15[20:25] <@VoxPVoxD> In Council Tower, conversations spin apace, each little orbit bound up in the same etiquettes and conventions. Hayle is patiently evasive, getting as many details out of Xu Sim as he can without committing to word one of his proposal. What's Xu Sim's pitch? 15[20:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar, Bastian, and the grotesque Governor of Thorns are circling around a conversation of military strategy, predictably hindered by the lack of trust between them. What are Keldar and Bastian trying to get from their new translucent friend? [20:29] %C5 Without curing the city of the Honey-Maze, victory is impossible. To cure the City, Xu Sim needs his patients, the assistance of the city's clinics, and access to well-stocked apothecary. All Xu Sim requires is a proper change of clothes and the return of his good name with regards to the death under mysterious circumstances of a certain River Kingdoms despot. 15[20:29] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan shares an after-dinner drink with Mori Nogare, Prince Regent of the provincial empire of Highland. He's perfectly cordial and (in his way) receptive to her charm, but Stranger's given her a warning. How does she proceed? [20:29] 4Bastian is trying to ascertain if the plan is merely to beat them back from Nexus, or invade and liberate Deguo as well. [20:30] <@Ferrinus> 12In Keldar's case, it's some idea of how undead shock troops compare to the normal sort from a rarely-seen perspective. It's common knowledge that zombies and such are fearless, tireless, impervious to plague or pain - but do they actually need feeding of some sort? Repairs? Costly magical reagants? Maybe they represent a better business opportunity - and a lesser threat - than one [20:30] <@Ferrinus> 12would think. [20:30] 14The silver-haired man, meanwhile, waits on a cat. [20:32] 5 Xu Sim continues: To defeat the hordes of raksha (and their honeybee minions), Xu Sim believes an ingenious secret weapon he has envisioned could save the lives of hundreds of men, requiring little more than the work of the city's glass-blowers and the byproducts of its forges and dyeworks. 15[20:33] <@VoxPVoxD> While he waits for the Ambassador, Stranger has got half an ear on a brisk disagreement between Councilor Pellicia and Councilor Brueghel about plans to fortify the city. Brueghel insists that it's a waste of money to erect more than quick barricades against such a powerful army. Pellicia insists that to give anything less than your full effort to front-line physical defense is as good as consigning the upriver outskirts of the city to doom before the fighting has even begun. [20:33] 14Mmmmm. Interesting. [20:34] 14Does Pellicia look like she needs help arguing her cause? More importantly, does it look like she wants any from the likes of him? [20:34] 5 Xu Sim is happy to provide his superior medical attention to the city of Nexus in the future, bringing health and contentment to the City, in return for terms he is sure his companions could happily elaborate upon, on an a-la-carte basis. For example, bringing clean and fresh water to the slums, a project he has occasionally contemplated, is not beyond his reach. 15[20:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger can tell that Pellicia doesn't have Brueghel's rhetorical chops, but nor does she have Brueghel's apparent tolerance for bullshit. Defense of the city is her prerogative, after all - he has to convince her, not the other way around. [20:39] 13Xia Lan continues to charm the Regent (though less actively than this sort of thing usually requires - strange man), making small talk and probing his feelings on the other attendees. She knows his feelings on their lot, but not his feelings on Nexus, Highland, or Thorns. Or the principal actors, for that matter. Some careful conversations ought to bring that to light. 15[20:41] <@VoxPVoxD> Bastian only hears the Governor talk about Nexus. There's no hint he's got an appetite to dive into the hundred kingdoms to clean up the mess the raksha made. But nobody's committed to a formal military policy yet, either. It'd be a ripe opportunity for negotiation. 15[20:42] <@VoxPVoxD> Meanwhile, the same Governor deflects most of Keldar's questions about the strengths and weaknesses of his army by eating noisily. At one point he sprays wine on Keldar when he talks. [20:42] 4“-while I agree we should focus on the immediate future, surely what comes next should concern us as well? Victory is not guaranteed, but we seem to have assembled an impressive array of allies here." [20:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar expertly deflects it, obviously. [20:44] 7Dawn looks really grossed out. 15[20:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Dawn, her steady eye on the mysterious Hunter, isn't caught by surprise at all when he gets up and walks across the room to sit near her, though most everyone else is startled when they realize he's moved. [20:46] 14...Stranger's got an angle here, he thinks. He scoops up the nearest kettle and an empty cup and slips over. "More tea, my councilors? Talk of business always makes me thirsty." [20:46] 14Regardless of their answers, he'll pour himself a cup. [20:46] 7Dawn, for her part, doesn't flinch or look surprised. 