15[20:01] <@VoxPVoxD> The war council convenes in the heart of Firewander, beneath the golden dome of the old Deliberative hall, at noon tomorrow. A note went around to all the prospective attendees, four of whom are in the hideout in Floodwater at this moment, asking a pressing question: any food allergies? There'll be a buffet. [20:02] 14None. Surely they sent a tea list...? 15[20:03] <@VoxPVoxD> A package has also arrived by another courier, addressed to Stranger Visits Heaven. It's a moderately heavy box, with a note for the courier to handle it with care. [20:03] 14Ah. [20:03] 14Any card? [20:04] 5 Xu Sim is monopolizing the hearth again. He's got a couple cauldrons going. 15[20:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Yes. The card is written in red ink, and signed with a black O. 4A gift, to commemorate our agreement. Make friends of enemies. [20:04] 4von Hrolfus stands at ease, hands clasped behind his back. 15[20:05] <@VoxPVoxD> There's no tea list, but there is a wine list. Looks like someone requisitioned a rich Guildsman's cellar, by the looks of it. [20:06] 13Xia Lan is sitting in her usual armchair, sorting through mail. No food allergies to mention, in response to the card. [20:06] 14Sigh. [20:07] 14He'll give the package a once over, then gently open it. [20:08] 5 The sorceror steals a glance back at his three companions, and then rubs his hands over the three cauldrons bubbling away on the hearth. 15[20:09] <@VoxPVoxD> It's an exceedingly fine teapot made of white jade. It sat on the table between Stranger, Keldar, and the Overfactor. [20:10] 14Well, he does advertise his hobbies. [20:11] 14He picks the teapot up and examines it a second, more intimate time. [20:11] 5 Xu Sim withdraws each of the cauldrons, one at a time, blowing on them to cool. [20:14] 5 One cools quickly into a sparkling, opalescent sludge. He decants it into a crude phial, still faintly steaming. [20:14] 14Then he places it back on the table. "Xia Lan." [20:15] 13Xia Lan: "Hm?" 13She looks over a pair of entirely-for-show spectacles past another story of someone wanting to live their dream and perform just like her. [20:15] 5 The second hardens into a bunch of tiny black spheres. These he empties with a ladle into a stone bowl. [20:16] 14He gestures at the gift. "This is the Lotus-Blossom Kettle." [20:16] "Well." [20:16] 4 What does that mean? [20:16] "A Lotus-Blossom Kettle." [20:16] 4"What does that mean?: [20:17] 5 The third renders into a silvery clay, which he kneads carefully into a single pearl the size of a robin's egg and sets on a plate. [20:18] "It means that it purifies any...toxins, or poisons, or other additives present inside of it." [20:18] "The lotus, after all, is a symbol of purity -- especially upon bloom." 14He pushes it towards Xia Lan. "You may examine it." [20:18] "It will be added to our kitchen." [20:19] 13Xia Lan: "Any of them." 13She sets aside her papers and stands up to take a look, making "hrm" noises as she checks every inch of it. [20:20] 14Evenly: "We might even take it out to the CIO, if you wish." [20:20] 4"A gift fit for kings". He muses on this bit. "Espescially fit for kings." [20:20] "...who gifted it to us?" 13She still looks suspicious, but this is the real deal. No trick there. [20:21] 14To Bastian: "Indeed. You know what the problem with tasters always is; the kings get attached to them. They're always there, you see." [20:21] 14to Xia Lan: "The Overfactor of the Nexus Guild. It was present at his first meeting with Keldar and myself." [20:22] 4He nods. "They also tend to develop immunities, which negates their function in the first place." [20:23] 14Stranger: "Only well-liked kings tend to have that problem." [20:24] 4"The Kaiser..." he trails off. [20:24] 13She nods, satisfied. "I want it at the CIO. For reassurances." [20:24] 14He waves to her. "Then keep it with you between now and then." [20:26] 13She takes it gently and moves it into her quarters for the time being. "Appreciated." [20:26] 14Stranger nods. [20:30] 14To the room: "What's our guest list?" [20:30] "For the war council." [20:30] "I have an and-one." 15[20:32] <@VoxPVoxD> The circle knows they can bring extra people without a problem - their delegation is already a fraction of Lookshy's, the Council's, or even Highland's. It might get a bit awkward at the door if you show up with an entire army, but past that, you're fine. It's a big building. [20:34] 14Still need to know for the guest list, however. [20:34] 14Er, allergy list. [20:34] 4"I know no one." [20:34] 13As she resurfaces: "No one from me, I don't think. The people I've met aren't really the war council types." [20:34] 14Stranger, for instance, is scanning the menu just to make sure fish is properly represented. [20:34] 14To Xia Lan: "You could invite Tsuka." 