15[19:52] <@VoxPVoxD> [01:13] Selin: "This man you're looking for got a name?" 15[19:52] <@VoxPVoxD> [01:18] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Secretary Bubo, or Astrologer Kratz. Any leads?" 15[19:52] <@VoxPVoxD> [01:19] 14Stranger: "Probably just Bubo now." 15[19:52] <@VoxPVoxD> [01:19] 14He sips the tea again. "We just want a word." 15[19:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin swirls the tea around his cup, apparently deep in thought. "Bubo's a funny name. He local?" [19:53] 14Stranger shakes his head. [19:53] 14Then he points up. 15[19:55] <@VoxPVoxD> "Oh, he's a bird. Why ask me, then? Surely you have better sources. I'm no friend of birds, believe you me." [19:55] "Mmmm." [19:55] 14Stranger: "The birds don't want him." [19:56] "Not for anything good, at any rate. Not sure Heaven's too fond of him at the moment either, if we're being perfectly honest." 15[19:56] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin takes a long sip of his tea. [19:56] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Now, hold on. Birds could be just as interested. There's probably at least the one." 15[20:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Well, I can ask around. Be easier if I knew what you wanted him for." [20:00] 14Stranger: "I'm putting together a...let's call it a broad church." [20:01] "The impending apocalypse is a good motivational tool." 15[20:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "It can be." 15[20:09] <@VoxPVoxD> "What are you looking to motivate?" [20:11] "I wish to instill a shared interest in the fate of Creation, and organize a loose confederation of...people like us...to that effect." 14He sips his tea. "Ideally, it would normally be less hands-on than standing against the marching armies of the Fair Folk." 15[20:11] <@VoxPVoxD> "A league of magical cowards." [20:11] 13Dead Man's Hand: "A what now?" [20:13] 14Stranger shrugs. "Cowardice isn't a permanent condition. Death, moreso. I can use cowards. Corpses are outside of my purview." 15[20:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "That was rude of me. I apologize. But the man you're talking about, if he's on the outs with Heaven, probably wants nothing in all the world less than to join a political spy network." [20:16] 13Dead Man's Hand: "I'd still like at least a quick word, all the same. Got some questions I'd like answered, about transpirings." [20:16] 14Stranger: "That's unfortunate for him." [20:18] 14He refills his cup. "I don't intend to leave him with much of a choice." [20:18] "Besides the obvious one." 15[20:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Smart. Pin him down. Of course, that's hard to do if you can't find him." [20:18] 14Stranger: "Which brings us full circle." 15[20:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin puts down his now-empty cup. "So it does." [20:19] 13Something along Dead Man's Hand's waist glints in the light, before he reveals a flask and quickly takes a swig from it. 15[20:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Sweetens the tea, yeah?" [20:28] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Something like that." 15[20:34] <@VoxPVoxD> "I admire the discipline it takes to drink like that and keep your moustache so neat. Never could manage it myself." [20:35] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Real pain, sometimes. Worst with soup. Times is thin, makes me wish I'd gone without it." [20:35] "Image to uphold, though. Hard to lose that." [20:37] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Thin times ahead for Nexus, looks like. Might finally go through with it." 15[20:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin scratches his own shaggily bearded chin. "I heard a story once from a bearded man. Big beard like mine. He told me he couldn't stand the sight of his face in the mirror, but if he covered it half up he could at least call it a draw." [20:41] 13Dead Man's Hand smirks. "Heard something like that one before." 13Brief pause to take a sip. "How're you holding up? Nexus being what it is now." 15[20:41] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "I've seen worse." [20:42] 14Not particularly an answer. [20:42] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Not particularly an answer." 15[20:42] <@VoxPVoxD> "Not a question I like to answer from strangers." 15[20:42] <@VoxPVoxD> "No offense. I'm sure you're perfectly nice." [20:43] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Like to think so. Heard other opinions, too." 15[20:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "'All opinions are held.'" [20:51] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Fun quote. Lot going on behind it, but snappy. Useful." 15[20:54] <@VoxPVoxD> "That's about the politest sincere thing I've ever heard someone say about the Immaculates if they weren't a practicing monk." [20:55] 14Stranger: "They know their jobs. At some point we're going to have to strangle or drown them all, but they know their jobs." 15[20:55] <@VoxPVoxD> "Monks are like cats in that way." [20:56] 14Stranger: "Monks die when you kill them the first time." [20:56] 13Dead Man's Hand: "I prefer the cats, to be honest. But the monks aren't all bad. Got an eye for a turn of phrase." 15[20:58] <@VoxPVoxD> "True enough. True enough." He stretches. "I have to get back to work soon." [21:00] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Last question from me, then. You've been following the newcomers to Nexus, I imagine - most people have." 13Another swig. "You seen that parade Thorns threw?" 