15[20:10] <@VoxPVoxD> With Council Tower in disrepair, deliberations have indefinitely relocated to the Vecchio, an old and gorgeous house overlooking the Gray at the southern end of Sentinel Hill. Story goes it was an official residence, dating back to old Hollow and the old Deliberative, and you do have an outstanding view of the golden dome in Firewander from the east balcony upstairs. That's the view Xia Lan takes in, now, about half an hour before her first formal meeting of the Council. What's on her mind? [20:13] 14Has she asked for Stranger to formally attend as her adjunct, or is he in the wind? 15[20:13] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger takes in a grimmer sight, using his access to the judiciary to chase new leads on the fate of the missing cabbage merchant. Now he knows, at least, the offical story: the cabbage merchant Pakku, survived by a wife and two children, died from his wounds ten days after the Emissary did, including a note of when and how his body was cremated in accordance with the principles of bodily and spiritual sanitation. [20:14] 14Ah. [20:14] 14Well, if there's a note, then he must havahahahahahaha. The investigation continues. [20:15] 13You know, if you'd told her this was what her life would be like a year ago, she would have laughed in your face. And yet here she is, an official Councilor/one of the new Emissaries of Nexus. How time flies. As for Stranger, her only request had been some notes regarding what was to be discussed, though it's likely that someone else actually produced them for her. 15[20:15] <@VoxPVoxD> He's looking over these files while waiting for Bubo, who sent word by a strange green dragonfly that he dug up some new leads, and wanted to meet for tea. Stranger's choice where. So, where are they? 15[20:16] <@VoxPVoxD> Meanwhile, Xu Sim leads Keldar back to the Tomb, Keldar carrying a cart full of ominously labeled bottles and boxes, as well as a small heap of scrap iron from the foundry itself. It's not enough to bring a crusade down, but it'll do to experiment with. 15[20:16] <@VoxPVoxD> What's Xu Sim's plan? [20:16] 14Some out of the way place close to Firewander's Wyld zone. He would prefer fewer eyes, and when he gets eyes, he would prefer them to be discerning ones rather than regular gossip-mongers. [20:17] "Let's see here," 5Xu Sim is lecturing Keldar as they go. Might as well give the brute a bit of a lesson about it, since he's shown at least a hint of interest in this sort of thing. [20:18] <@Ferrinus> 12It shouldn't be practical to carry both a huge cart of components, and a suit of orichalcum and moonsilver articulate plate, and an orichalcum and moonsilver grand daiklave, but Keldar is somehow managing just fine. At the moment, all the traps and gauntlets are disabled and the heat of the Tomb of Red-Hot Iron has been banked; the workers at the topside foundry are on break while [20:18] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar moves Xu Sim's materials down and Keldar's own team of tomb-raiders are scurrying to and fro to collect and document anything useful or valuable. [20:19] "We'll need to make sure you, as the rightful-"5 he clears his throat -"heir of the tomb are able to boss around that echo of Ladis as easily as you boss around your other minions," 5the doctor ticks off an item on a pocket abacus he's carrying, [20:19] <@Ferrinus> "Pretty sure it's Lados," 12Keldar says. "First, I wanna see what's behind that wall. Pretty sure the projection's holding something back because I didn't play ball. Second - this is a manse, innit? Can you tell if it's supposed to make a hearthstone?" [20:20] 14Stranger has, of course, brought his teapot. He's also brought a single sheet of jade 'paper' for Bubo. [20:21] 5Xu Sim ruffles at the correction. "I think it should have that effect. As for a hearthstone, yes, it should have done so. I'm sure it's down there, somewhere. We'll also need a way to alter the heat of the chamber from the outside, so we don't have to go running about with cooling gems and sundry; it's undignified and ridiculous." [20:21] 5Xu Sim ruffles at the correction. "I think it should have that effect. As for a hearthstone, yes, it should have done so. I'm sure it's down there, somewhere. We'll also need a way to alter the heat of the chamber from the outside, so we don't have to go running about with cooling gems and sundry; it's undignified and ridiculous." [20:21] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah, actually, I was just gonna say. We gotta rig up a way to turn this on and off from outside." [20:23] "If absolutely necessary I could summon a demon or something to take care of it for us, but that seems an inelegant solution to a simple problem." 5 Xu Sim continues: "Then, we need to examine closely the precise workings of the manse. You remember those scars on the Emissary? I hope to convince this manse to produce more iron thistledown." [20:25] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Had that thought, too. Thing is, it's MADE of iron. Has it got stores of extra?" 15[20:26] <@VoxPVoxD> The room is filling in behind her. Men and women talking, laughing, complaining - whatever their feelings, the Council of Nexus maintains a largely convivial atmosphere in the absence of outsiders. So the mood inside dims a bit as people realize Xia Lan's already there. The itinerary today is three items long: a conversation about the difficulties in taking a stable census of the new conscripted militia; a quick decision on the city's iron quota, and a special petition from the Highland delegation, concerning legal disputes. [20:26] "Do you know how this place came to be here?" 5Xu Sim asks as they descend. [20:29] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Two of Lados's pals got together to build him a monument in Hollow's ruins when all the fighting was done with. As to how they did it, no clue." 12He pauses. "Kind of a mystery, eh? You figure the Anathema'd been scattered by the time they started the project. Maybe they hid underground, built it from the bottom up?" [20:30] 13Usually, people are happier when Xia Lan is around. Extremely rude of them not to be, here. Is there a summary of the finer points of the legal disputes with Highland? That can get tricky, and conversations and quick decisions are generally more Xia Lan's speed anyway. 