15[20:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Hayle: "I like your proposal. However, our budget for taking on new contractors is already stretched thin. We could maybe scrape together the cash for most of your project... but it'd be very difficult to pay you for your services." 15[20:50] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Allies of necessity, my orphaned princeling! We must agree our needs. Defense of Creation, yes, but beyond that?" [20:51] 4“Surely defense would involve wiping them off the territories they have taken? We cannot allow an open wound to fester." [20:52] 14He'll give Pellicia a look as well. He's unsure how well the Dawn Sergeant a look as well. He's not sure how well she can read him, but he's here to prod Brueghel, not cause more problems for her. [20:52] 5 Xu Sim has no way of knowing if the man lies.  "To be esteemed is better than silver or jade, as some would say. Would I be esteemed?" 15[20:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Hunter's voice is thin and foreign and cold. Dawn can't quite catch his eyes beneath his hat and scarf. "It's rude to stare without introducing yourself." 15[20:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Hayle: "Most highly, if we live." [20:53] 7Dawn: "Given the company you keep, you'd know from rudeness." [20:55] 5 Xu Sim asks questions as a schoolmaster might.  "And you can provide my tools? My reagents? Access to those unfortunates under Lookshyan guard?" 15[20:56] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan finds the Regent easily diplomatic - Nexus is the linchpin of the entire Eastern Threshold, he says. Thorns is making an admirable and earnest commitment to a common good no one would've attributed to them! - but she can't help but notice that the more she pushes the conversation to the others in the room, the less he touches or even looks at his food and drink. [20:57] 13What's he looking at instead? 15[20:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan. He breaks eye contact less as the conversation goes on. 15[21:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel: "You're too kind. Pellicia speaks very highly of you." 15[21:01] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor laughs at Bastian. "You speak of the Province as if it had been conquered. You'd sooner speak of counterattacking a field ruined by locusts! The raksha don't take territory." [21:02] 4“But if we beat them back from here - they will retreat to there, no? We do not have the freedom to allow them to recover, to retrench - yes?" 15[21:03] <@VoxPVoxD> "If they retreat, we haven't beaten them. Our goal cannot be simply to protect Nexus - we must crush the invaders outright, and to a man." [21:04] 4“And should we succeed? What will you do next?" [21:04] "She is an excellent judge of character," 14Stranger says without a hint of irony or double-meaning, and pours the councilor tea. "She is right, of course, about the necessity and primacy of a strong outer defense against the precise foes we face -- but I must confess, your digression on the shape of the economy intrigues me. The concept of waste, specifically." [21:05] 13Charming! And it's good to know she's still got the gift - it rankled, a little, not to keep his attention. 15[21:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Hunter: "Rude out loud, too. Have I offended you?" [21:06] "Let us suppose you are correct on the general point: fortifying the outlying defenses costs more money than it recoups. This seems counter-intuitive, as it preserves both the most dynamic asset that Nexus's economy harnesses -- her labor -- and the least liquid: developed land. It seems then, somewhere, there must be an inflection point that changes the incentives." [21:08] 7Dawn: "Is the intent of your party here not to offend? Are you disappointed that you would succeed? If that wasn't your intent, seems you could have chosen your leader and your army a bit better." 15[21:08] <@VoxPVoxD> Hayle: "I'm... not empowered to make commitments on behalf of the Lookshyan delegation. You could ask the Dragonlord yourself - I find him most personable." 15[21:08] <@VoxPVoxD> Hayle looks around. "Where has he gotten off to?" [21:09] "In any case - please let me know who can receive my shopping list, and I will begin to cure the people and build the secret weapon." [21:14] 5 Xu Sim doesn't mind that Dorma is nowhere to be seen; he would prefer not to approach him alone. 15[21:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel: "I'm afraid it's more to do with our current woeful readiness than a lack of love or respect for the outer city. Nexus is a peaceful city. Its defense has been unquestioned in living memory. However, our defense and our law enforcement revolved around the efforts of the Emissary. With his sudden absence, we find ourselves unable to meet our existing security needs, much less assume a proper wartime footing." 