15[20:34] <@VoxPVoxD> Klaus, Bastian's second, has recovered from his injuries, if nothing else. [20:35] 4 "...unless my man-at-arms counts. Would he be permitted? An extra pair of eyes could come in handy, and I may vouch for his trustworthiness." [20:36] 14To Bastian: "Of course." [20:37] 13Xia Lan: "The thought had crossed my mind but - I can't see him in a war council. Something about the temperment. Still..." 13She taps a finger to her chin. "Yes. You'll have to contact him, but yes." [20:37] 14Stranger nods. [20:37] 14And with a slight smile: "I'm certain he'll behave." [20:40] "Bastian, Xia Lan, Stranger, come over here for a moment," 5 says Xu Sim once he is satisfied with the condition of each of his concoctions. [20:41] 13Xia Lan: "What infernal potion have you made this time?" 13She stays right where she is. [20:42] 14Stranger sighs and rises. "Bring the kettle if you wish," 14he says to Xia Lan. [20:42] 13She does so. [20:42] "Stranger, these are for you." 5 He passes over the stone bowl with the black pods inside.  "I'm calling them 'tea peas'. A change of pace for your teas - these shall approximate - nay, surpass - what I believe is the fashion in the Realm to drink cold, sweetened tea with tapioca balls." [20:43] 14Stranger considers them for a moment. [20:43] "A complete alteration of your tea-drinking experience. Had I known you'd be receiving another tea-related gift today, perhaps I'd have come up with something different," 5 he adds, grudgingly. [20:44] 14Stranger: "It's fine. Thank you, Xu Sim." [20:44] "The diplomats should love them." [20:46] "Xia Lan, this is for you. I'm quite proud of this one - I call it the Prismatic Follicle-Taming Wonder Potion. Observe." 5 The sorceror takes one of his writing brushes from his belt and, overturning the phial, drips a globule onto the brushe's hair. It immediately changes color from black horsehair to a coruscating rainbow, and begins faintly waving - though there is no breeze in [20:46] 5the kitchen. [20:48] 13She eyes the brush suspiciously, but sets the tea set back on her shelf. "That's - how long does it last?" 13She'd had dreams of something like this for particularly notable shows. She's got great hair, but there's only so much you can do with it... [20:48] 14Now that's a good pitch. Something she doesn't have to drink. [20:48] "Could be weeks. I'm not sure, to be honest. Probably until it gets wet." [20:49] 13If it washes out, that is acceptable. She takes the offered phial. "Thank you." [20:50] "Bastian, this -" 5 he presents the silvery robins-egg -  "Is a Dream-Pearl. Take it before you go to bed. It will bring you good sleep and dreams of happier times - I suspect, of happier times in Deguo." 5 He slides it along the table. [20:51] 4von Hrolfus accepts it and places it within a fold in his coat. "Thank you, but I prefer to look to the future than the past." [20:52] "Then may it bring you dreams of a bountiful future. You're all welcome." [20:52] 14Stranger: "If you value tomorrow, you need a good night's rest." [20:52] "Thank you, Xu Sim." [20:53] "You're all quite welcome. I had these in mind for some time but I was resting up after curing the honey-maze the day before yesterday." [20:53] 14Stranger blinks five or six times. [20:53] "Curing the." [20:54] "Eh?" [20:54] 13Xia Lan: "You did - I'm sorry?" [20:54] 14Stranger: "You didn't stutter. I just want you to say it a second time." [20:56] "The honey-maze? Cured. Well, mostly. A few of the victims went terminal and turned into mellifluous puppets of the Raksha. But boiling water put them out of their misery. One of them was a perfect duplicate of me, actually, which was a little disturbing when the Dragonlord utterly destroyed him." [20:57] 14Stranger: "..........." [20:57] "That's a lot of information." [20:57] "My first question is: do you need factors of scale?" [20:58] "Or have you already distributed all of the cure?" [20:58] 13Xia Lan: "My first question is are you sure you actually did this or did you just get too close to the fumes?" 15[20:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Wow. [20:59] 14Stranger: "If I didn't trust that he did what he said he was going to do I'd have never let him dope you." [20:59] 13It's a fair question! [20:59] 4von Hrolfus arches an eyebrow. Bit rude that. [20:59] "Factors? To do what? Manufacture it? The Legion's medical corps and the city should be handling the rest of it now. I think they've been in touch with Hayle about it. A lot of nonsense about figures and so forth, I couldn't be bothered. It's cured, is the point." [20:59] 13He drugged me. [20:59] 14That's what I said. [21:00] 14Stranger: "Factors to distribute. If Dorma's handling distribution then...well, that's a very good thing." [21:00] "Why don't you come take a deep breath and find out?" 5 asks the sorceror, leaning towards the impertinent musician. [21:00] "And it means--Xu Sim." [21:00] "Don't be an ass." [21:00] "It