15[20:30] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger sits in a corner booth of a dusty teashop so close to Firewander you can see the air ripple out the window. Off hours, this place is almost entirely empty, to the point that when a bristly, white-haired old woman settles into the seat opposite Stranger she says, in Bubo's voice, "It's the glamor of this job that I enjoy so much." [20:31] "It was built in the Underworld and moved here," 5 replies the sorceror. "After all, who would leave a perfectly fine demesne sitting around in the days of the Shogunate? Anyway, quite a trick, if you ask me! But it means I don't want to rely on the iron it's made of. Though maybe it's even more effective, it could have other properties they would not have considered relevant." [20:31] 14Stranger: "And not the glamour?" 14Pun intended. [20:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Seriously? How do you figure? Or did I miss Lados tellin' me." [20:32] 14First things first. There is a folded origami swan on the table in front of Bubo. "That is for you. Take it and unfold it at your leisure. Should I explain it, or do you know it?" [20:32] 5Xu Sim: "I assume it would take sorcery of a kind rarely seen in Creation since." 15[20:34] <@VoxPVoxD> Highland doesn't have any legal disputes; rather, they want to negotiate a system for arbitrating legal disputes through diplomatic rather than criminal procedure. Xia Lan can read between the lines here; Highland wants no part of Stranger's new judiciary. [20:34] 14Good! That should mean they forfeit claims to participate in the city as a political and economic entity. [20:34] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "No, I mean, how do you know that's what they did?" [20:36] 5 Xu Sim: "There's a work log, I'll point it out to you. It's in the antechamber to the graves of the workers and architects." [20:37] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Huh, interesting. That was my other question, actually - who'd they get to actually haul the rocks and work the metal?" [20:37] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Woulda guessed demons, but who'd bury one?" 15[20:37] <@VoxPVoxD> The old woman's eyes widen. "Where did that turn up? The tomb?" [20:38] 14Stranger smiles. "Indeed. I hold the book." [20:40] "I recognized an Erymanthus skull or two, some canoptic jars, a variety of things," 5 Xu Sim explains. [20:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hrm. There anything left over from the underworld down here? Ghosts?" [20:42] "You've been here as long as I," 5he points out. 15[20:44] <@VoxPVoxD> She takes the paper and folds it away in an inner pocket. "Useful. Very useful. Now, to the point: I've just gotten back to the city. The cabbagemonger's home is about three days' ride into the farm country. He works the land on a lease held by the Guild. Neighbors had barely an unkind word to say about the man. A small reputation for being argumentative. I wanted a word with his family..." A small gesture. "Gone. Packed up and left. No sign of a struggle, no sign of fleeing. But all they took was clothing and personal effects. No tools, no animals." [20:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Not backstage, though. The thing to worry about's the hungry ghost of the deceased. Of course, since the arms in here've been passed on as intended, we probably don't need to worry about it." 12The mercenary grunts as, coming to rest in the center of the tomb, he lets down Xu Sim's wagon of supplies. "Alright. How'll we rig up remote control?" [20:44] 14Stranger: "I don't like that at all." [20:44] "Did you do a preliminary investigation? Is it worth me going out there for another once-over, or do we have something to work on?" [20:45] "Let's see here," 5Now that he's in one piece, Xu Sim is able to take a much closer look at everything all around. "I'm curious if the heat is an intended feature, or if something down here was broken..." 5or, perhaps, sabotaged? [20:45] 13Hm. That's going to be a fine line to walk, but that sort of demand is fundamentally unacceptable. She might need to delay on that one until someone more bureaucratically inclined can argue them point for point... that quick decision might need to become a longer one. Speaking of, what is the issue with the iron quota? [20:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, for his part, walks over to the control sphere, claps a hand down on it, and shuts his eyes for a moment. Then he opens them again. "Alright, I've unlocked this thing for the moment. I told 'em topside to keep clear of the tomb because it might turn back on at any moment, so if you need to fiddle with the heat go ahead." [20:48] 14At this point, he trusts Bubo to be a clear judge of what needs to be done and where. There's no gain for him in deception on these particular matters. 15[20:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "No need. I was able to work out what happened. People came and got them, helped them pack, and rode them back up the road here, to the city." He unfolds a piece of parchment onto the table. "This is from the passenger manifest for Winter Rain, one of the cargo barges contracted to the Guild. Note the departure date." Stranger, noting, can see that the barge went downriver carrying not just the cabbagemonger's family, but Guild officers and hired mercenaries. They were taken from the city as the Guild pulled out. [20:50] 14Stranger: "And left all their tools and animals." 15[20:51] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Still under lease. I expect they're being cared for until new sharecroppers can be installed on the land." 15[20:52] <@VoxPVoxD> "Or, more likely, the Guild is trying to decide what to do with them considering that entire stretch of country is like as not to be a no-man's-land in a month's time." [20:53] "Reasonable, but irrelevant." 