waiting much longer. A pair of men wrapped in the travel-clothes of the far North with axes at their backs are all but running out of the small office at the rear of the barracks, past bunks and cubbies set aside for freelance mercenaries and aspiring lawmen. 15[22:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia, eyes narrowed, sticks her head out the door. "Who's next?" [22:50] 3Mud scowls, and not just because a significant portion of the structure's weight has been placed upon his back while he builds up the wall. "I heard the others talking. He's- was, some sort of wyld monster...?" [22:50] 14Ra darts back under his robe as Stranger stands with a smile. "I believe that would be us." [22:51] 3With a grunt, he lifts the column from his back and allows it to settle upon the newly-placed pylon of bricks and, with a judicious slathering of mortar, continues his task. [22:51] 4The Judge's form nods curtly and steps forward. [22:52] "Balor, himself. The princeling who, according to history and legend, sought for a time to destroy the world. Some thing broke his heart, he ended the Crusade, and took on this... mortal coil. Perhaps the heartbreak came later, I'm not sure." 15[22:52] <@VoxPVoxD> Her eyes lock on Stranger and she nods. She's watching the Judge as they walk into her office, full to bursting with maps, records, and a full suit of articulated plate behind her desk. Pellicia herself is wearing clothes that suggest she and Judge dressed themselves out of the same closet. 15[22:53] <@VoxPVoxD> "Close the door behind you. Take a seat." [22:53] 14Stranger steps forward smoothly, feeling the weight of Nexus settle around him. Not the city: the culture. The social ideal of Nexus. He's had more than enough time to observe it. Time to live it. [22:53] "I don't know much about that nonsense," 3he continues. "If you ask me, it all sounds pretty silly. But I guess that's the world we live in." 3He's patting the mortar down with his trowel. "You'll like this. There are long stone-lined passages in the upper reaches of the basement's ceiling to allow noxious fumes to escape, hopefully so that you do not die alone in your basement." 15[22:54] <@VoxPVoxD> The raksha regards the two of them coolly. "I am rich in words. Come. I've had tea prepared." [22:55] "Should be nice when the dog farts, too," 05 he observes. [22:55] "They are, however, channeled into the same passage as the main chimney, so it would perhaps be wise to inform us when you are studying vapors so that we do not light a fireplace at the same time. Wait, no-" 3he thinks on his feet- "Yeah, actually that should be fine. It will speed the passage of the vapors out of the laboratory." [22:56] "Quite ingenious of you," 05 observes Xu. [22:57] 14Stranger shuts the door. "I am glad we're meeting this time under more auspicious circumstances. 'Auspicious,' of course, being an offshoot of a loan word from Old Realm -- two or three dialects over -- that was originally used to describe doomed optimism." 14He sits. "I saw the door. It's quite impressive." 15[22:57] <@VoxPVoxD> Xu Sim studies the honeycombs next. Marvelous constructions, naturally made - whatever twist of chaos befell the bees has only exacerbated their natural tendencies. This honeycomb was made in hours. A full hive, he deduces, could arise from the efforts of a handful of bees in no more than a day. The larvae, dead and dry now, each have a tiny speck of iron inside them. There are only faint traces of honey in the honeycomb, but in this deep place it smells of springtime and promise. Divinely appetizing. [22:57] "I'm sorry, Xu," 3he gushes. "When you and the others speak of all this..." 3he waves his swollen hands helplessly- "this nonsense about wyld and four-winged bees and... alchemy, it just makes my head spin. All I can do is talk about what I know, which is stone. Stone I understand." [22:57] "I understand it very well, now, admittedly." [22:59] "Well, what good is a cauldron without a chimney, anyhow?" 05 Xu claps him on the back. [22:59] "So.. so what does this all mean, you think?" [23:00] 4The Judge came here with the intent of talking the mercenary captain out of her facts. But I guess when you're in a rush you don't have time for any sort of filing system, so his eyes rake the room at lightning speed for anything pertinent. [23:01] 3The same rag that was used to polish the hall's mirrors is now repurposed to dab the sweat from his brow. "I mean, the emissary was- he was Balor, the, uh- Balor. Even I know who that is." [23:01] "What under blessed Tian-Shan happened here?" [23:02] 7Her eyes dart to Keldar. The stories say not to eat or drink the food of the raksha, but they also say not to scorn their hospitality. Are they in danger? [23:02] <@Ferrinus> "Ah, nice," 12says Keldar, coming in. Besides a number of charms and things he's wearing under his clothing, the mercenary is modestly attired, though he doesn't offer to leave his sword at the door or anything like that. Taking tea with one of the fair folk isn't known to mean certain doom or anything, is it? (In general, in what ways is Omphaloskepsis known to be dangerous?) [23:04] "I don't know... yet." [23:05] "I mean, look at these bees. They are nearly as industrious as you are! A handful of them built an entire hive in a few days. And look here, the larvae, they contain tiny shreds of the iron that the elders grew like