means that someone is now very, very angry." [21:01] "What? Why would someone be angry about it? Other than the Queen Bee herself, that is." [21:01] 14Stranger: "Yes. Precisely." [21:01] 13Xia Lan stays far away from any of Xu Sim's cauldrons. Not risking it. "That would be someone who is angry." [21:05] "Well. Who gives a damn what she thinks. I'm sure Keldar or the Dragonlord or someone else will swat her by the end of all this." 5 He shrugs. [21:06] 14Stranger laughs. "Oh, she'll have people for Keldar and the Dragonlord." [21:06] "She'll be looking for you and me." [21:06] 14He glances around the room. "Stay precise." [21:07] 4"We will be there to back you up." [21:08] 13Xia Lan: "I'm always precise." [21:11] "I propose rather the opposite. Something less discriminate, something less precise but more certain." 5 Xu Sim waves his still-slightly-animated brush in the air for a moment as he searches for a pot of ink. [21:12] 14Stranger: "Go on." [21:16] "Are you familiar with some of the practices that some farms in the southern Threshold use for their very valuable cash crops, that are sent back to the Realm? To protect them from locust swarms and the like? The spreading of certain admixtures of arsenic, quicksilver, and the like?" 5 Xu Sim begins writing a diagram on the wall of the kitchen. [21:18] 13Xia Lan: "What about it?" [21:21] "I believe we could do something similar to create an enormous trap, or clever device, or scheme, to destroy the Raksha high command." 5 He continues his sketch - a diagram mentioning certain chemical byproducts, bees and other verminous insects, and weaknesses of faeries. [21:21] 14Stranger: "I'm vaguely familiar with them." [21:22] "To the extent that they're...bad." [21:22] "For the locusts, yes. Probably shouldn't eat them yourself, unless you're a special baby like my Twice-Refined Princess here!" 5 he adds with a gutteral laugh. [21:22] 14Stranger blinks again. "Well of course." [21:23] "But with this plague of fae-enchanted honeybees in the city, I thought to myself, there has to be a better way of dealing with all this than squashing them one at a time, or burning the hives along with the trees they sit in. And so it will be when their armies arrive, with their generals." [21:27] 4"You will kill the rakshasas with pesticide?" [21:28] "I will find a pesticide to kill raksha." [21:29] 14Uncertainly: "And just them?" [21:30] "Well, I don't see why we should be picky, since their armies include the living, the dead, hobgoblins, and more. But to do that, I will need supplies - I tried to ask Hayle about it, but he's such a tedious fellow he seemed hardly to be paying attention. I will also need test subjects - maybe if we can catch whatever remain of these maze-bees..." [21:31] 4"And what about the living who fight them? Presumably up close?" [21:31] "Whatever you need. Except the bodies of allies and Nexus citizens." [21:31] "Well, we'd have to throw it far away from our walls and allies." [21:32] 13Xia Lan: "And that's it? No other protective measures necessary?" [21:32] "And favorable winds," 5 He adds that to the diagram and underlines it twice. [21:34] 13The winds, definitely known for not changing at a moment's notice. [21:34] "Or, I suppose, we could try luring them all into a trap together in a contained environment somewhere, only to flood it with the stuff." [21:35] 13Xia Lan: "I'm no expert tactician, but that seems like a preferable way to handle things. If we can manage it." [21:36] "There do seem to rather be a lot of them." [21:36] 4"An entire army in a...contained environment?" [21:36] "You'd need a contained environment the size of, say, a city." [21:36] "Yes?" [21:37] "A valley, at least, for the whole army. But if you really think the leaders have you and I marked for death, Stranger-Visits-Heaven, then perhaps the bee would find itself eaten by the flower, instead of the other way around." [21:38] 14Stranger:"No, I just think they don't like us." [21:38] 14Stranger: "No, I just think they don't like us." [21:38] "What they care about is the Star." [21:40] "Then we have our bait. We need a way to make sure they don't swallow it - or if they do, that they don't live to tell." [21:41] 14Stranger nods. He's not wrong there. [21:44] 5 Xu Sim puts a few finishing touches on his diagram. To Xia Lan, Stranger, and Bastian - but no others - there is another message, hidden in the words of his diagram: [21:44] "IT COULD ALSO KILL THE EMISSARY - AN ESSENTIAL COUNTERBALANCE OF FORCE" [21:48] 14Nice. [21:48] 14And necessary. [21:48] 13Good card to have, at the very least. [21:51] "Of course, something like this requires a lot of discretion. If they got wind of it, the raksha could take steps to mitigate its effectiveness." [21:53] 12There's a thump as the door opens, clanking as greaves hit the floor, grunts and exhalations intermixed with clicks