14Stranger: "More relevant is that the Guild has the cabbage man's family as hostages. This sadly puts them beyond our reach. Doubly so since I have substantial doubts as to whether the former Emissary cares about their fate, at all." [20:53] 5 Xu Sim cracks his fingers and gets to work examining the implements and infrastructure that control the echo of Lados in this place, tracing wiry fingers down otherwise perfectly smooth blocks of pallid marble, making no sound beside his faint breathing. [20:57] "Lados, by the way, is not a ghost, spirit, or anything of that sort. For now, I think of it as an echo - something that has followed its script for thousands of years. But soon that echo can join our voice in chorus. Or something, ask Xia Lan, I'm no damn musician," [21:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Like a brass legionnaire, yeah? That was my guess." 15[21:03] <@VoxPVoxD> The iron quota dispute arises from the competing needs of various interests in the city for materials in preparation for the war effort. There's only so much iron on hand and everyone from the Dawn Guard making weapons and armor for new conscripts to the Guild wanting to outfit its merchant marines in cold iron if they're to hold the rivers against raksha invaders, to various sundry goods from door hinges to horseshoes, to a proposal from Xu Sim to reconstitute some kind of ancient superweapon for use against the invaders. [21:05] 5Xu Sim: "Can't seem to remember ever meeting a brass legionnaire. Ah. Here, I seem to have found it," 5he notes as he suddenly slides a piece of something or other along. 15[21:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "If the cabbagemonger is dead, and the Emissary won't care, why keep them alive at all? If they're not leverage they're just another loose end, aren't they? But leverage over who?" [21:07] 13That's definitely something she can stretch out. Finally, the census - what's the issue there? Does she still have time before the meeting to go over that? [21:08] 14Stranger: "Well, we're assuming perfect knowledge. It's entirely possible that the Guild is hoping, in vain, that the Emissary will care." [21:09] "And we don't know that after that little display with the Evening Master that they haven't all had their throats slit, do we?" [21:09] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Had to fight one once to prove it worked. Guy with that idea hadn't thought it completely through, heh." 12He peers at the sphere, then the ceiling. "The voice stays subservient to me, though, yeah?" 15[21:09] <@VoxPVoxD> The problem is that Nexus is attempting to assemble something like an accurate count of its army strength, but those numbers keep fluctuating as people drift into Keldar's training facilities, and then return home to their own beds. Literacy isn't good enough for people to self-report, and the whole affair is too big and chaotic for census-takers to get reliable work done. Keldar's training them all, make no mistake - but the paperwork isn't coming together. [21:11] "Stays subservient to - you?" 5Xu Sim asks. "Is it subservient now?" 15[21:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Rotate this, unsocket that, strike a tuning fork to the socket and reattach... after about two hours' patient work, Xu Sim thinks he's mastered the tomb's acoustics to the point that the echo will go where he wills it. [21:12] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah. Make sure it takes orders - to turn the heat down or the lights on or whatever - even if it doesn't think I'm behaving properly." 15[21:14] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Do you have any contacts in the Guild who could help?" The old woman scowls. "This would be so much easier if I could step back into the office. Three meetings and a briefing - a day at most." [21:15] 14Stranger: "I have an agreement with the Guild to deal in good faith. That means I think I can make headway here." [21:16] 14He finishes his tea. "So I'll do that. Do you have any other avenue through which to attack this?" [21:16] 5Well, that should do it. "Lados! Come before us," 5orders Xu Sim. [21:18] 13Hm. An idea passes through Xia Lan's head from performing in pubs and some of the more rowdy concert halls... it'd be tricky to get that to last, but Xu Sim might have an idea? 15[21:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "...this is the sort of thing the Dragonlord could be useful for. His third-in-command on the Hunt is a master tracker, and she can be a source of pressure without exposing ourselves." 15[21:19] <@VoxPVoxD> A pause. "Second-in-command, now, with the Judge's passing." 15[21:19] <@VoxPVoxD> "W-w-who calls Lados, the Oathkeeper?" [21:20] 14Stranger: "Yes, that was unfortunate. And leaves me at a disadvantage in pressing leverage. But then, she didn't have to try to kill us in the middle of the street." [21:21] "It is I, Xu Sim. I speak for the master of the Manse, Keldar, who is here also." 5 Xu Sim contemplates for a moment. 15[21:21] <@VoxPVoxD> "True... it does close off the Dragonlord to us a bit, however. And I've been burned, so he's liable to kill me on sight." [21:22] 14Stranger: "Oh, no; I'll work that angle, too. I would like another go at the Dragonlord anyway, if just to make my presence felt. I'm just nettled by circumstance." [21:23] 14Stranger: "In fact, if you were willing to work in disguise but acknowledge yourself as my agent, perhaps you could work the Guild, and I'll tackle this Huntmaster." 15[21:25] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "If a spirit or another Chosen catches me, that's the end of me. I'm on forced leave. If the Director catches wind of me working when I'm supposed to be sunning in Chiaroscuro until the war passes, then I'm forgotten. Period." 