15[21:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Hunter: "We don't choose our leaders. Do you?" 15[21:16] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "If we succeed, then we will have succeeded! That is reward enough. What we do next depends on the contours of our success, my dear lord." [21:16] 7Dawn: "Why follow someone you don't believe in, then?" [21:17] 13Chatting with the Beast of Highland, Xia Lan continues: "You know, you never answered my question about your homeland. I've never been - what's it like?" [21:17] 14Stranger sips his tea. "And is that a problem of resources, or a problem of workflow? That the Emissary's loss has made you unable to protect Nexus's current holdings presupposes that all questions of allocation and structure remain answered the same way in his absence. Phrased differently, and more succinctly: what needs to change? And whom outside this room needs to be consulted [21:17] in those changes, from an executive perspective?" 15[21:17] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "What remains? What is salvageable? Whose claims must we respect? Who merits further responsibility and further reward? Questions we cannot answer yet." [21:19] 4“A fair answer. If I may be blunt: what do you, and your people, want?" 15[21:22] <@VoxPVoxD> One of Pellicia's men approaches their conversation, and bends down to whisper in her ear. She looks up at him, incredulity and fear flickering briefly across her face. "I'm coming out," she mutters. 15[21:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel perks up. 15[21:24] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia's face is expressionless. "I need to tend to something. Start the conference, will you? We've dithered enough." [21:24] 14Stranger's eyebrows lift, but he says nothing. 15[21:26] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia walks out, a cat nimbly weaving between her legs as they cross paths under the arch of the door. Bad luck, that. [21:27] 14Ah. 15[21:27] <@VoxPVoxD> The previous conversations dissolve as Brueghel announces that everyone's now well prepared for earnest talks and could everyone please congregate at the marked points at the enormous central table with their own delegations. [21:27] 5 The sorceror and dog-lover in Xu Sim notes the omen with some trepidation. [21:27] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar watches her go with some concern. She won't be here for the negotiation proper...? Guess that means he's got to rep the guard to some extent. [21:28] 14He turns back to Brueghel. "I'll spare us the sparring, since the battle's ready to start direct: if the Guild wants to talk, we will listen. They live here too." [21:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Either way, the mercenary clad in stolen moonsilver rises and takes his place beside the other Solars, probably adjacent to the representatives of Nexus itself. [21:28] 14Then he excuses himself without waiting for a reply. 15[21:28] <@VoxPVoxD> It's going to take a little while to get everything cleaned up and everyone in their places. Maybe Pellicia will be back. [21:30] 5 Has the Dragonlord rejoined us? Perhaps it's that assassin... [21:30] 14Stranger steps away for a moment, reaching down to let the cat leap up onto his arm and climb up to his shoulders and then disappearing into a sideroom. [21:30] 14He returns a few moments later, lips pressed together, without the cat. 15[21:31] <@VoxPVoxD> The Dragonlord does emerge into the central chamber a few minutes after Brueghel's announcement, eyes flashing white beneath his helmet, the stones shuddering beneath his feet. [21:32] 5 Xu Sim crosses his arms within the folds (such as they are) of his pathetic white patient's robe, standing at an approximation courtly attention. [21:33] 14Has each retinue been assigned seating for this? [21:35] 13Xia Lan makes an effort to appear unruffled by the arrival. Cool, calm, collected. 15[21:36] <@VoxPVoxD> Yes; the Lookshyan delegation is at the right hand of the eight seats for the Council, seven of which are marked with the names of the Councilors in attendance and one of which is marked with the seal of the Emissary. The Anathema circle is at the Council's left. Across from the Council are the Thorns and Highland delegations, with Highland next to Lookshy and Thorns next to the Anathema. [21:36] 5 A real rogue's gallery. [21:37] 4Stranger will manuever himself into the seat next to Keldar. Sotto voce: "We might have an issue. Certainly something more interesting for you than this meeting." [21:38] 14Stranger will manuever himself into the seat next to Keldar. Sotto voce: "We might have an issue. Certainly something more interesting for you than this meeting." [21:38] 4Bastian settles into his, casting a wary eye around. [21:39] "Astrologer Kratz has been excluded from this meeting. Recall that she was...unwell. Kept isolated. I sent the Ambassador to check on her. Don't immediately react to this next, it has context: the Ambassador was meeting with Bubo Malcavet this evening." [21:40] 5 Xu Sim takes the seat opposite Stranger-Visits-Heaven. [21:40] 14He'll put a hand out to grab Keldar's arm if it looks like he's about to stand or exclaim something. [21:40] er [21:40] "Astrologer Kratz has been excluded from this meeting. Recall that she was...unwell. Kept isolated. I sent the Ambassador to check on her. Don't immediately react to this next, it has context: the Astrolger was meeting with Bubo Malcavet this evening." [21:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar is unable to prevent himself from immediately reacting to that bit, but he