down on their bodies..." [23:07] 14Pellicia is guarded. She doesn't want to be an easy woman to read. But Stranger has insight beyond his years, insight stretching back to the first time the sun touched the moon -- and when someone cares very deeply about something, it is very difficult to hide that for long. And there is no shame in that. None whatsoever. She loves her city, even if she's not always sure it loves [23:07] 14her. [23:08] "What does that mean? I mean, the iron... it's the thistledown, yes? I overheard you speaking to your puppy about it." 15[23:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Judge, meanwhile, surveys the chaotic room with a quickness. He deduces three things immediately. One, Pellicia is terribly unorganized. Two, she has the same papers Keldar had splayed out, and a few more besides, suggesting she's ALSO combing Nexus's legal history for something. And finally, she has a vial of iron thistledown buried under papers on her desk. [23:10] "Yes. Certain, ancient, war-manses can erupt with it to destroy fair folk. Most famously, it is one of the weapons of the Realm Defense Grid, itself." [23:10] "Were these bees a weapon, then? Or are they merely born with the scars of their ancestors?" 15[23:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph (who on the way insists that they call him such) leads them back behind the stairs to a sitting-room. His steps are fitful, and he finds himself admiring a painting of waves lapping against sand while phantasms and maidens frolick in the mist. He starts after a moment, his eyes drawn to the nearest clock, and then he leads them on. 15[23:18] <@VoxPVoxD> The sitting-room is almost oppressively cozy, warm with squashy chairs and big stable teacups and a tray piled high with sweet rolls. [23:19] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar ends up loosening the collar of his tunic slightly and, after a while, removing the fingerless leather glove/bracers he's got on to more easily gesture and/or snack. Unless the snacks mean instant soul obliteration, or something, I mean. [23:19] 14Her highest calling is this office, and she is rightly proud to have found it. She is loyal to her people and her post, and views herself as the grim necessity of a grand political tradition stretching back hundreds of years. The law is the tool of the strong; the enforcer of it is the tool of the weak. Every problem that is hers to solve can be solved by her, and woe betide he who [23:19] 14stands against the legal remedy. Especially if he happens to be from out of town. [23:20] 3Mud taps a vial with a pudgy finger. "Hrm." [23:21] 14Still...there's no gilt on her. She's pragmatic, even in grandeur. She's still wearing her sword. And nobody guards her door. 15[23:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar knows that Omphaloskepsis was exiled by force from the raksha courts. He won a duel for his honor with another noble and accepted the punishment of exile into Creation over annihilation in the Wyld. That was over a hundred years ago, and since then he has gradually installed himself as a fixture of Nexus's social and academic circles. It's known that in battle he favors a light sword, which he's quite handy with. It's known also that he has bargained with gods and drawn some of their powers from their dreams. [23:21] 14Pellicia, the experience of ten thousand eclipses tells him, is a good woman. [23:22] 7Blossom will sit cross-legged on the most comfortable-looking cushion, and accept a cup of tea. Nice. [23:22] <@Ferrinus> 12Is it known how he sustains himself? Raksha gotta eat, right? 15[23:23] <@VoxPVoxD> He's quite popular among the city's social elite, and as such has a number of... interested callers. [23:24] 14She would be insulted, were he to attempt to handle her like some fraught and fragile thing. But he -- they -- the Circle -- still has a responsibility to protect her, the same as every other human in Nexus. [23:24] 14Which means this conversation is going to be very delicate...or very short. 15[23:24] <@VoxPVoxD> Many a marriageable merchant prince or princess has taken to their chambers with a period of listless, dreamless torpor after some time with him. None yet have fallen to death or soullessness, and there are plenty of people keeping an eye out for just that. [23:24] "When we first arrived, do you remember how Surik, the peasant, do you remember how he was screaming? And he developed the third eye, just like the one the Emissary had? At least, that I presume he had. Someone else removed it before I could arrive." [23:26] "But he grew the third eye. When he was screaming I transfixed him with the certainty of my knowledge, to arrest the progression of any mutation. I wonder if I made a mistake, if he is now some half-born new creature. Perhaps these bees captured some of that energy? And that's when they mutated? I can't imagine them being a secret in a town like Nexus." [23:26] 05 Xu twists his mouth in concentration, scratching the dog absent-mindedly. 15[23:26] <@VoxPVoxD> It occurs to Mud, as he ponders bees and iron, that there's a kinship between Balor as Xu Sim described him and the bees they now examine. But it's artificial. The bees have been treated or tainted with traits Balor possessed naturally, the admixture of fae and flesh, the persistent taint of iron thistledown. What's more, the speed of their working, and the allure of their honey... it's like bait. 15[23:27] <@VoxPVoxD> It's meant to draw people to it, by seduction and necessity. 