15[20:18] <@VoxPVoxD> Thalevar: "Ain't we, though?" 15[20:18] <@VoxPVoxD> A low groan. Possibly Kratz? [20:19] 14Stranger:"We will interview him as the Council sees fit. The full group seems appropriate." [20:19] 14Stranger: "We will interview him as the Council sees fit. The full group seems appropriate." 15[20:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Outside the hall, Xu Sim is left to entertain two of the three delegates from Thorns. The larger and uglier of them bears down on the physician now. "So! I have heard you plan to draw the thistle down. But how?" [20:23] 14Stranger: "I'm fine with doing it right now, if Apple Baillie has been made aware of the circumstances." [20:23] "If not, this afternoon is sufficient." 15[20:23] <@VoxPVoxD> Udelph agrees. "It's either that or the Governor's presentation." 15[20:24] <@VoxPVoxD> Another low groan, this one scattered around the room. Maybe from Xia Lan...? [20:26] 13That's a private matter, of course, and I'll thank you not to comment on it. In any case, she's here for... whatever it is. [20:27] 5Xu Sim smiles politely. "Nexus is the greatest trade city in the world! And, with the right resources, I believe there is precious little that is now beyond my reach. And, thanks to the diligent work of my comrades, the resources are proving right." 15[20:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Hayle: "In the mean time, where are we with the river gods? Have our Emissaries made overtures?" [20:32] 14They damn well should have. [20:34] 14Stranger: "We have. It hasn't gone well." [20:35] 14He grimaces. "But I haven't devoted my full attention." [20:35] 13Xia Lan: "We can... shift priorities," 13she says, carefully. [20:37] 14More bluntly: "I can spend time being the absolute boy for them, if that's the best outcome that we need." 15[20:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Thalevar: "I'm pushing like hell to get another grain barge or two into the port before the shit starts flying but nobody wants to raft the Yanaze when the gods are ducking their jobs. Rainy season's coming up and those sumbitches are gonna wash us out whether or not the raksha get us." 15[20:39] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Your comrades? Do you mean your illustrious peers, or perhaps your newfound friends in Lookshy?" [20:39] 14Stranger stares at the Governor. [20:39] 14Then, to Thalevar: "Grain can be handled." [20:41] 5Xu Sim stares at the Governor, then glances to Scion and back. "I think the Seventh Legion was, somehow, even more enthusiastic about Thistledown's prospects than you are, Governor." 15[20:43] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "They do so love their toys, Mr. Sim." 15[20:44] <@VoxPVoxD> Thalevar: "It better be, cause if our plan is to bunker up with those freaks out of Thorns growing weird shit in the Undercity then--" 15[20:44] <@VoxPVoxD> Ephiselle: "Is that the Governor's proposal? I could scarcely understand the man. Always had his mouth full." [20:45] "Well, as you said before, we all have our diversions," 5notes the sorcerer. [20:46] 13Xia Lan does sigh, this time. [20:46] 14Stranger: "The Undercity needs to be surveilled. For the Emissary." [20:47] 14Stranger: "So I suppose our position on that, officially, is fuck them if they can't take a joke." [20:47] 14He grimaces again. "I'll be down there tomorrow." 15[20:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Hayle: "But a joke at whose expense? If Thorns is expecting us to front the costs of, of spores or what have you then we must reject it." 15[20:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz: "You would be more at ease if he eagerly supplied his own? Remember well the last man who walked into this room bearing gifts." 15[20:51] <@VoxPVoxD> There's an awkward silence. [20:51] 13...nothing much to say to that, no. 15[20:51] <@VoxPVoxD> People in the Council chambers can hear a "HA!" boom even through the heavy door. 15[20:52] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "HA! So we do, Mr. Sim. So we do." 15[20:54] <@VoxPVoxD> For almost the first time since Xu Sim arrived, Seven speaks. "Governor, I believe they're almost ready for us. Should we fetch the briefing books?" [20:55] 14Stranger's smile almost turns mean before he turns to look at the chamber doors. "We should do something about that." [20:56] 13Here's hoping for a bland, unexciting presentation with no surprises. 