does manage to not actually yell the offender's name. He just starts slightly and narrows his eyes. [21:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "...and?" [21:42] 14Stranger: "The Ambassador does not believe Bubo was responsible for the attack on us. I believe her. Regardless, he is not here; the Astrologer is. The two have a connection -- if we do need to hunt Bubo for whatever reason, we need her alive and able to speak. This brings me to my second point: there is a seat at this table for the Emissary. There is not a seat for the Astrologer." [21:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "She well enough to attend? Might be a practical thing." [21:44] 14Stranger: "She's here, the councilors know she's here, and she's been excluded from the chamber. The Dawn Sergeant is out front, going to meet Kratz. I suggest that it's in our interests to have a presence out there with them." [21:44] "I serve us better here. But you and Bastian, perhaps..." [21:45] “Who is this Kratz?" 15[21:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel settles in at the head of the Council delegation. "My friends, my allies, my fellow citizens... I won't mince words. We have heard from all quarters the dire news of a Second Crusade. It would appear that for all invading raksha, their thralls and their prisoners, have made Nexus, of all the world, their focal point." [21:45] 14To Bastian: "A source of information, if not an ally. A missing piece in a large puzzle. Someone we cannot have getting dead, certainly not without our input." 15[21:45] <@VoxPVoxD> "Each of us around the table recognizes the dire necessity of our defense. Each of us around the table has a mortal stake in our success." [21:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, still whispering: "The fuck? ...yeah, this needs sorting out. I'll get her in here - unless she or Pellicia think that's a bad move." [21:46] 14Stranger nods. "Oh, and--" [21:46] 4“I am ready to do what- “ Bastian falls silent as Brueghel begins to speak. 15[21:46] <@VoxPVoxD> Downstairs, a cat curled up outside a low-tower waiting room hears Pellicia hiss, "Are you drunk?" [21:47] "If Kratz asks you about something called the Order of White Lotus...you are known to them, but you are not a member. I am. And I have said little regarding them to you. Which is true enough." 15[21:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz: "No, no! Well, a little-- but I have to be here. You need me here." 15[21:48] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "Have you lost your mind." [21:48] 14The Ambassador cannot quite roll her eyes as a cat. How public is this? Could she shift without notice to her human form? [21:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Gotcha." 12He pushes his hands against the table to stand, even as Brueghel's speechifying, and glances around the table once before striding off. 15[21:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Not reliably. There's a couple of guards posted at the nearby stairwell and another pair patrols through the hall periodically. [21:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Anything stop Keldar - or Bastian, if he's coming - on the way downstairs and outside to where Pellicia and Kratz reportedly are? [21:50] 4Bastian is on his way as well. [21:50] 14Stranger will murmur a condensed version of what he just told Keldar to Xu Sim, and ask him to pass it down to Xia Lan, Dawn, and Bastian (unless Bastian goes with Keldar). 15[21:52] <@VoxPVoxD> Guards might stop them, if etiquette won't. It'd be tremendously rude to just get up and walk out right after the meeting's begun! [21:53] 5 Xu Sim's eyebrow arches impressively as he listens to Stranger's words, before he pivots to explain the same to Xia Lan and Dawn. [21:53] 13Xia Lan listens impassively, mask intact, before calmly passing the information on to Dawn. [21:54] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar just gives whoever's at the door a sharp look. "Something important to take care of. My friends'll speak for me 'til I'm back." 15[21:55] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz: "Have you? What's your plan, besides waiting for the Anathema to clean this up for you?" [21:57] 4von Hrolfus taps Keldar on the shoulder. “You go on ahead." [21:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar nods to the man before stepping past the guardsmen at the door and heading downstairs. What's the situation with Kratz and Pellicia? [22:00] 14Agh! [22:00] 14Well. [22:03] 14At least Stranger-Visits-Heaven is associating with men and women who know how to train their guards, the Ambassador thinks as she nimbly slips away from one of the Dawn Guards, escaping with ea-- [22:03] "Kitty!" 14she hears as a pair of arms scoop her up. [22:03] 14Oh no. 15[22:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar sees a pair of guards halted in their patrol because one of them, a child, picked up one of the cats kept in the Tower to hunt rats. The argument in the room beyond is hushed - it'd be hard to eavesdrop on. Does Keldar just shoulder past the guards? 