15[23:27] <@VoxPVoxD> It is a strategem. [23:28] 3He squats onto Xu's workbench, which creaks. He pays it no mind; he designed it. "I think the bees were made to appear as Balor." [23:28] "Like you said, it's too obvious. It can't remain a secret." [23:28] "I do not trust them, and I would recommend you burn them." 15[23:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph will sit and sip himself, regarding them over the rim of his cup. "So, you've come to speak of the sky, as I understand it? The highest of the high?" [23:29] 7Blossom: "That's right. That, and sorcery." [23:30] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar nods. He's not sure to what extent to tip his hand about Balor himself, but he'll try to turn the conversation to the fae once he's seen what Omph knows of, well, of him. [23:30] "You mean, they're some sort of a trap? A.... a honeypot?" [23:30] 3He claps Xu Sim on the back. "Good one! But yes." [23:30] "That's what it appears to me." 15[23:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia sighs, straightening files on her desk so as to give the impression of more room. "I'll be honest." 15[23:31] <@VoxPVoxD> "The only thing I mistrust more than a mercenary is a man with a mercenary's skillset who wants to work for free." 15[23:31] <@VoxPVoxD> "What's in this for you?" [23:32] "Then what would that mean about this rose that we found?" 05 Xu looks concerned. 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud starts, now, and Xu Sim is roused from his vague delirium a moment later. 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Did Mud install bells? 15[23:33] <@VoxPVoxD> Little silver bells. Tiny and distant and beyond counting. 15[23:33] <@VoxPVoxD> They're resounding off the mirrors, almost inaudible if not for their genius configuration. 15[23:34] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "Quite divergent topics. Unless of course one happens to be in a particular predicament." [23:34] 14Honesty it is, then. After a fashion. "Access." 14He pauses. "Not the sort of access that shapes policy. The sort of access that knows the shape as the glassblower forms it. Not the sort of access that dictates, or even influences. The sort of access that understands. Nexus has become a question mark. I seek access to the answer." [23:34] "I live here, and I'll be damned if I see the place fall apart, Emissary or no." 4This is the honest truth, delivered through a different face. 15[23:34] <@VoxPVoxD> "May I ask a personal question, Excessively Righteous Blossom?" [23:35] 7Blossom: "If you wish." 15[23:35] <@VoxPVoxD> "What did it feel like to be Chosen?" 15[23:36] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia sits back, hands folded in front of her abdomen. "You've earned my attention, if nothing else." [23:36] <@Ferrinus> 12There's a loud and continuous clattering sound as Keldar fights, with success, to prevent his teacup, plate, and biscuits from just completely spilling across the floor. [23:36] 3He didn't, no. [23:36] 14Stranger leans forward in his seat. "How many bees have you seen lately?" 15[23:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "...more than usual for this time of year." [23:39] 14Stranger nods. "Yes. And fatter, too. Louder. With honeycombs creeping forth in the shaded trestles and narrow alleyways that riddle Nexus." 15[23:39] <@VoxPVoxD> Hear the sledges with the bells! Silver bells! Innumerable bells. Bells of merriment and mourning. Bells that form a tinkling undertone to the song. [23:39] 14Stranger: "Too quickly. Too loudly. Too soon." 15[23:40] <@VoxPVoxD> Mud and Xu Sim both hear it. It echoes in Xu Sim's head like the final words of a dream. He knows these words. They are the old tongue, spoken in an old way. Old Realm was, after all, the native language of the Fair Folk. The music comes and goes in volume, and only the refrain is audible to the old alchemist. 15[23:40] <@VoxPVoxD> Do you recall how we came to that place? 15[23:40] <@VoxPVoxD> And sang of their lightness and shapeful disgrace? 15[23:41] <@VoxPVoxD> They tilted their vanes and ennobled their spires 15[23:41] <@VoxPVoxD> They began at the rivers when they set the fires. [23:42] "I suspect your supply of iron thistledown is no accident. Related, even." 15[23:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "I don't immediately see the connection." [23:46] 05 Xu mumbles the refrain out loud, to clarify it for Mud. [23:46] 7Ah. Of course. Too late to back out now. She composes herself, takes a sip of tea, and replies "It was like... breathing in perfection." [23:47] 14Stranger: "It all arcs back around, if we're being honest. The thistledown, the bees, the Emissary, the cabbage man -- everything is connected." 14He smiles slightly. "'Everything is connected.' Frankly, that's a truism." 15[23:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "You understand, of course, that knowingly aiding and comforting Anathema is a high crime. Were the law to catch up with me I would be most endangered." A thin smile. "But then there is no law in Nexus anymore, is there?" [23:49] <@Ferrinus> 12What is the latest and most relevant Civility to the Anathema, anyway? 