and creaks as some kind of elaborate suit of armor is disassembled and removed, and finally regular leather-on-wood footsteps as Keldar strolls into the room, drags an empty chair away from the table, and sprawls out in it such that he can lean it back against some [21:53] 12counter or wall. "Wew, lads." [21:53] 14Shouting out to the common room: "The Apples tried to hire us yesterday." [21:54] 12Keldar: "And you didn't join? Excellent career opportunity." [21:54] 14To Xu Sim, quietly: "You have my support." [21:54] 14He steps back out into the main room. "Well, I lied. They tried to hire Xia Lan." [21:54] "No use for blind men." [21:55] 12Keldar: "Let me tell you, butchers and street sweepers and the like actually know their way around the shit they swing around every day pretty well. Boredom, probably." [21:55] "We tried to send some thugs you're way, but probably convinced them to be highwaymen instead." [21:55] "You don't need to worry about Bubo anymore." [21:55] 12Keldar leans forward. "You got 'im?" [21:56] 13Xia Lan: "Poor recruiter kid. Think he would've freaked if he knew who he was really talking to, he recognized the address I gave him." [21:56] "In my employ, yes." [21:56] 4"Who's Bubo?" [21:56] "I also determined he wasn't responsible for the ambush." [21:56] "Would you like to know why?" [21:56] 12Keldar: "He explain himself with regards to that assassination attempt, th- well, then who was?" [21:57] 14Stranger: "Don't know yet. If I had to guess, I'd say the same people backing our new Emissary's play, but I'm just naturally suspicious. His boss wanted him to come in." [21:57] 4"Dorma? Or whoever his real boss is?" [21:57] "Now, for soldiers that means one thing. A frank exchange of views, maybe a dust-up. Maybe a killing, but it's up front." [21:57] "Not Dorma. His real boss." [21:57] "'The Director.'" [21:58] 12Keldar: "Whosat?" [21:58] "For spies, though -- if they ask you to come in, that just means they want to know where to find you." [21:58] "He doesn't know. I'm going to find out." [21:58] "But it spooked him badly enough he went into hiding in, I don't know. Elsewhere." [21:59] "Either way, he's on the outs with the people who sent him here and he's got an interest in what we have an interest in: Nexus." [21:59] 14To Keldar: "He's fallen in love with Astrologer Kratz." [21:59] "Do try to keep her alive." [21:59] 12Keldar blinks and tilts his head a bit. "Yeah? How's she feel about Nexus nowadays?" [21:59] "She's in our corner." [22:00] 4"Can you trust a word he says?" [22:00] "I can trust that I am the only friend that he has left, in this world." [22:01] 14Stranger gives a brief rundown of how he located Bubo: from the thugs at the shrines to Old Selin to the bartop conversation with Vladok to the sapphire and the keyword and the strange, serene place of fountains and sadness. [22:02] 13Xia Lan adds some flavor to his descriptions as needed, but for the most part lets Stranger do the talking. [22:02] 14It was a whole lot of talking, and a whole lot of prior relationships bearing fruit. [22:07] 14Stranger: "He's staying in the sanctum of a celestial god. Now, how that fell into Vladok's hands, via Selin's, I can't say. Though I have a fairly good guess as to what manner of being our goodly architect is." [22:07] 14He looks about the room. "And it's my expectation that no one will be an ass to him about that." [22:08] 4"Why should we care?" [22:08] "That's an excellent attitude for the specific question, Bastian." [22:08] 12Keldar: "How'd he get in? Don't those take invitation or magic?" [22:08] "It was the former." [22:08] "And the latter, but via the former." [22:09] 12Keldar: "So if he's, what, basically ditching his old boss and relying on you - what can he do for us?" [22:10] "Intelligence. Analysis. An extra eye on the target; an extra dagger in the dark. I just need to make sure he's not too sad to buy in." [22:11] "Which is where the Astrologer comes in, and why I want you to make sure the Apples take over her personal detail." [22:11] 12Keldar: "He a sorcerer or a god or what?" [22:11] 13Xia Lan: "A celestial god - that's what was bothering me about the place. It's the Great Crane, I'm sure of it. The original master of the Crane style, who taught it to humankind to aid their fight for liberation-- that was his sanctum." [22:11] "I'm told he's a Chosen of Heaven." [22:12] "Right -- two different people. Old Selin, I think, is our deposed Great Crane. His new squatter, Bubo, is Chosen of Heaven." [22:12] 12Keldar: "...like us? That's not really the right term..." [22:12] "Oh, wow," 5 Xu Sim is utterly awed by the idea that Stranger and Xia Lan have visited the sanctum of Great Crane, the god who taught Crane Style to mortals. [22:12] "Don't you prefer Anathema, anyway?" [22:12] "Old who??" [22:13] "Because I'm fairly certain that religiously speaking, he's not that." [22:13] 14To Xu Sim: "Homeless guy. Been fixing leaks." [22:13] 13Xia Lan: "Seemed nice." [22:13] 4“He is not an abomination?" [22:13] 12Keldar: "Nah, I mean - heaven generally? Doesn't quite square with any of the actual..." 