15[21:25] <@VoxPVoxD> "I can't take that risk." 15[21:26] <@VoxPVoxD> Lados: "Oh. I remember you." 15[21:26] <@VoxPVoxD> "Master Keldar! What can I do for you and your vizier?" [21:26] 14He sighs. "Two appointments for today it is, then. Get some rest, and dinner with Kratz. I believe she should be done in time today; this is Xia Lan's first day on the Council." 15[21:27] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "I heard. Did you tell her to break a leg?" [21:27] *14He sighs. "Two appointments for today it is, then. Get some rest, and dinner with your woman." [21:27] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar looks around. "Can you - manifest? Like the other one did?" [21:27] "It's our mutual friend's first day." [21:27] 14Stranger: "No, I didn't think that idiom would be helpful." 15[21:29] <@VoxPVoxD> "If that is your wish, master." Motes of light weave themselves in twisted whorls around the orb, and spill forth into a figure whose head comes up just to Keldar's waist. https://i.imgur.com/1c3dJzb.jpg 15[21:30] <@VoxPVoxD> The meeting convenes, and Xia Lan settles in to her labeled seat between Pellicia and Kratz to begin hearing the first item. [21:30] "Manifest a second time if you can, Echo-of-Lados," 5 requests Xu Sim. [21:31] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, arms crossed, looks down at the image of the oathkeeper. Has he got his own Terminus and Entreaty? "Nice. So... we figure that, for the moment, you haven't got much reason to oversee the trials. We could use 'em as training of some sort later, but it's not practical at the moment." 15[21:32] <@VoxPVoxD> There's a peculiar thwommm sound, and suddenly sixteen Ladoses, perfect mirror images, stand in perfect clone-stamped sequence from the orb to the sarcophagus. "Sir!" 15[21:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Lados isn't armed, though he is wearing that Keldar can recognize as his own armor. [21:33] "Delightful. The bunch of you, give me a hand, please." 5Xu Sim now intends to get to work on the more significant projects of the day. [21:35] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hah! Clever. Those all solid? Can you show up topside like that, Lados, or even walk out the door?" [21:36] 14With Bubo given time off with blessing, Stranger will head, first, to...the Dragonlord. 15[21:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Lados: "My limits are the manse's limits." [21:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "But you COULD stand in the entrance hall, yeah? Could you control the systems if I let you? Like the heat and such." [21:40] 13Xia Lan appears perfectly composed, and actually dressed more conservatively than usual for something like this. Businesslike, you could say. She debated on a fake pair of glasses to really sell it, but that seemed like it would've come off condescending more than anything. Still, the message is clear: she's taking this seriously, and isn't just a celebrity here to goof off. 15[21:40] <@VoxPVoxD> What does Stranger say to the guards posted to Lookshytown who want to know his business with the Dragonlord? [21:41] 14Stranger: "Emissary business." [21:41] 14This is true in multiple senses of the word. 15[21:52] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger is admitted; the Embassy is in some disrepair, and he finds the Dragonlord looming over his mustering gunzosha like a mountain over the valley below. [21:52] 14How long has it been since the Deliberative? 15[21:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Ten days or so. [21:55] 14Stranger: "It's been some time. Not quite a fortnight. An armed camp night. I present myself as Stranger-Visits-Heaven, Emissary of Nexus, requesting an audience with our esteemed guest, the Dragonlord Nessun Dorma. You're probably the only one for whom that esteem isn't sarcastic." [21:55] 14He gives a serious, but slight, bow. 15[21:57] <@VoxPVoxD> There's some back and forth. Xia Lan hears Thalevar argue that their current civilian employers, where they're already employed, should send rolls of who's been conscripted to the Minister of Ways. Gen, predictably, concurs. Udelph objects, as do Pellicia and Kratz. It does nothing for the unemployed, and puts the business of government in the hands of shopkeepers. 15[21:57] <@VoxPVoxD> Where does she weigh in? 15[21:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma turns, slowly, to face Stranger. For a long moment he betrays no other reaction but soon enough a similarly slight bow soon precedes an "...Emissary." [22:02] <@Ferrinus> 12It's a little later, as Xu Sim is still putting together sketches for his control orb, that Keldar broaches the question. "So I get to carry this thing around, right? Or are you making more than one?" [22:03] 5Xu Sim corrals the Lados-Echoes and, in an antechamber of the facility, begins to work his magic. He calls forth the wild energies of sorcery, warping Creation to his whim; from time to time he pauses in his work to consider other factors. "A single Orb," 5he responds. [22:03] "Dragonlord." 14How does Nessun Dorma receive him? [22:04] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar jerks a thumb to the other room. "And it'll basically duplicate that one? Meaning it's locked to me?" 15[22:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Nessun Dorma leads Stranger to a repurposed hotel off the district's central square, where troops stage. In here officers and attaches hurry to and fro, hesitating briefly and infrequently at the sight of their commander walking in lockstep with the famous Anathema. An empty, windowless room, with the floor pried away revealing the packed soil beneath, and walls plastered with maps so complicated Stranger might not be able to parse them. [22:06] 13Udelph and the other objectors are correct in both particulars - ignoring the existence of the unemployed would be an egregious mistake, as would listening only to the words of business-owners and not actually taking an accurate count. (Though it would, were this not a time of war, be an interesting survey to know exactly how many of each... but there probably isn't the time for that.) [22:06] 13She offers two suggestions: We could have the soldiers muster for a day for an accurate count, following a consultation with Keldar to ensure this won't disrupt the training schedule, or some manner of tracking that doesn't require literacy on the part of the surveyed or guesswork on the part of the surveyor - handstamps, made to last for a period of a week or so, to mark those already counted. 