15[22:05] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel: "You have to forgive me. The Council -- Nexus -- I haven't been the same since the Emissary's death. The red star hanging over the hill is a beacon of our weakness, both for those who would seek to destroy us and those who would merely exploit our vulnerability." [22:06] 14Ah! One of the other Chosen! Perfect, she can just -- oh, bother. The girl is wearing long sleeves and gloves. Full leathers. Of course. She can't scratch her way out of the grip. 15[22:06] <@VoxPVoxD> A thin smile curls around the whole of his face. "Which is why I want to open this meeting with the most heartening news: the Emissary lives!" [22:07] 14... [22:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar does, yeah. "Word from Stranger - need to see Pellicia." [22:07] 5 Xu Sim quietly raps the table in frustration. He knew it! All along! [22:07] 14This explains the chair. [22:07] 4Huh. [22:09] 14They'd had some fair suspicion that the Emissary had reincarnated, but this is not the venue in which Stranger would have played this card. But then, nobody asked him. [22:09] 13Unexpected, but not unwelcome. How are the other parties taking this news? [22:10] 5 Xu Sim leans to Stranger:  "Now we know precisely what the Raksha want, I think." [22:12] 14Stranger whispers back: "Indeed. Though I'm still concerned about the timing." 15[22:13] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar's reluctantly permitted to pass at the exact moment the door flies open and Kratz walks out, looking gauzy and red-cheeked. Pellicia stands behind her, a hand on her shoulder as if expecting Kratz to fall. "Keldar!" she exclaims, surprised to see him. "Just the man I wanted to see. You're Councilor Kratz's personal security for the evening." [22:14] 14The Ambassador mrowls with annoyance. Hopefully this...this child will put her down soon. Or Keldar will requisition her as a personal babysitter. Good moon, Kratz. You should have stayed in with Bubo. 15[22:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma is, predictably, furious, his people astonished. The Governor's delegation looks smug. Highland has no reaction at all -- to Nogare and his sorcerer, Brueghel might have just told them it would rain tonight. [22:16] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar blinks. "Yeah? Sure, if need be. Wanted to know what was going on - did Kratz need an escort to the council?" 15[22:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia: "She does now. She was supposed to stay in bed. Come on, let's go." [22:21] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Right." 12He takes point, though he does take a moment to try to figure out if Kratz is ill, drunk, or poisoned. [22:21] 13That Regent gets more and more interesting. Did he know, or is he just excellent at keeping cool...? 15[22:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel's still talking. The bizarre circumstances of the Emissary's death, the chaos and turmoil provoked by his disappearance... one would think that all of Nexus had simply ground to a halt when the Emissary died. 15[22:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz is definitely drunk. She doesn't seem ill, or at least, she doesn't seem any more ill than she usually does. Kratz has always been a bit... distracted. 15[22:24] <@VoxPVoxD> The three of them make brisk pace up the many stairs to the banquet hall, passing Guild muscle and Dawn Guards and Green Apples alike. None bar Keldar's way. [22:24] <@Ferrinus> 12Problematic. Either way, Keldar stays close. 15[22:24] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel: "Many in the city - even those who witnessed it directly - refused to believe the Emissary could be laid low so trivially. He is the very essence of our city, and surely Nexus is more resilient than that. I'm now prepared to reveal that those beliefs have been vindicated. Ladies and gentlemen, assembled friends... I introduce the Emissary of Nexus!" [22:25] 14Stranger leans back and closes his eyes. 15[22:26] <@VoxPVoxD> At that moment, doors open simultaneously at opposite ends of the banquet hall. From the eastern entrance arrives Keldar, Astrologer Kratz, and Sergeant Pellicia. They look out over the table at the opposite door, at a tall figure wrapped in silver-white robes and a faceless, abstract mask. [22:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What the." [22:27] 5 Xu Sim examines the figure carefully. He looks to the gait, the length of the limbs, the width of the shoulders, hips, waist; the gnarl of the fingers, anything he can see... [22:28] 13Oh, my. [22:28] 14Well then. [22:28] 14This is a dangerous, dangerous play. [22:32] 7Dawn leans forward. She hasn't met the Emissary before, but he's supposed to be a legend. What makes a legend? [22:32] 14Stranger keeps his attention as inconspicuously as possible on the Highland delegation. The Thorns contingent seems...ebullient enough that they won't be particularly difficult to read. Highland is playing things closer. 15[22:35] <@VoxPVoxD> The man behind the mask bows deeply, if stiffly, and speaks in that unearthly voice every Nexus native knows, the one that seems not to respect inflection or acoustics. The voice of a disembodied narrator. "My citizens. My sovereigns." 