15[21:00] <@VoxPVoxD> "No, I stayed well clear of that. Smelled it, though. Seems like the whole city's downwind from Firewander now." [21:02] 13He tips his hat. "That's enough from me, then. You take care now." [21:02] 14Stranger: "Seems like we've talked on just about everything, except for what I want to know." [21:02] "What did you see at the shrine?" 15[21:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "I saw someone begging for charity. That's most of what you see among the shrines, especially lately." [21:04] "Bet they had some concern for the flowers." 15[21:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "I took him to have misplaced them, so I put them where I thought they ought to have been and we struck up a conversation. The beggar and I. He was looking for a place to stay out of trouble. I lent him a spare key." [21:08] 14Stranger: "I suppose I could ask to which door, but then, he was asking for a place to stay out of trouble. Wouldn't want to make you a liar." 15[21:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin sits patiently, as if waiting for a 'But...' [21:12] 14It doesn't come. Stranger empties out the last dregs of the tea kettle, and reaches out to collect Selin's cup in order to return the tea set to the peasants from which he borrowed it. 15[21:13] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin doesn't stop him. [21:14] 14He's gone to ground somewhere near the temples, and somewhere to which Selin would have a key -- either literal or metaphorical. If Stranger can't run Bubo down from there, especially with Dawn's help, he doesn't deserve the reward of the quarry. [21:15] 13Dead Man's Hand, once Selin's out of earshot: "That went well, considering." [21:15] "Thank you for your time, Selin. We should have dinner at some point over the next two nights. Discuss business with the battlements and aqueducts." [21:15] 13Whoops. That goes after this here. 15[21:17] <@VoxPVoxD> "That'd be good. Oh, if you see Xia Lan, give her my congratulations. I couldn't beat Vladok." 15[21:17] <@VoxPVoxD> "S'why I don't own the old place anymore." [21:17] 13Dead Man's Hand: "I'll be sure to." [21:17] 14Stranger's eyebrows rise slightly, then he nods. 15[21:17] <@VoxPVoxD> After that, Selin we go back to the canals, and to work. [21:18] 14Once they're alone: "I thought so." [21:18] "We've still got a bit more legwork to do, however." [21:18] "But now we've got some leads." [21:19] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Glad he said something nice about me. Always awkward when someone talks mess to your face without knowing it." 13He keeps an even face, but there's something about him that gives the impression of a wry grin. "So. You take point again, I'm not much more than a set of eyes. [21:19] " [21:20] 14Stranger makes a half-raspberry, half-snort. "Excessive humility will get you nowhere." [21:21] 14It's time to head back to the River Gods' temples. [21:26] 14As they walk: "We seem to have two separate, likely-related leads." [21:27] "The first is the 'key.' This implies a door, either literal or metaphorical. It's tempting to believe this is to a hideaway perhaps inside one of the temples -- but Selin's relationship with religion seems...complicated, at best. He lurks around it, but he does not partake. A nearby hideaway, then, or perhaps near old shrine that has fallen into disuse." [21:28] "The second is that bit about Vladok. You see, it was my understand that Old Selin -- who is homeless -- does not own property. He certainly doesn't live anywhere in particular. That might be related to a wager with your new demonic, ah, friend -- and he might be aware of what property he's taken off of Selin's hands to which Selin might still have a key." 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> It's verging on the dinner-hour, now, so when the two of them return they'll see the Dawn Guard in the process of setting up the tables and tureens for the evening meal, offering food to the city's destitute while the temples' gates are shut. Today those tables are flanked by walls pinned with dozens of hand-drawn posters depicting Keldar, Tiger of Nexus, pointing directly out of the paper at you, the passing pedestrian. [21:29] 14He sighs. "To be honest, I'd prefer to resolve this without calling in any markers you or we might have with Vladok." 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> YOU HAVE THE HEART OF A CHAMPION 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> WAR IS COMING TO NEXUS 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> JOIN THE GREEN ORCHARD IRREGULARS TODAY 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> MEALS - BEDS - CLOTHES - SKILLS 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> FIGHT FOR WHAT'S RIGHT 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> SPEAK TO ANY RECRUITER TO LEARN MORE [21:29] 14Hah. [21:30] 13Dead Man's Hand: "We had a good chat last time. Might even describe it as friendly." 