12He makes circular motions. "...nomenclature." [22:14] 14Stranger sighs and closes his eyes. "He serves...it's either Jupiter or Saturn. Part of his whole deal is that he's difficult to talk about." [22:14] "Saturn, I think." [22:15] 12Keldar looks faintly confused, and then just puts the entire thing out of mind. "I got some news of my own, besides that the militia training's underway." [22:15] 12Keldar: "Turns out, the very day I got back to Nexus after taking the second breath, the door of the Tomb of Red-Hot Iron swung open." [22:16] 14Stranger: "Oh." [22:16] "What does that mean?" [22:16] 12Keldar: "Guild managed to dig the foyer's light fixture out of the ceiling, then sent in an entire team that never came back. They gave me a deal - I could either go in and keep whatever gear those guys had, or I could go in, return the gear, but keep the tomb." [22:17] 12Keldar: "Means it might be mine. Uh, my... preincarnation's? That a word?" [22:17] "It works." [22:18] 13Xia Lan: "Meaning's clear, at least. So... what's your plan?" [22:18] 12Keldar: "Anyway, I took option two. This is a First Age tomb that hasn't been touched since Nexus's founding - there's got to be insane loot down there, and likely at least some of it's combat gear." [22:18] "So you want help." [22:19] 12Keldar: "We got the actual war council coming up so I have to put it aside for at least a little bit, but way I see it we got no choice but to go down there and strip the very jade out of the walls. The material and materiel'll be nearly priceless." [22:20] "It sounds like an excellent investment."? [22:20] *-? [22:20] 12Keldar: "Obviously dibs on my own ancestral daiklave or whatever but there's no reason the lot of us shouldn't be properly decked out in jade or better by the time the fae arrive." [22:20] 14Stranger: "I have no interest in joining you. At all." [22:21] "However." [22:21] "I know someone I'd like to sponsor." [22:21] 12Keldar: "Who?" [22:23] "Cathak Tsuka." [22:23] "He might already even be a member of your organization." [22:24] 12Keldar: "Ah, him. You know, I keep missing the chance for a chat of more than a few words. Be a good chance to see what he can do... though also kind of a shame if he touched the wrong wall and melted." [22:24] "He's got the Dragon Blood, he can throw fire, he's chomping at the bit for advancement, and perhaps most importantly -- beyond his respect for you -- he'll have more modest dreams from the loot." [22:24] 12Keldar: "But, hell, I guess a fire aspect's as safe as anyone'll be in there." [22:24] 14Slightly nettled: "Implicitly, I'm counting on you to make sure that doesn't happen." [22:25] 13Xia Lan: "I'll go too, then. Ought to keep your mind at ease." [22:25] 14He smiles. "Good; thank you." [22:26] 12Keldar: "Easier said than done, but it'll get done." 12He turns to Xia Lan. "Great. More Chosen with me, the better a shot we'll have at doing it clean. Possible that the entire place will just recognize me - one of us, at least - as the owner and not so much as leave any doors locked, but who knows." [22:27] 13Xia Lan: "Tomb raids never really go that cleanly. Even if you think they might. Especially if you think so, actually." [22:27] 12Keldar points to Xu Sim. "You I'd like there - or at least someone you can vouch for. I know a little Old Realm and I've seen plenty of magic in my day, but, frankly, you've had more days." [22:27] "I would be remiss not to accompany you, but I'd also be remiss to let my other projects slide..." 5 Xu Sim considers his options carefully. [22:27] 12Keldar: "Well, it's right in the Bastion district, remember. Dunno exactly how big the place is but it shouldn't be more than a day or two's work." [22:28] 12Keldar: "Probably wanna hit it on a weekend so that my training doesn't get too badly interrupted." [22:28] "That would be a tragedy." [22:28] 12Keldar: "Absolutely, those guys need all the help they can get." 15[22:29] <@VoxPVoxD> Fun fact: Mercenaries getting weekends off is one of the few labor protections enshrined in the Civilities. [22:29] 4"I will accompany you." [22:30] 14The door to Stranger's room opens, there's a pause, and then a cat sticks her head out in between the crack with narrowed, accusing eyes. "Excuse me," 14says the silver-haired man with a smile. [22:30] 12Keldar: "Nice. Six swords and a sorcerer should be plenty. Remind me - you much with locks and mechanisms and such?" 12This to Xia Lan. [22:32] "By the way, Keldar, I've cured the honey-maze plague and the Legion's medics and the city's Factors should be distributing it to the citizenry. Also, the final stage of the plague turns its victims into