15[22:07] <@VoxPVoxD> After they're alone in the room together, Dorma says: "I forget myself. Tea? Water? Something to eat?" [22:07] "It would be unwise to speculate too much of its specifics, before the work is done." [22:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Suppose it's lost or stolen?" [22:09] 14Stranger smiles gently. "Tea would be excellent. Do not put yourself out over food." 15[22:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Pellicia favors taking a day to muster, assuming Xia Lan can convince Keldar it's worth it. Gen presses Xia Lan: who will undertake the count itself? [22:11] "Then you had best slay the thief," 5suggests the sorceror, increasingly peevish. "I am reshaping part of the world to protect the rest of it from its ultimate Unmaking. This is not the sort of work with room for the petty considerations of a patron, as if I was painting a portrait or sewing a suit." [22:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hmmph. Well, if it's the only way we'll be able to use this place as part of the war, so be it. Just remember it's my property you're working on, here." [22:15] 14As the tea service is being brought to bear: "I do not generally enjoy making small talk, but then, this is not quite small talk. I trust that the Dragonlord has paid attention to the changes that the Emissary of Nexus has made to the city's judiciary? When your servants are within the jurisdiction of Nexus's laws, then the laws of Nexus shall apply through our courts. The Prince [22:15] from Highland is attempting to shirk this requirement." 14Coldly: "It is a priority of mine that he will not succeed, and I hold him in contempt for trying." [22:15] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "And help me get through that hidden door next time you're taking a breather." 12Using the image of Lados as a sort of majordomo, Keldar spends most of the next week topside, training the militia. He does pop in periodically, though, and will certainly be present when Xu Sim is able to, or needs help to, open the final door. [22:15] "It is a new day in Nexus. I will not tolerate anything else." [22:16] 13Both Gen and Pellicia, of course. It's a matter of the military, so of course Pellicia should be involved; and yet, the assistance and methods of the office of assayers would be invaluable to the effort. She says this as though it is very simple but also as though she's expecting to be challenged on this. 15[22:19] <@VoxPVoxD> Tea comes. Dorma: "I agree with you. I don't want to embroil myself in another petty power struggle with the Council. If I can't trust you all that far, my only course is to march back to Lookshy and muster there." 15[22:19] <@VoxPVoxD> "Can I count on you to justify that trust?" [22:22] 14Stranger: "Trust is the only currancy I tolerate. And I am a zealot in its coinage. The new chief judge is a former arbiter himself, made a fool of and legally bound through means that were legitimate but immoral. He is not a Chosen of the Sun. He does not serve because I ask, but because justice demands. He is angry, and he is principled. And I will know when the Guild, the Council, [22:22] or those within my own house try to buy him. I serve the Sun, but I serve the Sun through Creation. There will not be a repeat of Emissaries past." [22:26] 5 After several hours of intense work, and excellent progress, Xu Sim reappears in whatever chamber Keldar has been waiting in. He dabs at his forehead, which still shows signs of sweat as well as his slowly-dimming caste mark. [22:27] "Have you gone through yet?" 5 asks the sorceror. 15[22:29] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar finds the wall false, like the others Xu Sim pointed out, but a physical barricade starts just beyond the wall, ice cold to the touch and from its curves and ridges, heavily inscribed or decorated. He can't see it, though... [22:34] 14Stranger sips his tea, once it arrives, and examines Dorma in repose. [22:34] 14...He's a good man. [22:35] "It's always just a means to an end, isn't it?" [22:36] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar shakes his head. There's a small pile of rods and lodestones and sounding devices to his side. "I've got the shape of it and I know whatever's behind it is cold as hell and covered with some kinda scrollwork... no dice past that, though." [22:36] 14He stares out over the assembled troops, following Dorma's eyes. "We make rules because rules are necessary in the moment. But the only true rule is justice, and no mere court can decide that." [22:38] 5Xu Sim considers how cold the door is to the touch. "Surely whatever is behind that door is the reason this whole place is built around heat and cold, right?" [22:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hmm, maybe. Hey, Lados! Any special reason this place is built to heat up like it does, or did they just pick that security measure arbitrarily?" 15[22:41] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma: "So then tell me: how do these rules serve justice right now?" [22:41] "There was another sorcerous echo that offered you some kind of deal, Keldar. I think that is what controls whether or not this door opens up. Judging from the attitude of the people who built this place - that your commitment to personal honor and safeguarding your people was paramount, I'm not sure what that means." 5 explains Xu Sim. [22:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Yeah, that's exactly what I figured. The question is, can we crack it despite that." 