15[21:30] <@VoxPVoxD> There are people in Green Apples uniforms posted on either side of the tables, giving the same sales pitch summarized on the posters. Lot of people in the city can't read, after all. [21:31] 13Glad they're serious. Less glad it's necessary. [21:31] 14At least the presence of the Apples should make this go a bit more smoothly. [21:31] 14Fewer bandits. [21:31] 13Nothing wrong with bandits. [21:31] 13Just a moral intervention away from... well. [21:40] 14This survey of the temple district is much shorter, but no less disappointing. With faint frustration: "He's almost certainly not here." [21:41] "Too many people, too restricted, too high profile. Even the ways into the Undercity are these old brass elevator -- public killzones. Bubo would have eschewed them." 15[21:41] <@VoxPVoxD> A fresh-faced recruiter approaches Dead Man's Hand. "Say, sir, you look like you can handle yourself. We need men like you." [21:41] "No, I think we'll need to see Vladok." [21:42] 13Dead Man's Hand: "We'll have to see what's behind door number t- hm?" 13He looks over to the recruiter. "'scuse me?" [21:42] 13What's the recruiter look like? 15[21:43] <@VoxPVoxD> The recruiter can't be more than 18. Dark hair, freckles. Ears stick out a bit. He begins winding up a clearly rehearsed sales pitch. "The Green Orchard Irregulars are taking all able-bodied men and women who want to stand and fight against the invaders. We pay better than the foundries, you'll eat better than the bandits, and you'll dress better than the penitents. We don't care about your debts or your background. No one gets turned away." [21:44] 14Stranger looks on with amusement. This is easily the best part of appearing "blind." [21:46] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Well! I'll keep that in mind. You ever seen Keldar?" 13He seems amused, himself. 15[21:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Recruiter: "Yessir. The Tiger of Nexus! Conqueror of the Charcoal Tomb! The Champion of the Rose Grit Games! He even spoke to me once." [21:55] 13Dead Man's Hand waves off theatrically. "Met the man myself. More than a few times, in fact. Heck of a military mind, bit of a hothead. Anyhow, you tell him if he wants my help he ought to ask me himself." 13Dead Man's Hand jots down the address to Xia Lan's fanclub - sans the official fanclub stamp - on whatever scrap he can summon and hands it to the poor recruiter. "You take care now." 15[21:56] <@VoxPVoxD> "Hey, mister, your address looks real familiar. You been here long?" 15[21:56] <@VoxPVoxD> He squints at the paper, as if trying to remember where he's seen that address before. [21:57] 14Anything to build the brand. [21:58] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Not long. But I ain't the only one there. Thanks for the reminder ya can't escape yer past." 13He sweeps away ahead of Stranger. "Let's go." [21:58] 14Stranger nods to the boy and keeps walking. 15[22:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Where are they heading now? [22:01] 14If we want to see Vladok and Xia Lan has business at the CIO, it seems like our interests overlap. [22:01] 13Might could. Who knows where Vladok's off to now, though. [22:01] 13...Still could stop in for a word. 15[22:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan knows Vladok's place is on the boundaries of Firewander. You could start there, or ask at the CIO. [22:02] 14Stranger's content taking something of a backseat here. Vladok is her demon ally, after all. [22:03] 13As Dead Man's Hand realizes they're headed to the CIO, she redirects them. "I've been to his shop. Likely to still be there, if he's not we can ask around at the CIO." 15[22:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok's shop seems to be closed, and doesn't respond to knocks. It's easy for Dead Man's Hand to guess why; the Highland and Thorns contigents are loudly drilling just up the hill. No way Vladok could get any peace with all that racket. [22:07] 13Fair enough. He left any sign to mark his goings? 15[22:08] <@VoxPVoxD> It just says CLOSED UNTIL PEACE IN OUR TIME in five or six languages on the sign on the door. [22:09] 13Well. "Off to the CIO then, see if he's said anything." 13Dead Man's Hand leads the way again. 15[22:10] <@VoxPVoxD> It's almost dark, but not quite late enough for the CIO to open. There's a blood-ape-shaped man in a fez at the door, who gives Dead Man's Hand the stinkeye. "I don't know you," he grumbles. [22:12] 13Dead Man's Hand gestures to Stranger. "You know him at least? Came by with the Unfettered Xia Lan a bit back for a duel with Vladok?" 15[22:12] <@VoxPVoxD> "Yeah. You got a message for someone?" [22:13] 13Dead Man's Hand: "Oh, for--" 13He pries off the moustache and shakes out the hair, tucks the hat away. [22:15] 13Xia Lan: "I'd like to talk to Tohu, if you don't mind." 15[22:16] <@VoxPVoxD> The bouncer is so startled his fez hops a few ilms up on top of his head. Tohu pokes her head out through the little flap-door set in the bottom of the entrance. "Oh hello there. Come on around to the back, dears. I'll fix you some drinks." [22:17] 13Xia Lan gives a cheeky wave to the bouncer as she drags Stranger around back and inside. "Tohu! How are you?" 15[22:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Tohu swishes her tail to Tohu, who has a cup of tea on the bar for Stranger, and something tall and thin and orange for Xia Lan. "Oh, dear, I'm at the end of my yarn. Terrible day. How are you?" Despite the venue being closed, the bar has two other people at it, neither of whom turn to mark the new visitors. From behind they look very similar: huge wild dark manes of hair. The one on the left, bristly and stiff, is Vladok's. Whoever belongs to the hair on the right keeps it in much better condition. It's thick and luxurious and shines in the dim light of the CIO. [22:26] 13Xia Lan takes a sip of her drink before answering. "Middling! Been tracking somebody who'd rather not be tracked and not getting any good answers. We were hoping to find Vladok to ask him what he knew, but..." 13She gestures to Vladok at the bar. "Looks busy. We'll give him a minute. What's been terrible about your day, anyhow?" 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Tohu jerks a tail back at the bar, where Tohu is looking at Vladok with a concerned expression. "He's been here all day. Can't pry him off the stool. Pain in our ass." 