15[22:54] <@VoxPVoxD> The entire chamber reels silently, every eye fixed on the Emissary's gait (stiff, uneven - Xu Sim sees the walk of a man previously bedridden) as he settles in his seat (unarmed, impassive, totally self-possessed - Dawn sees someone who sees no one in this room as a threat). Then he looks around the table (Xia Lan and Xu Sim see him leading with his hands -- his vision is severely impaired. Xia Lan and Xu Sim both recall that when Xu Sim autopsied the Emissary's body, Balor's eye had been surgically removed) and coldly remarks (Xia Lan sees that disruptions in the expected pattern anger him), "There is no place for the Astrologer." [22:55] 14The Ambassador, meanwhile, slinks back into the chamber. After deigning to allow the child to pet her awhile, she was set free, and now can -- !!!!!! [22:55] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar glances around. Should he offer his seat...? He might if no one's bringing a spare up to the table. [22:56] 14Stranger is also willing to stand, but the moment might suit Keldar better. 15[22:57] <@VoxPVoxD> No one dares approach the table. The Emissary's chair slides back seemingly of its own accord (many present can sense the immense and almost oppressive power of the Emissary, which is itself unusual - people who've seen him before have never felt this before, even when seeing him exercise his power. It always felt obvious, organic, and natural). [22:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Well, then, Keldar slides his own chair back for the second time, moves it over so that it's adjacent to the rest of the Council contingent. He gestures for Kratz to take her seat, and simply remains standing at her chair's side and slightly back. 15[22:59] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary pinches the card marking his place between thumb and forefinger and it ignites in red-violet flame. As it burns, it reveals another identical card bearing the Astrologer's name. 15[22:59] <@VoxPVoxD> "I will stand." [22:59] 14Ah. [22:59] 13Well then. 15[22:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz is all but rooted in place, moving neither for the seat Keldar offers or the Emissary's. [22:59] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, midway to standing: "Oh. Right." [23:00] 5 Doesn't seem like they just wrapped the cabbage vendor in linens and wheeled him out to fool us. [23:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Wherever Kratz goes, the mercenary'll arrange to remain nearby, per Pellicia's request. [23:00] 14No. No, it does not. [23:00] 7Maybe they've just got really special linens. [23:00] 14...How aggravating. [23:01] 5 How vindicating. [23:02] 14And how is the red star doing in the sky? [23:02] <@Ferrinus> 12Anyway, as far as Keldar's concerned, this is all something of a relief. The more of a supernatural punch that Nexus has behind its Dogmas the less bullshit we can expect from these interlopers - and the more trouble the Raksha are in. 15[23:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Outside, the red star burns bright as ever, neither dimming or flaring. [23:02] 14Indeed. [23:03] 14A cat scampers over and up into Stranger's lap, shivering. [23:03] 14Feel felt, dearest. 15[23:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz continues to hesitate. Gradually every face in the room follows the Emissary's gaze to her. "Please sit. Make us all comfortable." [23:05] 7That's not the word I'd use. [23:05] 14She'd do well to listen regardless. 15[23:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz is very pale. "O-of c-" Her stammered thanks is interrupted by a sound like the crack of a whip and she's vanished. It takes a second for everyone to notice that she's now sitting in the seat now marked for, looking stunned and a little queasy. [23:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Well, uh, the Emissary can have Keldar's seat if he likes, but in the absence of motions to that effect Keldar will be carefully sitting back down. [23:07] 14It might be interesting to try to force the Emissary to sit. [23:07] 14See what happens. [23:07] 14But no, let it play out. [23:08] 13Xia Lan makes as if to get up before realizing where Kratz has gone. That can't have been pleasant. 15[23:08] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary doesn't sit. Now he's moved on to staring down Pellicia, who approaches the table slowly but steadily, her face stony and her sword hand free. Habit. [23:09] 14She's likely not looking this way for encouragement, but if so, Stranger will give a gentle smile and a slight nod to her seat. 15[23:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan sees cold fury in the Emissary's posture. Dawn sees someone who feels compelled to enforce discipline on the unruly. Both see someone deeply aggrieved and disappointed. A father's tyranny. 15[23:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Eventually Pellicia sits. [23:12] 5 Xu Sim, no native to Nexus, feels like someone who has ended up in another family's personal business - rather like watching the aftermath after curing a tyrant whose heirs had already begun squabbling. 15[23:13] <@VoxPVoxD> Not that he'd know anything about that. [23:13] 14Stranger murmurs to Xu Sim: "Ignore what he says. Ignore how he postures. Keep your focus entirely and precisely on what he does. You've different experience than I." [23:13] "We'll compare notes later." [23:14] 5 Xu Sim claps him gently on the arm and returns his attention to the spectacle. 