homonculi made of honey under the absolute control of the Queen of the East. And one of them was a perfect duplicate of me, until the Dragonlord destroyed it. So there might be a few [22:32] more duplicates out there." [22:32] 13Xia Lan: "Pretty good, yeah." [22:32] "I picked up a lot of skills in my time." [22:32] 12Keldar blinks. "Duplicates of... anyone who got infected?" [22:33] "I'm not sure where my duplicate came from. But the others, I think the honey slowly consumes their tissue until they're a nearly-perfect replica of what they once were. They're still honey though, so hot water and so forth just melts them." [22:34] 12Keldar: "When you say perfect, you mean he had anathema powers?" [22:34] 5 Xu Sim seems pleased with his straightforward, military explanation. He spent a lot of time working out the exact details.  "Oh, ah, well he was my equal at sorcery and martial arts, at least." 15[22:35] <@VoxPVoxD> He also mimicked Xu Sim's anima. [22:35] "And it produced a grotesque parody of my anima." [22:35] 12Keldar: "Hmm. Well... none of the rest of us got sick, right?" [22:35] 13Xia Lan: "Not me." [22:38] "Take care you don't. And if you do, come right back. Oh, and there was one other thing. I was able to talk the Dragonlord back a little bit in his vendetta towards me. Also, and please don't mention this, I have the reagents to perform a dream-speaking spell on him if we think that's wise. Enough to plant an idea in his head, perhaps." [22:40] 12Keldar taps his chin a few times. "Probably not enough for him not to try and kill me once this is over with." [22:40] 13Xia Lan: "No problem. If he finds out, maybe we can start a support group." [22:40] 4"We could kill him first." [22:40] 12Keldar: "And he's already decided on the war council meeting place, so whatever." [22:41] 5 Xu simmers at Xia Lan's continued impertinence. [22:43] 12Keldar shakes his head at Bastian. "Nah. If the guy wants a proper fight after all's said and done he can have one." [22:43] "He's also sworn vengeance against me, and I'd rather he not take me up on it after seeing what he did to my evil twin." [22:44] 12Keldar: "Easy, we'll just make sure I'm first in line." [22:45] 5 Xu Sim twists at his mustache. [22:46] 13Xia Lan: "I have to say, that's an awfully cavalier attitude to take to having vengeance sworn against you. Not the first time it's happened, I take it?" [22:48] 12Keldar: "Well... it's an occupational hazard, right?" [22:48] 12Keldar: "War, treasure, territory... guarding or stealing things... you end up locking horns, you know?" [22:49] 4"Might be for the best if an unfortunate accident happened to him in the heat of battle." [22:49] 12Keldar: "Nooo. Not like he's a bad guy or something. And he'll definitely be an asset to the defense." [22:50] 13Xia Lan: "I do know. Still, a worrying reality of life." [22:50] 12Keldar: "Now, if those fuckers from Thorns happened to be the rapidly-crushed first line, that's another story." [22:53] 12Keldar: "...so we still DON'T know who was behind that assassination attempt, yeah?" [22:54] "Odd they haven't tried again. We keep splitting up in public." [22:55] 12Keldar: "I'm surrounded by mercs and militiamen as often as not. If it's me they wanted they haven't really had another chance." [22:57] "That reminds me, Keldar, do you have any thoughts on siege warfare? Catapults, mangonels and so forth?" [22:58] 12Keldar: "Not my preferred means, but I've had a few rounds. You should see the firedust cannons they've got down south." 12He glances off, as though able to see through the wall. "Probably Lookshy's our best bet here - if they're willing to ship over any of those lightning ballistae and similar." [22:59] 14Stranger slips out of his room some moments later and gently shuts the door. [22:59] "I'm learning how to build them myself. Lightning ballistae would take a little more time than I have, but..." 5 Xu Sim glances over at the emerging Stranger. [22:59] 14Stranger: "But?" [23:01] "Time is the biggest obstacle to building one, now. I think I could, if I had the time and parts, put one together myself, from scratch." [23:02] 12Keldar: "You know me, I'm way more comfortable in the thick of things. Mostly only seen fights big enough to involve siege equipment when I wasn't in charge of them. Now, I know what you're thinking - how hard can it be, really, for my buddy Keldar? And sure, I can figure it out." [23:02] 12Keldar: "But do I need to?" 12Keldar turns to Bastian. "You got catapults and such up in Deguo?" [23:02] 14Stranger: "That is what I was thinking." [23:09] "In any case, Keldar, I've put together a plan -" 5 he gestures to the kitchen wall, upon which is written an extensive diagram detailing, essentially, a plan to come up with a poison to kill Rakshasa - "And if you can help gather some of the ingredients I need, or happen upon any hobgoblins or