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> From the bar, without turning, Vladok croaks, "You know I can hear you." 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Tohu: "Can you listen?" 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Silence. [22:29] 13Lightly: "Can't be that bad. Was a perfect gentlemen during our duel - only got slightly lewd when he stole my body for a song." 15[22:30] <@VoxPVoxD> Tohu, under her breath, "I'm not sure he'd even know what else to do with--" Vladok: "I CAN STILL HEAR YOU." [22:30] 14Stranger nurses his tea in silecne. [22:31] *14silence. 15[22:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "I came here to get away from the noise." [22:32] 13Xia Lan: "Sounds like you're ready for a chat, then!" 13To Tohu: "I'll be back in a moment - we're on a bit of a time crunch." 15[22:33] <@VoxPVoxD> At this, Vladok turns to look at Xia Lan. "What?" [22:35] 13To Vladok: "We're looking for somebody - me and this guy -" 13She points a thumb at Stranger. "You ever hear of a Bubo? Failing that... what about a Selin?" [22:36] 14Stranger: "You might know him by some other name." 15[22:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "I know Selin. He sent you to bother me?" [22:37] 14Stranger: "It's only fair. We were bothering him." [22:37] 13Xia Lan: "Also, we're not bothering you on his behalf. To be clear." [22:37] "Just, you're our only decent lead." 15[22:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Go on, then." [22:42] 13Xia Lan: "You happen to see anybody down between the River Gods's temples earlier today?" 15[22:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok snorts. "I would not go anywhere near those cesspits. Those gods are like their rivers. They reek of shit." [22:44] 13Xia Lan: "Not inaccurate. Gets me to question two: Selin mentioned an old place he lost the key to. You know where that is?" 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Is that how he put it? That place is mine now." 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> "Do you need to use it? I'm certainly not." [22:45] 13Xia Lan glances to Stranger. How much do we want to mention, here? [22:46] 14Stranger: "Just the 'key' and some directions and we'll be on our way." 15[22:46] <@VoxPVoxD> Seated at the bar, Xia Lan and Stranger can tell that the guy on the far side of Vladok is passed out, face buried in his folded arms at the bar surrounded by empty shot glasses. [22:47] 13Does he resemble the vague description Xia Lan was given of the night's entertainment? 15[22:47] <@VoxPVoxD> He does. 15[22:47] <@VoxPVoxD> Big guy, lot of nice hair. [22:47] 13Sun, if he pulls this off he's a champion. Xia Lan actually moves to shake him awake. "Hey. Hey, champ." [22:48] 13Look over to Stranger. He's got this handled, she can indulge. 15[22:48] <@VoxPVoxD> While Xia Lan messes with the other guy, Vladok futzes around in his pockets, coming up with a a trinket - a sapphire swinging on a metal chain. "Hold this and say the key phrase. The iris to the sanctum will open." [22:50] 14Stranger will take the sapphire so that Vladok can freely say the key phrase. 15[22:50] <@VoxPVoxD> The guy Xia Lan prods startles awake. "Huh? Are we live? Are we open? What's up." He brushes his hair out of his face and Xia Lan sees a guy about her age wearing earrings. His jaw drops but he recovers admirably. "Wow." 15[22:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok says, "You need to say 15[22:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok says, "You need to say 'Prowl, Great Crane'." [22:51] 14Stranger's eyebrows lift again, but he nods. "Thank you." 15[22:52] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Oh, while you're there. Do you know anyone who needs a pair of hook swords? Good quality. Starmetal." [22:53] 14Stranger: "I believe I do." [22:53] 14And he'll be very careful handling them. One doesn't just give away good starmetal weapons for free. 15[22:53] <@VoxPVoxD> "There's a pair hanging over the altar fountain. Take them. I don't like having them around. Bad omen." [22:54] 14Stranger: "Thank you." [22:54] 13Xia Lan: "Just thought you'd want a wake up. Lot of shots for someone performing tonight - Mr. Tellurian, right?" [22:54] 13Hair raises on the back of her neck about the hook swords, but she doesn't react visibly. Still just chatting with the drunkard. 15[22:55] <@VoxPVoxD> "Mr. Tellurian": "Yeah, that's me. Are we on? I don't - woo. You're not management, are you?" 15[22:55] <@VoxPVoxD> "Am I opening for you? You look like a headliner." 15[22:56] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Why do you need it. Did he hide a squatter there? Sentimental old bastard." 15[22:56] <@VoxPVoxD> "I knew I liked him for a reason." [22:56] 13Xia Lan: "I usually am. Not for you, though - at least, not tonight. Just - a concerned fellow performer." [22:57] 14Stranger: "Might have done. We'll see if we can clear him out. Or at least make sure he keeps the place respectable." 15[22:57] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "What's the concern?" [22:57] 13Xia Lan: "Well, the concern is that you're unconscious drunk at 3 in the afternoon." 15[22:57] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "It is no concern of mine, as long as he doesn't pervert the place with sorcery. You know any sorcerers? Untrustworthy to a man." 15[22:58] <@VoxPVoxD> He adds in a mocking voice, "We are not so different, you and I." [22:58] 14Stranger: "Funny you should say that." [22:58] "Mainly due to truth." 15[22:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "If the truth was funny we would laugh more." [22:59] 14Stranger: "Not the laughing kind." [22:59] 14Stranger: "Not the laughing kind of funny." 