15[23:14] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary folds his arms. "Forgive the interruption. We're ready to proceed." [23:15] 7Dawn is taking mental notes. Damn, this is how it's done. 15[23:15] <@VoxPVoxD> More silence. Brueghel, who both knew the Emissary was going to be here and is ostensibly running the meeting, seems as stunned as anyone. Dawn, Xia Lan, and Stranger see it. This isn't what he expected either. [23:17] 14Now that's interesting. 15[23:17] <@VoxPVoxD> "Conduct the meeting." [23:17] 13It seems the bad kind of interesting, to Xia Lan. [23:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's got his gauntleted fingers interleaved as he looks back and forth around the table. It's probably not his place to talk first... but then, whose is it? 15[23:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Around the table, the emotional tenor has almost completely reversed. Dorma, once furious, is happy to see the Emissary terrify the Council. Thorns, once delighted, is uneasy. Highland has barely moved a muscle. 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> "Conduct the meeting." [23:20] 14Highlands gambles at the highest tables. [23:20] 5 Xu Sim folds his hands on the tabletop and clears his throat softly into the silence. [23:20] 14Stranger clears his throat. "I can begin, if no one else wants to." 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel: "...asIwasabouttosay, ahem, the task before us is threefold--" [23:28] 14Stranger bows his head. "I of course defer to the Evening Master on protocol. But given the immediate nature of both the negotiations and the catastrophe, Your Eminence, I would be honored if you'd permit me to explain the brief nature of the problem that has brought us to this table, so that we might agree on facts...before Your star falls from the sky." [23:29] 14Stranger is proposing a Statement of Facts -- the agreed-upon premises in a legal dispute that all sides certify, so that discussion might proceed from there on common ground. 15[23:30] <@VoxPVoxD> "The dam will not break. The star will not fall." But the Emissary motions for Stranger to continue. [23:40] "Of course, Your Eminence." 14He looks about the table. "Some six weeks ago, Your Eminence appeared to die. We will make no certification here as to the means and methods there, or the precisely correct terminology. It was generally understood that you had died. At this point, a great burning star appeared in the sky -- the star of the Crusader King. At this time -- this exact time, [23:40] I am told, and am personally guaranteeing as Fact -- four great armies of the Fair Folk marched out of the deepness at the ends of each of the four Directions, and began to converge on this city. On Your city." 14He looks about the table. "As did three armies of more mundane provenance. The Lookshyans were already in Nexus on other business when you fell; they have taken their liberties [23:40] in your absence. The delegations from Thorns and from Highland are more recently arrived. They have made their offers plainly known. They have all come to take your place. They all, presumably, wish to modify that stance. But that will be for them to say." [23:41] "My motley group and I, Your Eminence, differ in two major ways. We were here before Your fall, with no designs on Your power. And we have no army. But I would be a liar if I did not say we saw Your death as an opportunity as well." [23:42] 14He looks about the table. "That should cover where we all stand. I, of course, will permit our councilors to explain themselves at their leisure, rather than presume to speak for them." 15[23:44] <@VoxPVoxD> The room is silent briefly. [23:44] 13Xia Lan nods briskly, seeming satisfied with Stranger's statements. She settles back into her seat to watch the reactions of the Highland delegation, in particular. [23:44] 14Stranger's most interested in how Highland reacted. [23:45] 5 This is an interesting way to start a meeting. [23:45] 14Do you want to listen to them all bow and scrape? 15[23:46] <@VoxPVoxD> Highland's Regent half-raises a goblet to Stranger's words, never taking his eyes off the Emissary. [23:46] 14Mmmmm. 15[23:46] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary isn't looking at anyone in particular. At least, he doesn't seem to. [23:47] 13That's the nice thing about masks. 15[23:47] <@VoxPVoxD> "This man has marked you for opportunists." 15[23:47] <@VoxPVoxD> "Thieves." 15[23:47] <@VoxPVoxD> "Scavengers." 15[23:48] <@VoxPVoxD> "Eaters of carrion." [23:48] 4That's not even an insult to the Governor, Stranger notes with some detachment. [23:48] 14That's not even an insult to the Governor, Stranger notes with some detachment. 15[23:48] <@VoxPVoxD> He's standing centered behind the Council delegation. None of them dare look back at him. 15[23:49] <@VoxPVoxD> "How do you answer?" [23:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I grew up in Nexus. I love this city. I'm just here to keep it standing." 15[23:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Besides Keldar, nobody answers. Standing centered behind the Council puts the Emissary directly behind Brueghel, who sweats in the firelight. Did the Emissary walk there? No one saw him move. [23:50] 14This is not how Stranger was given to understand the Emissary functioned. 