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan threads the needle, convincing Gen that he and Pellicia need to work together. Business proceeds briskly apace, then - the argument over the iron quota seems largely settled, judging from the compromises Pellicia, Hayle, and Thalevar bring to the table off the backs of their briefings. It seems like everyone can get what they need as long as nobody has to give too much to Xu Sim for whatever horrible thing he's planning. It falls to Xia Lan to try and draw this out or speak up on Xu Sim's behalf. [22:46] 5Xu Sim shrugs and sets to work on the project he's planned for: reproducing Iron Thistledown, from scratch, in this fallen Age. 15[22:48] <@VoxPVoxD> Lados: "I'm afraid those technical details are beyond me. I know only that the special character of this demesne was crucial to Eresh Nin's vision." [22:50] 14Stranger looks over and sips his tea. "First, they separate wheat from chaff. People become stupid in the face of authority. They make demands that do not fit justice. They grasp for precedent and spew waste. We are dealing with this directly. The courts process cases quickly; justice flows from strong leadership, and our courts have strong leadership. Do they follow 'rules?' [22:50] Certainly. When you drop your sword, it hits the ground beneath you. Some rules are necessary for the preservation of justice; for coherence. Are they constrained by the Civilities and the Dogmas? In any other room, I say yes with no qualification. Here I tell you: all things are possible beneath the Civilities and the Dogmas." [22:50] "This is a court of justice, not a court of law." [22:50] 13Okay, this was supposed to be way more contentious. That's going to make this next part tricky... her strongest play in terms of wasting time has to be suggesting Xu Sim should get what he wants. I mean, he's a hero - cured a plague! Man's a mad genius! And of course her position in his Circle ought to raise all sorts of objections, leading to a very productive session of Nothing, until she gracefully allows the original [22:50] suggestion to proceed as it was. Now, to thread a second needle in order to tread water rather than winning by accident. [22:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar hmms noncommitally at Lados's words. He proceeds, then, to get some parchment together and take a rubbing of the hidden safe, assuming that the paper doesn't end up freezing and shattering or something. Anything of note in the design? 15[22:56] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar comes away with a rubbing of elaborate scrollwork, depicting Lados in repose, hair spilling out behind him like you're looking at him on his back, from above. In his hands are a spear and shield. In his other hands are a horn and a laurel branch. Twisting and winding over the body are etchings of dozens and dozens of chains, scribed with pictograms and iconography too blurry to make out in the rubbing. 15[22:58] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan... meets no resistance. The opposite, in fact. Ephiselle agrees that Xu Sim's interests should be respected, and urges Thalevar and Gen to make the necessary cuts to give Xu Sim enough iron to work with to see if his plan will prove out, and to be prepared to share more if it does. Thalevar and Gen exchange looks, and then look over in Pellicia's direction. Pellicia finds this acceptable. [22:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar works his mouth around a bit before turning and holding the rubbing up to the ceiling, where, in his imagination, the echo of Lados resides by default. "Mean anything to you? Who confused you with the actual god?" [22:58] 13Shit. 15[22:58] <@VoxPVoxD> A skillfully brokered compromise by the Unfettered Xia Lan! [23:01] 14Stranger puts his tea down. "I had other business here besides discussing the true form of justice, of course. I'm looking into the previous Emissary." [23:01] 13...Anything coming to mind in terms of continued stalling? Seems like she's about to have to handle this last one without delaying it otherwise... 15[23:03] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan gets the sense that people are pushing through this as hard or harder than she's pushing back. That's a hard knot to unpick on the spot. She can try to incite some discord more directly, but the more obvious she is about it the more suspicious her peers will be. The Council's not that stupid. [23:04] 5 Xu Sim, wandering through the antechamber, sees the rubbing that Keldar has made. He furrows his brow for a moment, as Keldar confers with Lados. Without saying a word, he steps past the Tiger of Nexus as he's looking at Lados, takes another piece of parchment, and in a matter of seconds - maybe even before Keldar turns back around - there's a perfectly rendered copy of the safe's [23:04] 5door. [23:06] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What the- okay, uh, does this one mean anything to you?" 12Heck, does it mean anything to Keldar, if he can read the inscriptions? 15[23:08] <@VoxPVoxD> There's a lot of intonations of peace, rest, tranquility, calm, even-temperedness, equanimity, serenity, etc. This etching aims to depict a death which is extremely peaceful and not at all worrisome. [23:08] <@Ferrinus> 12Ah, the very best kind, attainable only after one has defeated all their enemies, amassed staggering wealth, etc. [23:09] 13Well... Okay. She might need to request a recess at some point and call for a lifeline from Stranger, here, but... maybe she can stall out this part? Or, Sun above, maybe even end this favorably...? 15[23:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma: "I'm surprised you've yet to cross his path. His bloody handiwork is all over the city." [23:11] 14Stranger chuckles. "That is a meeting I will court when I'm ready for it. And I will be ready for it." 15[23:12] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma: "Mmm. As I recall I arrived at the scene of his death scarcely before you did." 15[23:12] <@VoxPVoxD> "How can I help?" [23:17] 14Stranger picks up his tea and sips again. "I request, with understanding of the needs of your army and office, the services of your Huntmaster. From here I will go to the Guild, achieve fruitful leads, and then the issue will be pressed. I guarantee her safety from the children of the Sun." [23:18] 14He puts the tea down. "Which means if Nogare tries to kill her, I'll get in the way. Even with a teacup." 