15[23:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Standing law is not to interfere with the Wyld Hunt, and if called upon to aid in it to do so unless it contravenes the Dogma. [23:51] <@Ferrinus> 12Hmm. "Arguably, no," 12Keldar hazards. 15[23:52] <@VoxPVoxD> "Certainly, without the Emissary, no law that those who stand beyond the mortal are bound to respect." [23:52] "More Fair Folk," 05 Xu Sim mutters. 15[23:52] <@VoxPVoxD> "Have you heard of the Black and White Treatises, Excessively Righteous Blossom?" [23:53] "More..?" 15[23:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "So it is. And, distressing as it is to admit, I still don't quite see your point. Help me out." [23:54] 14Stranger: "We come seeking information -- very specific information -- and we bear similar gifts in kind. It is not our intention to hinder your investigation. In fact, we'd like to help it, to the best of our ability. I propose a framework: you ask us a question, and then we ask you a question. If either of us declines to answer, the other gets to ask again. And you can go first." [23:58] "Should we.. should we take arms?" [23:59] 7Blossom: "I have. The best written instruction on sorcery. They are one of the things I was hoping to find..." 15[00:01] <@VoxPVoxD> "Well. You'll be glad to know I can provide them. They're little use to me except as a collector's item now." [00:02] "Bells rang when the Emissary died, and again when their army coalesced. The shapeful disgrace... that could be Balor, for taking mortal form... beginning at the rivers where the fires are set. Isn't that where these bees come from, one of the smelting districts?" 15[00:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "Fine. A first question: why was it so important to you to keep Nessun Dorma from sparing the Anathema's life?" [00:04] 7Blossom: "That would be very helpful." 15[00:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "And my price is very fair." 15[00:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "I only ask that you - both of you - indulge my curiosity as I do yours." 15[00:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "Mm?" [00:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar works his jaw around a bit, and not just because he's finishing off a cookie. "Whaddya wanna know?" 15[00:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "For starters, why are you here? She wouldn't have asked for a bodyguard. You wouldn't have cared to crack open a book. What's in this for you?" [00:09] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "We're both looking into the Emissary's death and the fair folk attack it triggered. Figured you were the one to ask." [00:09] 3If Xu looks up, he'll see that Mud is shrugging. "What should we do?" [00:11] 7Blossom: "I need to understand what's expected of me." 15[00:11] <@VoxPVoxD> To Keldar: "Oh yes. The road from the Mirrormarches marched right by my door. But you saw them as close up as I did." 15[00:11] <@VoxPVoxD> To Blossom: "By Him?" [00:11] "05 Xu produces the red, red, rose from before and considers it for an instant. [00:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah, but you had better odds of recognizing 'em, I figure. Or the star that called 'em up. ...or all these bees." [00:12] 7She nods. 15[00:13] <@VoxPVoxD> There's that thin smile again. "An educated man might find these questions leading. Is there anything more particular these questions of yours are building up to, Keldar?" 15[00:13] <@VoxPVoxD> To Blossom: "What are you prepared to do, if it's expected?" [00:13] 14Stranger raises a finger. "Before you answer, I'd like to tell you a story. Once, when I was a different man, there was a village my father led. One day, a group of merchants passed through. They watered their beasts, thanked us for hospitality, and moved on, heading for a river crossing many miles north. [00:13] "They returned, incensed, two hours later. A small band of men from our village -- hunters, husbands and fathers -- had left us, oh, three moons past last Convergence. [00:13] "It had been a poor harvest, you see. And an even worse market month after that. They told us they'd found river work north, but had taken to banditry to feed their families. We knew the truth. But the idiots still wore the tunics our housewives and househusbands sewed, with the same distinct skin. So. [00:13] "The merchants demanded their property back, and blood on top. So my father sat them down and told them this: ask me a question, and I will answer -- but then I will ask you a question, and you must do the same. The merchants, annoyed, agreed. Their first question, of course, was where the men who stole their goods were; father told them. They rose to leave, but sat back down when father [00:13] reminded them of the terms. [00:13] "And then father asked them: 'Did you know you can ford the river fifteen minutes from here?' [00:13] "The merchants were shocked. They asked how, where, so on. But father shook his head. You see, my father said, the men who knew how to ford that river -- they were the same men who had stolen the merchants' goods. [00:13] "In the end, we showed them the safe passage and bought the goods our village's men had stolen at tenth-cost. The merchants had a shorter route to travel than their competitors. And only because instead of selling his wayward charges out to the merchants, and instead of refusing to cooperate -- my father answered a