15[23:51] <@VoxPVoxD> It's not how the Emissary functioned. [23:52] 5 Xu Sim focuses more intently on the Emissary. What on earth? [23:52] 14Does it seem to Stranger that the Emissary is expecting answers from the Chosen individually, or even at all? 15[23:52] <@VoxPVoxD> He's looking down at Brueghel now. [23:53] 14Hmmmm. 15[23:53] <@VoxPVoxD> "How do you answer?" [23:53] 14Stranger will merely sip his tea. 15[23:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Silver-gloved hands rest heavy on the Evening Master's shoulders. [23:54] 14Unfortunate. [23:55] 13Brueghel appears to have made a bad bet. 15[23:55] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel shrinks in his seat like a turtle who's lost his shell. No matter how low he gets, the presence and pressure of the Emissary moves to match it, as if the two of them had always been like this. "Your Eminence, I--" 15[00:10] <@VoxPVoxD> The Emissary's grip tightens. "I charge you further." 15[00:11] <@VoxPVoxD> "By extracting payment from Heaven for sorcerous malfeasance, you have raised taxes beyond your remit without a full vote of the Council." [00:11] 14Stranger sets down the teacup and curls the Ambassador up against his chest. 15[00:11] <@VoxPVoxD> "By poisoning a member of the Council you have committed wanton violence." 15[00:12] <@VoxPVoxD> "By inviting the Scarlet Dynasty into our city as a personal guard you have quartered a foreign army in Nexus." 15[00:12] <@VoxPVoxD> "By concealing my body from the other Councilors you have falsely invoked your office and sanction." 15[00:13] <@VoxPVoxD> "By puppetting a corpse into my raiment of office you have falsely invoked my office and sanction." 15[00:14] <@VoxPVoxD> "By paralyzing the city and leaving it naked and exposed to invasion, you have obstructed trade." 15[00:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel doesn't get a chance to speak. It's not clear he was going to try. His body hurtles through the table, splintering it in half as he goes, until his body smacks wetly against the far wall. The pressure in the room is unbearable. 15[00:16] <@VoxPVoxD> The Councilors all dive for cover; only Pellicia gets away. Dorma stands athwart the presence but the unmoving yields to the unstoppable. 15[00:17] <@VoxPVoxD> The Scion is blown back; the Hunter backflips away; the Governor simply vanishes. 15[00:18] <@VoxPVoxD> The Beast of Highland draws a sword of liquid fire from the air, brow and body burning with the dawn, as his people cower behind him. [00:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar leaps sideways, grabbing Kratz and spinning around to simply interpose his armored body between her and the Emissary's aura of killing power, but the energy simply goes through the mercenary like he isn't there. He and the astrologer spasm identically, if briefly, in pain. 15[00:18] <@VoxPVoxD> The air hangs still for an awful moment, the pressure thick in the air and ringing in everyone's ears. [00:18] 5 Xu Sim's head is slammed into the table; his moustache and beard are stained red with blood as he lifts his head to survey the damage. [00:19] 14Stranger is out of his seat so quickly it's hard to track, and up in a chandelier, holding his chair against his chest to shield the Ambassador. [00:19] 7Dawn's chair is blown away, but she doesn't seem bothered. She puts a hand on her hat (which she is rudely still wearing) and it doesn't even blow off. 15[00:20] <@VoxPVoxD> "YOU ARE IN CONTRAVENTION" Brueghel's body floats limply to the center of the room, still-conscious, wild-eyed and pleading, until his eyes roll back into his head and out of his body along with every drop of liquid viscera that boils from his eyes, his ears, his pores. [00:20] 13A trickle of blood drips down Xia Lan's jaw, bleeding from the mouth and nose. She scrambles back to her feet, chair obliterated. 15[00:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Brueghel's skin, empty of blood and bone, drops to the ground like a soiled rag as a shockwave rips the top of Council Tower to flinders, scattering it on the wind and exposing them to a mad red sky. 15[00:22] <@VoxPVoxD> "CRETINS" 15[00:22] <@VoxPVoxD> "CURS" 15[00:22] <@VoxPVoxD> "SIN-SICK DOGS" [00:22] 14Stranger lands easily on his feet as the chandelier and chair both explode. 15[00:23] <@VoxPVoxD> The pressure breaks. Everyone churns in agony; it feels like a hand reaching into their guts and wrenching. Even the nimblest and hardiest present feel the Emissary crush their hearts. 15[00:23] <@VoxPVoxD> "And I will not save you." [00:23] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar has let Kratz go by now, and has turned again to face the Emissary. He licks a trickle of blood away from the corner of his mouth while leaning forward enough to hold his balance. The mercenary isn't sure if he should remain to listen or, say, hurry the Astrologer down the stairs and out of the room. [00:23] 14At the very least, he doesn't let it show. [00:23] 7Now Dawn's hat gets blown off. She still catches it, though. 15[00:23] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: The Guild and Lotus [00:24] 5 Next time, I'll take the grovelling.