15[22:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "That's alright. I got hours to clean up. Hey do you guys serve Eggs in Hell?" 15[23:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Tohu rolls her eyes. [23:00] 13Xia Lan: "I- Tohu? Do you know what that is?" 15[23:01] <@VoxPVoxD> Tohu: "Yeah. Food wasn't part of the deal, fat man. I'm taking the order out of your pay." 15[23:01] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "Yeah okay. If I don't eat something I'm gonna be sick." [23:01] 13Xia Lan: "I'll pay for it. So long as he stays sober for the show." [23:01] "I've heard you have talent, Mr. Tellurian. If that is your real name." 15[23:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "Hey, thanks. That's nice of you to do." The distant noise of pans in the kitchen makes him wince. "And say. Look I'm really sorry, but... have we met? We can't have met." [23:04] 13Xia Lan: "Depends on how much time you've spent in the south. You a southern guy?" 15[23:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "I'm the opposite. You ever been to Pneuma?" [23:04] 13Missed the 3:10. "Nope. Nexus was my big break." 15[23:05] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok pours himself another glass of whatever sweet-smelling amber liquid this is with a picture of a particularly stupid bird on the label. "So how did you run into old Selin? Did you have to fight him?" [23:06] 14Stranger: "I was interested in architecture. And I'm very, very poor. And I don't like the Guild." 15[23:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "That's great. I'm glad I get to meet someone who started headlining here. Makes me feel like I'm not an idiot, you know?" [23:06] "We had things to talk about." 15[23:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok grumbles in assent. "In retrospect I wish I'd done it your way." [23:06] 13Xia Lan: "Never headlined up in Pneuma?" 15[23:06] <@VoxPVoxD> "But, I say that a lot." 15[23:07] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "I kinda floated between projects. There were a lot of bad vibes up there. Came down here to get away from all that." 15[23:07] <@VoxPVoxD> "Bad timing, I guess. Can I ask your name?" [23:07] "My way has...mixed results." [23:08] 13The Unfettered Xia Lan: "the Unfettered Xia Lan." 15[23:08] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Every way has mixed results. Every way but the highway." 15[23:08] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "No way." [23:08] "No, that one too." 14He sips his tea. "Sometimes I would prefer a more direct approach. But then, that's what got us into trouble before." [23:08] 13Xia Lan: "Prettier in person, right?" 13She smiles, convincingly. 15[23:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "All roads lead to trouble. Even the highways." A pause. "I'm usually better with words but I'm very drunk." [23:10] 14Stranger: "You're also not wrong. It's just a question of frequency and control." 15[23:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "I was at your last show in Parko West. You remember? With the colored lights, you opened with Weight of the World and people started mobbing the stage." 15[23:12] <@VoxPVoxD> "That was genius. Starting the show with a showstopper." 15[23:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok snorts. "Control." 15[23:15] <@VoxPVoxD> "I cannot believe in such things. It is the luxury of the Chosen." 15[23:15] <@VoxPVoxD> "A luxury handed down from the gods." [23:15] 13Xia Lan: "I read the mood. Not many people were there for the undercard." 13She grimaces, takes a swig of the drink Tohu made. "Was kind of irritating having to resort for that. Before I went out, I took a look - thought I'd put it second, third, maybe even fourth. Get them sold on some of the other pieces to lead in, keep 'em with Weight of the World, get them hooked into the finale. But most of 'em just, weren't into it." [23:15] 14Stranger stares at the bottom of his tea cup. "It's the oldest question and the oldest problem." [23:15] "Oh, they handed down less of it than we like to advertise." 15[23:16] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "He was the crankiest I ever met, you know." 15[23:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "It killed. Me and a couple buddies hit a karaoke place after the show and everyone was trying to do Weight of the World." [23:17] 14Stranger: "He's quite the character. I suspect I could have wheedled passage out of him directly, but I wanted to make a point. About boundaries." 15[23:18] <@VoxPVoxD> "They didn't have the technique, but they had the feeling. That's how you know you got em. When they feel what you feel. You know? Course you do. You're the Unfettered Xia Lan." [23:18] 13She smiles without mirth. "If they were trying to sing it themselves, they didn't feel what I felt." 15[23:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "You think?" [23:19] 13Xia Lan: "I know." 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "I don't wanna pry. I always thought it was a really lonely song. Like, you lose everything, and then you find something better. But you gotta be this whole other person. You gotta turn your back on everything, but you can't, cause that's who you are. It's still who you are. But you still gotta keep going. You know?" 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> "I'm yammering." [23:20] 13Xia Lan: "..." 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Do you think he took it? Your point, I mean." [23:20] 14Stranger: "Perhaps. It wasn't all for him, though." [23:20] "Some it was for me." 15[23:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "You know what they say the most dangerous animal in Creation is?" [23:21] 14Stranger: "I've got guesses." 