15[23:19] <@VoxPVoxD> "What part does the Guild play in this?" 15[23:20] <@VoxPVoxD> Lados looks concerned and skeptical. On his round face the effect is quite charming. "That seems dire." [23:22] 14Stranger:"Do you know the process by which an Emissary was chosen before our summit in the Deliberative? The Red Star Chosen. A cabbagemonger was anointed with this terrible responsibility. The Guild took his entire family into custody. I am looking into whether they've cut those poor throats. The investigation will progress from there." [23:22] 14Stranger: "Do you know the process by which an Emissary was chosen before our summit in the Deliberative? The Red Star Chosen. A cabbagemonger was anointed with this terrible responsibility. The Guild took his entire family into custody. I am looking into whether they've cut those poor throats. The investigation will progress from there." [23:24] "I don't think these inscriptions are, ah, precisely commensurate with the manner of Lados' actual, historical death," 5 Xu Sim points out. 15[23:25] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma: "Animals." [23:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Definitely not, but that's the whole point." [23:27] 14Stranger: "They are." 15[23:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma looks past Stranger, at one of the maps. "Cornaro's out working on something else right now. I'll tell her to meet you. Where?" [23:30] 14Stranger: "Teahouse in Nighthammer. Fish Markets. 'First Cut Is the Deepest.'" [23:31] "They've got a spread out front. She'll know it." 15[23:32] <@VoxPVoxD> "Very well." [23:34] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar makes a few more attempts at physical manipulation, including hooking grapples - or just the gauntlets of his armor - into the edges of the wall/illusion boundary such that he can bodily drag the entire block of freezing metal out into the open. If that doesn't work, he'll have to rely on Xu Sim to just compel the thing with magic... or ignore it until later. [23:36] 13Well, after the spirited debate on the first item, and the relative ease of the second, Xia Lan requests a recess before they truly get started with the Highland question. Does anyone argue against her on this? [23:36] 5 Xu Sim watches Keldar try to manipulate the safe for a while. The man's tenacious, that's for sure. [23:37] "I've enjoyed our conversation, Dragonlord," 14Stranger says. "But as much as I might enjoy anything, that doesn't matter. What matters is the fact of us. And I think we work better towards each other goals together than we might scheming apart." 14He pauses. "And when you want Keldar, he'll be ready. As he should be." [23:39] 5 He stretches - he's taking this as a bit of a break. 15[23:40] <@VoxPVoxD> Dorma: "I agree." 15[23:40] <@VoxPVoxD> "Except on your last point." [23:40] 5Xu Sim: "Keldar, let me ask you a question." 15[23:40] <@VoxPVoxD> "No one is ever ready." [23:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hrr- eh? Yeah?" [23:41] 14Stranger: "In fairness." [23:41] "My last point wasn't that he would be ready." [23:41] "It was that he should be." [23:41] "Why do you want to go in there? You're not, pardon me, an intellectually curious kind of person most of the time." [23:41] "I stand by that." 14Stranger bows. "Thank you again, Dragonlord, for your time." 15[23:42] <@VoxPVoxD> A recess goes over pretty well. They've been at this for hours now - it's almost lunchtime. [23:42] "You don't seem the type to be bothered by the unknowable, deep mysteries of the world and universe. You're a practical man." 15[23:42] <@VoxPVoxD> But Nogare's due to arrive at noon, so don't take too long...! [23:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "There's probably treasure there, and it's mine by right. Also by law, at the moment." 15[23:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Law. [23:43] 13Oh noooo. Okay, well, as soon as she can find a private room, she pulls out the page Stranger gave her and - how did he say this worked? Think real hard about who you want to contact while holding the page? [23:44] "What was it that the echo asked you about, again? Please remind me, my poor addled brains were a little affected by being attacked by a thirty-foot tall wolf right after that conversation." [23:44] 14When Stranger feels the buzz in the back of his mind, he steps into the nearest teahouse and commandeers a private room. [23:44] "Xia Lan," 14he says, when alone, "I am here." [23:46] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "It wanted me to forgive some crime by some dead man against another." [23:46] 13Xia Lan: "Oh, thank goodness, I felt like an idiot for a bit there. So. The morning's meetings went well, uh, actually better than I wanted - I can explain later - but Highwall's coming up next. Did you read their petition?" [23:47] "Who were those other echoes that Lados conjured up - the ones you recognized?" [23:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Those weren't Lados's doing. They were real people - my men and women. I ever tell you how I drew the second breath?" [23:48] 13Can Stranger hear the rustling of paper? She's grabbed theirs, in any case. "They want to opt out of our legal system in favor of a 'diplomatic option,' whatever that means. I'm not sure how many times I can tell them no before people start getting irritated with me and overrule me." [23:49] 14Stranger: "I did." 14He sits down and throws his teapot on a smoldering bit of coals; water from kettles out front. [23:49] 14Stranger: "I did." 14He sits down and throws his teapot on a smoldering bit of coals; water from kettles out front. [23:49] "You never did," 5 said Xu Sim. Is this how Stranger feels, talking5 to people like this all the time? [23:50] 14Stranger: "Succinctly put, the Prince of Highland wants diplomatic immunity. For everyone. This is an extraordinary claim." [23:50] "That is distinct from a legally impermissable claim." [23:51] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I made enough of a name for myself in the Apples that Khelendros gave me my own unit to scavenge with - knew he could count on me to bring back more in value than the cost of commitment. We fought in campaigns, raided small tombs, the works." [23:52] "The humble origins of the Tiger of Nexus, himself, eh?" [23:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "One day we took a job for one Tepet Sachin - yeah, I know, but his money was good and working with Dynasts wasn't strictly against Apples code. We fought our way through a ruin for him and brought a blue jade artifact back. 