question, and then asked one. [00:13] "Because that was what duty demanded. His duty to his men, and his duty to the merchants: he satisfied both. [00:13] "I ask only for the same opportunity." [00:15] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar peers at Omph, leaning back a little. There's pretty clearly something central to the whole line of questioning that the Dawn's leaving out, though whether he's aware of how obvious this is is, itself, uncertain. "Depends on the answers, I figure." [00:17] 7She frowns. "What do you mean?" 15[00:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Studying Balor, studying the bees... even this dead rose bears new insights with old knowledge. It, like they, is an admixture of flesh and fae, a Wyld mutant in reverse. It's a sentiment given shape and then degraded by an assumption that can never be undone. The sentiments here in the red rose, the same burning red as Balor's eye, are twofold. First, the rose is a symbol of love, devotion, affection. Second, it burns in step with with his eye, the shade of true treason. 15[00:19] <@VoxPVoxD> It's a tool, a piece of whatever great devising the bees and their hives represent... but it's also a memento. Someone loved Balor and forsook him, and this is the flower they leave on his grave. [00:19] 05 Hence, the broken heart. 15[00:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia listens to the story, with mere patience at first but growing interest. When he delivers the punchline, she laughs - a real laugh, the laugh of someone without many such laughs in her. She wanted to like him, Stranger can see. And now she feels comfortable doing so. 15[00:21] <@VoxPVoxD> The smile's gone with a quickness. Like or not, the job remains the job. "Fine. A first question: why was it so important to you to keep Nessun Dorma from taking the Anathema?" 15[00:21] <@VoxPVoxD> To Keldar: "Most fair." 15[00:23] <@VoxPVoxD> To Blossom: "You know, I expect, what the Ignis Divine wants from you better than I could ever tell you. In principle. In sentiment. What you seek from me is protocol, yes? Liturgies, sacraments, rites, the proper orientation and dimensions of temples. You have the faith already. You seek to build it up." [00:24] 7Blossom: "Yes, yes, that's right!" 15[00:24] <@VoxPVoxD> "So I ask again: at what cost? What sacrifice is too great?" [00:25] 14For the briefest instant, Stranger's empty eyes narrow, mind racing as he calculates the risk against the reward. [00:27] 7Blossom: "I- I'm not sure." [00:27] 14But that is the only hesitation, and it is less than a whisper. "Because he's the same as we are, and he did not deserve to die there in street for trying to save a life." [00:27] 14The hesitation is less than a whisper, that is. Stranger's voice is even, calm and clear. [00:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's got a dubious expression here, one that sharpened somewhat when Blossom first answered in the affirmative. This clearly takes him somewhat by surprise. 15[00:28] <@VoxPVoxD> "You're saying that you are Anathema." [00:28] 4Goddamn. He said he was going to be honest, not Honest. 15[00:29] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "Would you kill a man?" [00:30] 14Stranger's smile is a thin line. "That is not what we call ourselves. And I believe you've asked your question." [00:30] 7Blossom: "I already have." 15[00:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "...so I have." She spreads her hands. "Go ahead." [00:31] 4The Judge leans back in his chair, looking casual, but tensed like a spring. Who knows if Stranger's story was enough to keep her calm, or if she's going to call guards or fight us? [00:32] 14He leans further forward. "This my question: what happened on the night Astrologer Kratz tried to flee Nexus?" [00:35] "You're surely right about the trap," 05 observes the alchemist with a frown. At last, he tilts the bee carcasses into the flames of his brazier. 15[00:36] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "I don't doubt it. Of course, that is the least of what will be asked of you. To kill a man. To move mountains and topple thrones. To raise an empire from the ashes... there is no sphere of human life in which the Unconquered Sun does not demand excellence. There is no shadow his light will not seek to drive away. The darkness in your hearts... and it's there, make no mistake. No living soul is clean. But in the sun's light, the shadows cast by the blemishes of your soul will blot out nations." 15[00:37] <@VoxPVoxD> "Do you understand? You are perfect in his sight, from your most glorious self to your most low. All will shine in the light of day." 15[00:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia says simply, "She went mad." [00:38] "Well, what should we do, Xu?" [00:39] "How mad? A rough day, or completely off the farm? From what I hear, no one's heard from her since, present company excepted presumably." [00:39] 14Stranger's unseeing eyes narrow slightly again. Given the weight of the question he just answered, he's clearly expecting more. 15[00:39] <@VoxPVoxD> "Her prophecies... nobody could make sense of them. And those were what she sought to enter into law. We couldn't. Even the Emissary refused to speak them. He wouldn't look her in the eye." [00:39] 14Ah. [00:39] "I don't know if they're coming to fight us or not. But we're supposed to be keeping a low profile..." [00:40] 7Blossom: "I think I understand." 