15[23:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "It's a dog that can train itself." [23:22] 14He chuckles. "I think my woman might have problems with me retelling that one." 15[23:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian sees her face. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry. I'm being a real jerk right now." [23:23] "...maybe I didn't know." 13She looks to Mr. Tellurian again. "Sorry. Most people don't bother investing beyond, 'wow, cool song,'" 15[23:25] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "I always felt like people invested more than they knew. They just don't have the words to say so. Or they don't want to admit it. So you gotta let them just chill out and have a good time. If they wake up in the middle of the night thinking about everyone they ever let down, then that's for them to think about, you know? You're not their priestess. You're just making music." 15[23:25] <@VoxPVoxD> "Straighter road to Heaven, though." 15[23:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Feel free to blame me if you do." [23:27] 13Xia Lan: "You're not wrong. But it's when - I put everything into those songs. I wrote that song for someone. She's never coming back. It was in her memory - and people found it catchy. I can't blame them for that! But it still hurt--" 15[23:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "You try to show people something, but they only see what they want to see." [23:27] 14Stranger: "No, no. We're responsible for the stories we tell. And the ones we don't tell." 15[23:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "You're wiser than I'd guess. Most of you aren't so wise." [23:29] 14Stranger: "Well. You know what they do to dogs that can train themselves, right?" [23:30] 13Xia Lan: "They saw a catchy song. I saw my friend." 13She shrugs. "Sorry - you were - drinking, weren't you." 15[23:30] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok snorts again, and holds his drink up to Stranger. "I have some idea." [23:30] "They could just put them down. But they train the dogs to do it to themselves." [23:31] 13Xia Lan: "I can't say I didn't mean to distract you from that, 'cause I did, but - you were busy. Um." 13She shifts. "I was planning on being back tonight. See your show. You... gonna be up for that?" 15[23:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "You're gonna be there?" [23:31] 13Xia Lan: "Unless something goes horribly wrong and I die later, yeah." 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "You said that like the odds aren't zero." 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> "Are you in trouble?" 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> "I mean, more trouble than--" he waves his hand vaguely. A dish of eggs swimming in a spicy red sauce appears in front of him. [23:32] 13Xia Lan: "Not more than that," 13she says. [23:33] "Comes with the territory." 15[23:33] <@VoxPVoxD> Mr. Tellurian: "Yeah." 15[23:34] <@VoxPVoxD> "Anyway, yeah. I'll be on. I did my last show and that time I didn't even have someone looking out for me." 15[23:34] <@VoxPVoxD> "Thank you." [23:36] 13Xia Lan: "You're welcome." 13She looks over the bar. "He eats for free as long as he's sober. I'll be back tonight to pay up." 13They can probably afford that, right? If not, hey, paying on performance. 15[23:37] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan can. The food here is dirt cheap for what you get. Mostly because most people don't order off the menu at a place this shady. [23:39] 14Stranger: "Time for me to check on Xia Lan and her new friend, then go see about your squatter. See when I see you, Vladok." 15[23:39] <@VoxPVoxD> Vladok: "Take care." [23:39] 14Stranger very slightly pauses as he stands, but doesn't let any surprise show. "You do the same." [23:43] 14Once they're away: "Vladok's a happy drunk." [23:44] 13Xia Lan: "He was friendliest then. Still seemed kind of grumpy. Did he like you?" [23:51] 14Stranger: "I think he did." [23:51] "We talked about control and consequences." [23:51] "And he gave me this." 14He shows Xia Lan the sapphire. "This is the key." [23:51] 13Does Xia Lan recognize it outside of what Stranger says? [23:54] 13Xia Lan: "Cute key." [23:54] 14Stranger: "We say a key phrase, and it takes us...somewhere." [23:54] "Somewhere with a pair of starmetal hook swords, no less." [23:55] 13Xia Lan: "...this is sounding a little too good to be true. Bait, for me." [23:55] 14Stranger: "That's what I thought. So I'd stay on guard." [23:55] "Though I'm more suspicious that the swords will come with a catch than that this is an outright trap." [23:56] 13Xia Lan: "He did tell you the key phrase, right?" [23:56] "Don't say it! Just. Do you know it?" [23:56] 14Stranger: "I do." [23:56] 14Slight amusement; he's not an amateur. [23:56] "Okay. So." 13She looks to Stranger again. "Do we check this out? Or something else first?" [23:57] 14Stranger: "We do it now. I need words with Bubo, and if those swords are real, they'll just make you more formidable in whatever we do next." 14He'll have led her to the alley back around behind the CIO, away from prying eyes and ears. [23:58] 13Xia Lan: "I'm ready if you are." 15[23:58] <@VoxPVoxD> They're alone. [23:59] 14Stranger takes her hand, just in case this relies on touch. Then, holding the gem in the other: "Prowl, Great Crane." 