honey-maze infected bees, I would appreciate it." [23:10] 12Keldar: "My main worry here is if the wind shifts and I have to fight in it." [23:11] 14Stranger: "It's an extremely pertinent concern." [23:11] 13Xia Lan: "It's." [23:12] 12Keldar: "How well would that stuff serve as... you know, we'd just smear it along the right walls and make sure the raksha can't just go around us, or crawl under the door?" [23:12] "Anyone know the local weather gods? And perhaps I could come up with an antidote that could be distributed..." [23:13] 13Xia Lan: "No, but we've been walking in high circles lately. Might meet one." [23:15] 12Keldar: "Well, you could - actually, I keep losing track of this. You got like, colleagues? Apprentices? Just how many magicians can we dragoon, here?" [23:15] "The temples of the River Gods are closed, and I believe that would be their purview." [23:15] "Not that we couldn't still find a way to ask." [23:18] 4von Hrolfus scratches his chin. "Well, I do know a fair bit about siege theory - mandatory class for all officers at the Academy. And we operated light mockup models of the equipment during the practicals - I should say I know a fair bit.." [23:19] "I've been remembering things I never learned about building siege engines and large-scale weapons of that type. What would be effective things for me to get to work on, that would contribute most effectively to the city's defense?" [23:19] 12Keldar: "That's good. I lead from the front, see, but if Xu Sim whips up some acid trebuchets or something they'll need someone who knows how to aim 'em." [23:20] 12Keldar considers Xu Sim's question. "Clouds of poison have obvious problems, but just... hell, boulders in burning tar never go out of style, right? More we can soften 'em up before we engage, the better." [23:21] 13Xia Lan: "Do those work on raksha?" [23:21] 4"My specialty was artillery, of course, but we are- were- adequately trained in all forms of modern military warfare." [23:25] 12Keldar: "Embodied raksha, forging into Creation? Sure. They got bodies." [23:25] 12Keldar: "Not all of 'em bleed, not all of 'em burn, and so on, but some kind of abuse or another'll stamp 'em out." [23:26] 12Keldar: "Obviously the best thing to be hucking at 'em would be, like, huge masses of bundled-up iron that explode into shrapnel. But every iron catapult payload is that many fewer iron swords." [23:28] 4"Do exploded rakshasas re-coalesce?" [23:30] 12Keldar: "Mostly no. They ain't gods." [23:30] 13Xia Lan: "War sure is a racket." [23:31] 12Keldar: "My understanding is raksha get up to some weird shit when left to themselves, but when they fight us they play by most of our rules. Dead's dead." [23:32] 14Stranger: "The big problem with them -- and the reason we needed to resolve our bee issue -- was the possibility of them bringing their rules to us." [23:33] 4"When I fought the apparition that pretended to be...or perhaps, once was - my friend, it felt ethereal at times. Like my blade was going through air." [23:33] "All that iron for swords, or shrapnel, and..." 13She shakes her head. "Anyway. Is that still on the table? Their rules to us?" [23:33] "So long as the Queen doesn't have something else lined up to give her a back door into the city -- and we should watch Firewander very, very closely -- we've won an important victory before we've begun." [23:34] "Well. There's a Wyld incursion in the center of town." [23:34] "That's never going to be a good thing." [23:35] 12Keldar: "Highland might've taken care of that for us. We'll see what they've done to the place tomorrow, I suppose." [23:36] "What is on the agenda for tomorrow's council of war?" [23:36] 12Keldar: "Good question. Guess we formally agree - and swear, presumably - to the city's defense, decide who's in charge of who..." [23:37] 4"Is it confirmed that they WILL attack the city? It would be amusing if they saw what was arrayed against them and simply went around us, or to an easier target." [23:38] 14Stranger: "We're the target, unless they're planning on fighting each other." [23:38] "Which, admittedly, would be funny." [23:38] 12Keldar: "Nah, they want us. They're coming to collect on the Emissary's power or something." [23:39] 12Keldar: "Now, if we could, like... pick up the red star and hurl it over the Blessed Isle or something, that'd be pretty funny. But I doubt it." [23:39] 13Xia Lan: "Only if you can yell 'pranked' as they rush off to chase the ball." [23:40] 12Keldar: "Heh heh. Of course, one or more of them might still decide to go through us on the way." [23:40] 14Stranger: "I'm not sure what the Red Star's whole deal actually is, but I'd be willing to be that it's not, in the strictest sense, actually there." [23:40] "Especially if we did actually yell that at them. Heck, I would too, just out of spite." [23:40] "As a thing that we can move or remove or touch or muck with