15[00:41] <@VoxPVoxD> "And they grew more and more unhinged. She began speaking of great armies, from every side, surrounding Nexus. Burning it to the ground. None would survive. And of death... death like the black blood of the earth, spoiling the ground, poisoning the rivers. Locusts that shine in the sun like iron... it was too much. Hardly any of us could stand her." 15[00:42] <@VoxPVoxD> "But she has a good heart. She deserves better than what she got." [00:42] "And now? Have any of them come true?" [00:42] 3Mud ponders this. "Do you think we've been found out?" [00:42] "If.. if we're to remain in hiding, do you suppose the others will be alright?" [00:42] 14Stranger glares over at the Judge for the briefest of moments. That's not the agreement. [00:43] 14To Pellicia: "Your question." 15[00:44] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "When she tried to run... she was convinced it was the only way she'd survive. But it's ridiculous. She wasn't coherent. I was able to convince the Emissary to look after her himself, visit her tower. Since he died I've been by to see her. She doesn't speak anymore. She just sits and looks out her eastern windows." 15[00:44] <@VoxPVoxD> She looks at Judge: "Are you Anathema too?" [00:45] "Yes." 4The Judge, in this form, bows his head. "Though as my friend said, that's hardly how we think of ourselves." 15[00:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "Then my knowledge is yours for the taking, because I've become convinced that it is you who are the true shepherds of creation. All others are pretenders and charlatans. And I would see you off with the wisdom to make it so." 15[00:46] <@VoxPVoxD> A wider smile. "I've grown rather fonder of Creation than I ever thought I would, you see. I would hate so much to lose it." [00:46] "I don't want to hide, if it means the others won't. Did you build a peephole or something we can look out of?" 15[00:46] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "...Well. I suppose in your position I wouldn't care for that word either." 15[00:47] <@VoxPVoxD> She sighs, and gives the two of them a 'keep it coming' gesture. [00:47] 7That's not the most comforting endorsement, but she'll take it. [00:48] "A 'peephole' is vulgar, criminal. I have constructed Murder Holes." 3He scoffs. [00:48] "Have any of her prophecies come true? Was it considered that maybe the world had gone mad, rather than the seer's prophecies?" 4The Judge gestures out the window. "Surely it doesn't seem so unreasonable now." [00:48] "They are the cornerstone of any defensive structure!" [00:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar sits back, blinking once or twice. "What, uh. What convinced you on that point?" [00:48] "If you'd like, I could show them to you- and, oh, a number of hidden caches of drink!" [00:49] "Lead the way!" 15[00:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia's laugh is hoarse. "Well put. I've been trying to piece them together myself. But we didn't write them down. Only Brueghel would have fuller records than I do. Pompous little shit." [00:50] 3Mud trundles off through the hall of mirrors. Near the stair, past the sawhorse and the piled planks, he removes a wall-tile to reveal a pair of eye-sized gouges into the claystone, and a small shelf beneath containing a number of bamboo flasks of rum. "Take a look outside... does it seem safe?" [00:51] 14'Brueghel.' Stranger commits the name to memory. [00:51] "This one should-" 3he ponders, "-yes, it should look just below the front door." [00:51] 14Stranger: "One more round, I think. Three is a significant number in many ways." [00:52] 05 As Xu puts his eye to the hole, Twice-Refined Princes scampers up towards one of the rum flasks, tongue lolling, and scritches at it a few times with a paw. 15[00:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "To answer your question, Keldar, I must first ask you another: have you ever been in love?" [00:54] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Sure." 15[00:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph gives Blossom a look like Keldar just strolled in with his fly down and he's quietly insisting neither of them embarrass him for it. But then he says: "It's harder than they make it sound, to fall in love. For my kind, at least. A love you aren't born with - which isn't love at all, as far as I'm concerned - has to be burned into you. You wear sentiment like a scar." 15[00:58] <@VoxPVoxD> "Or more charitably," he says, pulling off his glove. "Like a tattoo." [00:59] "What do you see, Xu?" 3Mud takes a swig from the flask, and allows a small measure of rum to dribble down for the alchemist's dog to lap up. 15[00:59] <@VoxPVoxD> He raises his right hand. It's been scored black with an ugly lattice of short hatchmarks. The pattern is immediately recognizable. It's a tattoo of thistledown scars. 15[00:59] <@VoxPVoxD> "Do you know what they call these?" [01:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I'm not even sure which 'they' you mean." 15[01:00] <@VoxPVoxD> "The Sapphire Courts. The princes of the shapeless. The raksha." [01:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "In that case, I got no idea. What do they call 'em?" [01:01] 14Stranger sits back in his chair, awaiting Pellicia's final question. 