15[00:00] <@VoxPVoxD> There's silence for a beat, stillness for a beat, and then the air splits before them, spreading like opened wings, a window into a world of marble and running water. [00:01] 14If they have to step on through, Stranger will step on through. [00:02] 13Xia Lan's just behind. She's seen stranger things. Less welcoming things. This is... fine. 15[00:02] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger and Xia Lan find themselves in an open hall, bright and clear, filled with birdsong and a thousand fountains. Smooth white stone runs from wall to wall, in carvings depicting battles and concords, in fountains dedicated to lost friends. There is, here, a sense of absolute serenity. [00:03] 13Xia Lan looks upon the fountains, their dedications. [00:03] 14Beautiful. Serene. An excellent place to hide, in weakness. 15[00:06] <@VoxPVoxD> There's no sound but the running water. As Xia Lan and Stranger press deeper into this strange place, they find themselves seeing themselves. The walls are not stone, but glass. They stand in a hall of fountains and mirrors. [00:06] 13Xia Lan: "...beautiful place." [00:08] "It is," 14Stranger says. He's looking around. 15[00:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Among what must be a thousand fountains, Stranger sees him first, wearing simple green robes, sitting cross-legged, head bowed, beneath a fountain in the far corner, above a floor carved with legacy of some ancient struggle, face-to-face with his own reflection, eyes closed. It's Bubo. He looks older than Stranger remembers, and thinner. [00:10] 14Where did Vladok say those swords were, again? 15[00:12] <@VoxPVoxD> Hanging over the altar fountain. The altar is in the back, depicting a bird standing on long thin legs with broad wings folded around itself. Faceless figures are enveloped in those wings. [00:13] 13I don't imagine there are any sort of hook swords in those wings. [00:13] 14He motions to Xia Lan and nods in the direction of the altar. Then he walks over to Bubo, and sits down next to him, a respectful distance away. 15[00:13] <@VoxPVoxD> The swords hang, blue-white, behind the bird. 15[00:13] <@VoxPVoxD> Crossed at right angles. [00:15] 13Well, that's the prize, then. She settles a comfortable distance away from both Stranger and Bubo. "Been a busy day for us," 13she starts. [00:16] 14Stranger: "We just want a word." 15[00:16] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo's shoulders stiffen, but he doesn't open his eyes or look up. "The world can move or not on a word." [00:16] 14Stranger: "That it can." 15[00:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Forgive me for asking this, but you didn't hurt anyone, did you? To find me." [00:18] 14He shakes his head. "No. Selin didn't even give up his promise." [00:19] 13Xia Lan: "All quiet here." [00:19] "Unfortunately, he lost this place to a demon named Vladok, who is a bit less...involved. No worries, though. This place doesn't much appeal to him anyhow." [00:20] "The disposition of this place falls from him to me at the moment, then, and as far as I'm concerned, you can come and go as you please, and stay as long as you like." 15[00:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "At what cost?" [00:21] 14Stranger: "You help us save Nexus, in your own way." [00:21] "And then...we'll see." 15[00:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "What can I, one rather peripheral figure in your grand plan, do to help you?" [00:23] 14Stranger: "I need your rather unique set of skills turned towards a problem of mine." [00:23] "You may be aware that the 'Emissary' is back." 15[00:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "I saw, yes." [00:23] "I need your expert opinion on two things: first, if he's the real deal. Second, if you think he's not...how you'd think to go about faking him." [00:25] "...And I would prefer your presence in Nexus on that fateful day when the armies arrive, but we're not all warriors, and I won't ask you to die for this city." [00:25] "What you do then is in your hands." 15[00:25] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "The Emissary cannot die, as long as Nexus lives. Whatever shape he takes, it is he, and no one else, behind the mask." 15[00:25] <@VoxPVoxD> "He is Nexus." [00:25] 14Stranger: "You see, we thought we'd already accounted for that. There was a cabbage merchant." 15[00:26] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "There was." [00:26] "And this new Emissary is acting...eratic." 15[00:26] <@VoxPVoxD> "Is there still?" [00:26] "We're trying to run him down." [00:26] 13Xia Lan: "...hard to know." 15[00:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "That would be step one." [00:27] 14Stranger: "A bit of news that might have a personal interest for you: the Emissary is now openly executing Councilors for breaking rather creative interpretations of the Dogmas. His interpretations." [00:27] "The Evening Master learned this to his very sudden detriment." 15[00:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "No promise sweeter than a blood pact." 15[00:28] <@VoxPVoxD> "Nothing harder to go through with than a vanishing act." [00:28] "Mmmm." [00:29] 14He shifts into a cross-legged position. "Have you given in fully to despair, do you think?" 15[00:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "It depends." 15[00:33] <@VoxPVoxD> "Do I think we will win? Absolutely. My conviction is inviolable. You will not fail." [00:33] 13Xia Lan: "And yet?" 15[00:33] <@VoxPVoxD> "Will I lose everything? I think so." 15[00:33] <@VoxPVoxD> "Perhaps I already have." 15[00:33] <@VoxPVoxD> "I got a message from the Director." [00:34] 14Stranger: "I'm guessing that's not good." [00:34] 13Xia Lan: "Seems pretty good from our end." 15[00:34] <@VoxPVoxD> "I'd never heard from him before. Not in a hundred years of faithful service." 