at all." [23:41] "I'd be willing to bet that, more than anything, it's part of them." [23:41] "It's Balor's maleficent eye, I think. Hard to say for sure without more information." [23:41] "Well, yes." [23:41] "But what sustains it?" [23:41] 12Keldar: "Him, maybe, or Nexus itself." [23:42] 13Xia Lan: "Is it the friends the Emissary made along the way?" [23:42] "There's a good chance the answer to that question is: literally the armies marching here, because of it." [23:42] "Cause and effect, all twisted up." [23:42] "That's the Wyld way." [23:43] 4"Makes your head spin." [23:44] 14Stranger: "After all, assuming the current Emissary is the real deal, one would think his return would end all this nonsense. The star first of all." [23:44] "But it hasn't." [23:44] "Moreover, it doesn't even seem to be within his purview, let alone his interest." [23:45] "We're dealing with something outside of Nexian jurisprudence, to be sure." [23:45] 12Keldar: "Might be still hurt... or insane, or something. Part of why the Guild tried to pull out, certainly." [23:46] 12Keldar: "Speaking of, Xu Sim, if you need more resources you can hit them up. I convinced the Overfactor of the Guild to keep his holdings in the city and contribute to the defense." [23:46] "And I convinced him to be fair and clear in his dealings." [23:47] "Both agreements end with the successful defense of Nexus, however. Be prepared." [23:47] "Oh, that's excellent news." [23:47] 12Keldar: "'course, I'm sworn to uphold the Dogmas and make sure the rest of the city doesn't try to loot the Guild's offices in the interrim, but it means they didn't just up and leave with all their iron." [23:47] 13Xia Lan: "That's some trade." [23:47] 12Keldar: "It's them that gave me the tipoff about Red-Hot Iron, and I'm sure they can furnish you with whatever." [23:48] 14Stranger: "Yes. Let's all leave the Guild be for a time, so that Keldar isn't obliged to kill you." [23:48] "However." [23:48] "If they fuck with you--" [23:48] "Let me know." [23:50] 12Keldar: "Definitely. Doubt they will, though. They know what's good for 'em." [23:51] 13Xia Lan: "Do they, though?" [23:51] "What's good for them may be the only thing they have any interest in." [23:52] 14Stone-faced: "If they don't, I'm going to have a conversation with some very important Guildsmen." [23:53] 12Keldar: "That's why you can count on 'em. They want Nexus standing because it'll let them keep making money, and they want me on their good side because I'm anathema and all the rest of you either don't care or hate 'em." [23:56] 12Keldar: "Sure, there might be one of us in charge. But it's six to one." [23:56] "They did send a teapot, though," 5 notes Xu Sim, gesturing, as he putters his way back towards the hearth. [23:56] 14Stranger: "It's a trinket." [23:56] "A useful one, of course." [23:56] 13Xia Lan: "And an appreciated one." [23:56] "Despite its origins." [23:57] 12Keldar: "More importantly, they're giving me a First Age tomb, and giving us... well, pretty much the rest of Nexus's mercenary crews. That ain't nothin'." [00:00] 4"Will we still have control of these...crews, once the matter at hand is dealth with?" [00:02] 5 Saffron and indigo. Chalk. Salt. Fish scales. [00:04] 12Keldar: "Nah, they're still on the Guild's payroll. Although a few of 'em might want to see allegiance after they've seen the shape I can whip the Apples, Guard, and irregulars into." [00:04] 14Stranger: "And once we've resolved this issue with the army it'll be a free market again." [00:04] "For certain definitions." [00:04] 13Xia Lan: "Hooray." [00:05] 12Keldar: "Yep. Guard might not even need the Apples on staff any longer... and they'll owe us big." [00:11] 13Xia Lan: "Where's that leave all of us, then?" [00:12] "Say we win and everything's perfect and nobody dies, whatever. Then what?" [00:15] 4"Then we best watch our backs." [00:15] 14Stranger: "Oh, people will die." [00:16] "But there are going to be changes in Nexus, I think." [00:16] 14Glancing at Keldar: "Whether we want them or not. The 'Emissary' has made that clear." [00:19] 12Keldar: "On top. Saviors of Nexus. Insanely rich." [00:19] 13Xia Lan: "And then what? Where do we go from there, even if everything goes right? We're not the type to just rest on our laurels." [00:20] 4"I will be returning to Deguo to attempt to salvage what is left." [00:20] 14Stranger, not quite without contempt for the subject matter: "Thorns sounds nice this time of year." [00:23] 14He's got other plans, too. But they're not quite ready for public air. [00:27] "As for you, Keldar, I present -" 5 Xu Sim flourishes, presenting a small, translucent, blue and orange square, looking rather like a candy - "The Tidal Pod." [00:27] "Dare you consume it?" [00:28] 14... [00:28] 13... [00:28] 5 Xu Sim cackles for a moment before pausing. "what" 5 FIN [00:29] NEXT TIME: The writing on the wall