15[01:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia is silent for a long while before she finally says. "You knew about the thistledown. You knew I had it. My bet is, you know where it's from. Someone cut up the Emissary's body. Was it one of you? One of the - whatever the polite word is." 15[01:03] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "These are the Tears of Cethleann. The brands of high treason among my kind." 15[01:04] <@VoxPVoxD> "They say that when great Balor fell, all those years ago... when he died... the iron had scored every inch of his body. Except his hands." 15[01:05] <@VoxPVoxD> "Balor's hands remained clean, because he was betrayed. His greatest generals turned their backs on him. They forsook him to the pigs to cut safe retreats back to the Wyld with their armies. And each of them bears the scars of treason on the hand the used to swear the oath against him." [01:06] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar whistles. "Why? They figure they weren't gonna beat the Sword regardless?" 15[01:07] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "Mmm. She visited them in the sky like a stolen Celestine. She offered them clemency for treason. And they took it." 15[01:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "Your 'Empress'. The queen of pigs." [01:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Huh. That's a little-known fact. Were you around back then?" 15[01:08] <@VoxPVoxD> "I'm not that old. But our histories perservere. As long as one among us lives who remembers, we all might, should we join with them." [01:09] 14Stranger: "Hrm. Yes, and no. We did our own examination, but someone did their own before ours. Certain...removals had already been made by the time we arrived. And we were not the first to lift his mask. But yes, we did our own autopsy. And in our opinion, the Emissary is who he clearly appears to be." 15[01:09] <@VoxPVoxD> "And I know for a fact that each of the great generals that betrayed Balor lives to this day." 15[01:09] <@VoxPVoxD> "One of them did this to me." 15[01:09] <@VoxPVoxD> He waggles his fingers again. [01:10] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I was gonna ask how it was your people could brand each other with something takes an entire, live war manse to warm up... but I imagine they just give you a hearty handshake, eh?" [01:10] 14Stranger: "My final question is this: do you think that right now this city can survive a full-blown Wyld Hunt?" 15[01:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "Mmm. Everything touched by treason bears their mark. Iron falls from their fingertips like rain." 15[01:11] <@VoxPVoxD> "Would you like to see their faces? 15[01:11] <@VoxPVoxD> He pulls the glove back on. "We're headed to the library anyway." [01:12] <@Ferrinus> "Fucked up," 12says Keldar, sagely. "And yeah, I'd take a look." 12He begins to stand retrieving his gloves and tucking them through one of the cords on his belt as he follows the faerie. [01:13] 7Blossom will nod diplomatically as she stands up to follow them. 15[01:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "I don't think the city could survive much, right now. Certainly not that." [01:16] 14Stranger nods and stands. "We'll ford this river yet. Together." 14Ra runs along his shoulders, then ducks back into his robes. "We're currently looking into the bee situation. Anything we learn, we will pass along. Discreetly." 15[01:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Omphaloskepsis leads them out of the drawing-room and up the stairs. The stairs seem to grow longer as they climb, and there's a curious sense of vertigo. It's only the soothing mechanical rhythm of the clocks that keep Blossom and Keldar from confronting the prospect of an unseemly dizzy spell. [01:18] <@Ferrinus> 12That and Keldar's iron resolve! [01:18] 7Blossom is never, ever sick at sea. 15[01:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia stands, too. "If there's anything I can do - discreetly - then I'll listen. Without the Emissary, the entire Council is tiptoeing around each other. It's a delicate situation, and they don't all deserve what will happen if it falls apart." [01:22] 4The Judge nods. "We'll do what you can, you do what you can, and between us, maybe we can keep it all together long enough for things to settle down. That's the plan, anyway." 15[01:23] <@VoxPVoxD> The raksha's library is almost claustrophobic. Luckily, time passes in fits and starts. In a dreamblink they're all standing around a table as Omph flips through the pages of a vast and ancient tome. Violet dust kicks up from every illuminated page. 15[01:23] <@VoxPVoxD> "Four generals, meaning of course one from each direction." [01:24] 14Stranger nods -- it's almost a slight bow. "We will respect your laws, to the best of our ability. And we will refrain from further public displays. We are not here to multiply your troubles." [01:24] "But someone is. And they will be found." 15[01:25] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "You're damn right they will." 15[01:26] <@VoxPVoxD> "But." 15[01:26] <@VoxPVoxD> "I still don't understand. You didn't answer me before. Not really." 