15[00:34] <@VoxPVoxD> "I still don't know his name." 15[00:34] <@VoxPVoxD> "He told me this cover had outlived its usefulness, and to wait for reassignment." 15[00:35] <@VoxPVoxD> "Via his messenger. Or hers, I suppose." 15[00:35] <@VoxPVoxD> "Though I suspect a woman would have been less dismissive." [00:35] 14Stranger: "Sounds like you're about to have what we call a 'come to sunlight' moment. You know what that means?" [00:36] 13Xia Lan: "You'd be surprised, by the by." 15[00:36] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Maybe so. What is a come to sunlight moment?" [00:37] 14Stranger: "It's when you're given a choice, a free and clear choice, to reaffirm your devotion to the set of principles -- and the set of people -- that you serve. And if you do that, then everything is forgiven. And if you don't, well." [00:37] "It's not actually a free and clear choice, you see." 15[00:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "There is no free and clear choice." [00:39] "I'm beginning to think you and Vladok would get along." 14He shrugs. "But who knows. Maybe they do it different in your group. Maybe they'll just kill you as soon as you come in." 15[00:39] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "We have a saying in the Circus." 15[00:40] <@VoxPVoxD> "Do you know the Old Realm tongue?" [00:40] 14Stranger: "I do." 15[00:40] <@VoxPVoxD> "We say, "Omae wa mou shindeiru." [00:41] "The Circus doesn't sound very optimistic." 15[00:42] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "If you need optimism, you'll have already been assigned to the Bakers." 15[00:42] <@VoxPVoxD> "The Circus is for those of us who ask less and need more." [00:43] "What do the Bakers do. At this point my assumption would be just about anything except baking." 15[00:44] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "They serve Venus and Mercury. Venus has her eye on someone in Nexus right now. You might run into him. They seek to keep us from eating ourselves alive. Feeding us just enough to keep us hungry but not starved." 15[00:44] <@VoxPVoxD> "It's all they can do." [00:44] "Ah." 15[00:44] <@VoxPVoxD> "I used to resent them their indolence. Not anymore." 15[00:45] <@VoxPVoxD> "Now I envy their earnestness." [00:46] 14Stranger: "You've already given up on Dorma and Kratz, haven't you?" 15[00:46] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "I will protect her. If it costs me my career." 15[00:47] <@VoxPVoxD> "Dorma is beyond me. You may save him. I cannot." [00:47] 14He turns to face Bubo for the first time. "You might not believe me when I say this, but that's the first good news I've heard since coming in here." [00:47] "Dorma is..." 15[00:47] <@VoxPVoxD> "If we are marked to die, we are enough to do our people loss. But if to live, the greater share of honor." [00:48] 14Stranger pauses. "You're familiar with Keldar." [00:48] "He's a very particular kind of man." 15[00:48] <@VoxPVoxD> "I don't know him. But we are all familiar, now." [00:49] "He's the sort that will defend Dorma to the death on the battlefield, now. Why? Not duty or loyalty or love or even respect. But because he wants to best the man himself." [00:49] "In a bizarre sense, I'm not sure the Dragonlord could have any better advocate in war -- until we win." [00:50] 14The Eclipse shrugs. "Then things get complicated." 15[00:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "We give infinite license for complication if we win. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow." [00:51] 14Stranger: "That is what keeps things interesting." [00:51] "There is a war council upcoming." [00:51] "I would appreciate your presence there. In secrecy. Not to intervene; merely to observe." 15[00:51] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "So I've heard. The two-headed and the headless." [00:52] "If you have some means of far-sight, by all means use it." 15[00:52] <@VoxPVoxD> "Observation is not a passive act. On whose behalf do I observe?" [00:52] "Your own. And then Astrologer Kratz's. And finally, mine." 15[00:53] <@VoxPVoxD> "Have you felt shame, Stranger?" [00:53] "Acutely." 15[00:53] <@VoxPVoxD> "Then you know you don't ask me to confront my failure lightly." [00:53] "I do not." 15[00:54] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo is silent for a long time. [00:54] "But I would not trade in my shame." 15[00:54] <@VoxPVoxD> And then: "If not this... then what else?" [00:54] "My shame has been useful. It is part of how I learn." [00:55] 14Stranger: "Then you have your fountains. I am of my word: I will not drag you from this place. Should you wish solitude, then solitude you shall have." 15[00:55] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "I may wish it. But I am never alone. No matter how I may desire solitude." [00:55] "But while good salt, solitude makes a terrible meal." 15[00:55] <@VoxPVoxD> "None of us is ever alone." [00:57] "'He wants the silence, but fears the solitude; / he wants to be alone and together, with you.'" [00:57] 14Softly singing. [00:57] 14Then he stands. "We asked for a word, and we've had it. We'll leave you be, now." 15[00:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "I want to give you back the open sky." [00:59] 14He grimaces. "After what we did with it last time, you've a right to be cautious." [00:59] "...I'll be back tomorrow, I think. To see the fountains again." 15[00:59] <@VoxPVoxD> "I'll see you then." 15[00:59] <@VoxPVoxD> "You won't be alone, when the time comes." [01:00] "No, I won't." 14Stranger bows slightly, then withdraws. 15[01:05] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: No promise sweeter than a blood pact