'stead of paying us, he slaughtered us to the second last man." [23:52] 13Xia Lan: "My original plan was to just stall out negotiations until either I had a chance to better acquaint myself with the law or you took over but I don't think I'll have time. They really want to push this stuff through." [23:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I was the last man. He couldn't take me, but he could slip free of me. People you saw in this room yesterday were images of my unit." [23:53] 5Xu Sim gives a solemn nod. Bedside demeanor. [23:53] "Shall you forgive Tepet Sachin?" [23:53] "So. How do I tell them 'no, you can't,' but like. Nice, and legally, or at least--" [23:54] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Now, I don't hold this against Lados's echo because I don't think it was his idea or his style. No, that was the second architect havin' a giggle." 12The mercenary barks a harsh laugh. "I sound like I will?" [23:54] 14Stranger pours himself a cup of tea. "It doesn't matter what they want. That's the rub." [23:54] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Tepet's going to miss the Bull when I'm through with it." [23:54] "They're negotiating for after the war. But there is no 'after' the war unless we win." 15[23:54] <@VoxPVoxD> Speaking of which, from the room where she's talking to Stranger, Xia Lan can see a storm blow in. A tiny storm, two people hanging inside. The Beast's armor is recognizable in silhouette even at this distance. [23:55] "If they don't want the law of Nexus to apply to them, then they are perfectly within their rights to build into the battlements outside of the walls. We'll even give them some bonuses on the ticket, after the battle. If we all survive. If they survive." [23:56] "And if that doesn't please them, they can try to kill us right now." [23:56] "But what does that throne look like?" [23:56] 13Xia Lan: "They're here already. Okay. I'll... brighten that up a bit, I really don't think he likes me. Might try it." [23:57] 14Stranger: "He doesn't like you. He hates women, and men who he thinks fuck." [23:57] 13Xia Lan: "Okay, I was trying to be coy about it, but yes, I know that." [23:58] 14Stranger: "Don't be coy when we're talking like this. We've got an economy of time. I've make progress with the Lookshyans. Don't believe him if he claims to have some grand alliance with the Dragonlord." [23:58] "Keldar, you've been kind of an asshole lately, but I'm gonna give you this one for free." 5Xu Sim sighs. "You don't want whatever's in there, any more than you wouldn't want to be the sorry tomb raider who wakes YOUR ghost up one day to remind him that Tepet Sachin slipped a knife between your ribs when you were sleeping off a feast one night." [23:58] *made progress [23:59] 13Xia Lan: "Noted. Good on you, by the way, working around that Keldar thing. Unless you gave him up to them, which, fair play I guess. Uh. Okay. I think I can take it from here, our recess is probably just about over... I'll update you as soon as I can, okay?" [00:00] 14Stranger: "The most important thing is to hold the line here. But if you can't -- if he manages to sway the other Councilors -- make him own an alliance with Thorns." [00:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar tilts his head to the side. "You think whatever's in there is gonna break the camel's back when it comes to the tomb suffering our presence? Or that something special's guarding it?" [00:00] 14Stranger: "Of course. I believe in you. Knock his ass dead." 15[00:02] <@VoxPVoxD> From the main hall, Xia Lan hears his voice. 15[00:02] <@VoxPVoxD> "I love this house! Seeing it from the air, you can appreciate the architect." 15[00:02] <@VoxPVoxD> "Marvelous home." [00:02] "I don't think there's anything in there but the ghost of one of the most powerful warriors to have ever existed, who has a good reason to be pretty upset at the state of things but probably doesn't need a good reason after thousands of years of doing whatever it's been up to." [00:04] <@Ferrinus> Keldar leans back a bit. "...We never DID come across a tiny skeleton." 12He paces a bit. "Guy really did make it sound like he had something for me..." 15[00:04] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan returns to the room to find Mori Nogare, in his diplomat's raiment, with his court magician behind him, holding a gleaming orb furtively in his sleeves. 15[00:06] <@VoxPVoxD> The Beast's face is placid. "Emissary. You're looking healthy." [00:06] 13She nods politely. "Nogare. A pleasure." 15[00:09] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: It bleeds; it leads [00:09] 5Xu Sim: "For the people who built this place, for whoever wrote this inscription, it was essential that the box remain here, undisturbed." [00:11] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar frowns, then works his jaw around a bit, then frowns again. "Yeah, I think you're right. I'm heading topside, then." 12He kneels to start packing up this thieves' tools, the burlap sack clashing pretty dramatically with the gold and silver armor he's clad in. "I've got a guy watching the entrance - get Lados to yell at him if you need anything down here." [00:14] 5Xu Sim grunts in acknowledgement and heads over to take another measurement of the arcane forces coalescing around the place.