15[01:26] <@VoxPVoxD> "What's in this for you? Why do you care?" [01:27] 14Stranger's halfway out the door. He pauses for a moment, then turns back. "We are Solars. We are the champions of humanity. We are the Chosen of the Unconquered Son." 14He smiles. "Caring is what we do." [01:27] 14Then they're gone. 15[01:29] <@VoxPVoxD> Drily, Omph continues. "From the West was Ardua Hundred Reeds. King-in-Cobalt. Firstborn of the Tides. The Arrowhead of the Dreaming Host. Without Balor's Star to guide him, his army grew lost in retreat, and fell to the deserts in the south east. The Dreaming Sea rose where they fell. They say he thought Balor lacked the will for victory." 15[01:30] <@VoxPVoxD> He taps on a picture. 15[01:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Turn the page. "Elegba the Lion. The Saffron Khan. Grandmaster of Flowers. They say there is no plant he can't bid forth from the unshaped Wyld. He betrayed Balor because the others did, and he followed the majority will." [01:32] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar scoffs. 15[01:35] <@VoxPVoxD> Turn the page. "From the North was Hard-Hearted Brokkr. The White Titan. Winter Descending. They say the great ice plains were a quarter their size before he walked the earth. He turned his back on Balor for coming to love something more than war." 15[01:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Turn the page. "And from the East, where Balor ruled, his queen. Cethleann of the Silver Lance. Duchess Primrose. Apis Regina. Bellringer. Keeper of the Sixfold Throne. It was her treason that brought Balor low, because it was the only betrayal he would not admit to himself." 15[01:39] <@VoxPVoxD> He frowns. "This isn't a good picture of her." [01:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Hello there. Keldar looks around the library, then over at Omph. "Which one of 'em kicked you out here?" [01:41] 7Apis Regina and Bellringer, hmm. 15[01:41] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph taps on Cethleann's picture again. "She could've wiped me away if she'd wanted to. She's ishvara now. Do you know the word?" [01:41] 7Blossom: "No... why did she betray him?" 15[01:42] <@VoxPVoxD> "...she never said." [01:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar shapes the word silently, then shakes his head. 15[01:44] <@VoxPVoxD> "Ishvara are the greatest of my kind, elevated beyond the greatest nobles. More gods than kings. Their will is limitless and the Wyld follows them like a desperate courtier." 15[01:45] <@VoxPVoxD> "Balor was ishvara. And if he were not betrayed - even if your Empress had succeeded in slaying him - we would be occupying a far smaller world." [01:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Awful kind of her, then. Was she ishvara back then?" 15[01:46] <@VoxPVoxD> "No." 15[01:46] <@VoxPVoxD> "If she were, there would have been no cause for treason, and no quarter to your kind." [01:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "So... that brings us back around, right. What brings you here? Why're you for us?" 15[01:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph: "If you love something, and that love is betrayed, or broken, will you forsake loving forever?" 15[01:50] <@VoxPVoxD> "Not unless you're weak." [01:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Seems a bit disproportionate." 15[01:50] <@VoxPVoxD> "You would think, no?" 15[01:50] <@VoxPVoxD> "And yet, we abide in a more loveless world than that thought suggests." [01:51] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Or just a weak one." 15[01:51] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom gets another one of those looks. 15[01:53] <@VoxPVoxD> "...ultimately, to love again, I believe you must humble yourself. You must accept defeat and rise again. Like the clock that ticks in Nexus when the whole town's been destroyed." 15[01:54] <@VoxPVoxD> "And when you've risen to your full height... you won't be the man who fell anymore. You will rise a new creature." 15[01:55] <@VoxPVoxD> "That is why I walked here with iron in my skin. It's why I built this house. It's why I bound these books." 15[01:56] <@VoxPVoxD> "If I am to be reborn in love lost... I need a crucible that befits that gesture." 15[01:56] <@VoxPVoxD> "What better place than Nexus?" 15[02:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Blossom's wondering where the time went. This is the only room in the whole house without a clock in it. [02:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar looks around the room again, faintly bemused. "So you're looking to have your heart broken? Or am I misunderstanding?" 15[02:00] <@VoxPVoxD> There's three heavy books in front of her, though. 15[02:00] <@VoxPVoxD> One white, one black, and one plated gold. 15[02:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Omph puts a hand on Keldar's shoulder. "I don't know if I can communicate it to you clearly. But I have faith that you will understand, one day." [02:02] 7She puts a hand on the cover of the gold-plated book, and stops a moment in thought. "I understand how you knew we were Chosen, but... how did you know my name?" 15[02:02] <@VoxPVoxD> "You weren't my first visitor today." [02:06] 7Blossom: "Who...?" 15[02:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "His name would pass from your minds as easily as mine. But I took his measure too. If you wish to know him... look to love." 15[02:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "And to the stars." 15[02:10] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: War Tidings