15[20:56] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Yes, I think you're right. Well! This is exciting. Come along." He grabs the Scion by the wrist but freezes, looking down at her hand. [20:57] 14Stranger: "In fact, I'll welcome them in. Xia Lan has full authority for the seat." [20:57] 14He 'wanders' straightwards towards the door. 15[20:59] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "...wait here, to explain my absence should I become delayed." [21:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Yes, Keldar is there, too. He hasn't had much to say about the river gods, as he's been more preoccupied with the task of properly surveying the undercity. Unless asked something, he's been doing some mental (and more on-paper) math as to guard patrols and entry points. 15[21:00] <@VoxPVoxD> Seven: "Of course." 15[21:00] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor trundles out. [21:00] 5Xu Sim steps forward before the Governor leaves, to take a closer look at Seven's tremors. He eyes the Governor as he does so. [21:01] 14Is he walking through when Stranger opens the staid and comfortable door to the palazzo's chamber? 15[21:03] <@VoxPVoxD> Hurriedly, Seven pressing a wrapped bundle into Xu Sim's hand, large and heavy and square, a book or a thin box. Then the door opens. 15[21:03] <@VoxPVoxD> Seven: "Emissary. The Governor will return momentarily, he's gone to see that your briefing papers are in order." [21:04] 14Stranger glances from Xu Sim to Seven. Then: "I see." [21:04] 5 Xu Sim takes the box under an arm. "Scion. Is everything else in order? Anything else I can do for you before your presentation?" 15[21:05] <@VoxPVoxD> Scion: "Just... keep an open mind. We really have worked very hard on this." [21:06] 14Okay. [21:07] "Of course," 5Xu Sim replies. [21:08] 14Stranger still doesn't trust her. [21:10] 14Any god might be fake, but the truth isn't. [21:13] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar interlaces his fingers and gives the presenters an even stare. [21:13] 13Xia Lan is positioned in her chair primly, face betraying nothing. 15[21:15] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor returns with a stack of books under his arm, bows to Stranger, and lets him decide who enters the room first. Once everyone's in, the Governor will help the Scion to a seat and then lay books out in front of all the Councilors. The Councilors have already received all this information in precis, so this is just more exhaustive (and illustrated!) documentation. [21:16] 14The Governor walks in first, then Stranger, then the retinue. [21:17] 14He'll indicate that Xu Sim should assist the Scion, especially if this asshole is playing her for points. 15[21:20] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Ladies and gentlemen, I will be brief. We are disastrously ill-prepared for a medium or long-term conflict. Nexus is more easily fortified than it may appear at first glance, but the logistics of quartering and feeding three million souls, caring for them - nevermind the additional burdens of the war wounded and whatever prisoners or survivors we recoup from the raksha - is all but beyond our capacity now, in peacetime. Nexus will fall, and all of our toil will come to nothing, if we are inadequately prepared." [21:21] 14Stranger: "'We?'" 15[21:21] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "We!" 15[21:22] <@VoxPVoxD> "All of us. We will all fail, and we will all fall." [21:22] 14Stranger: "You won't." 15[21:23] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "If I may go on. To this end we have drawn up a plan for converting the Undercity into a self-sustaining city-scaled bunker. Despite its size and complexity, the Undercity has comparatively few and easily-defended points of ingress, and owing to its size and complexity it is incredibly resistant to direct invasion. It is the ideal location to house civilians, stage infirmaries, and ride out the invasion." [21:24] 14Stranger: "I don't think so. My argument is based on escape." [21:25] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's still listening quietly - and attentively, to his credit. He has a few questions percolating but he wants to hear the whole pitch first. [21:25] 13Xia Lan is attempting to follow along with the Governor's speech and paging through the plans, though she is no engineer... [21:26] 14Stranger: "There is no ability to leave the Nexus Underground except inside of Nexus. This is an intended consequence of the design." [21:26] 14Stranger: "If the top-level is conquered, the bottom level must follow via logic or spite. There is no defense here." [21:27] 5Xu Sim drums his fingers on the table as Stranger interrupts. [21:27] 14Stranger: "Bunkers exist only to be failure states." 15[21:27] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Hold your questions, please, if you would. If you check the maps on pages sixteen through twenty-four, you'll see a proposal for temporarily re-zoning the Undercity to allow for mass housing, medical treatment, and farming. Because of the underground climate, we're confined to plant and animal growth that isn't dependent on sunlight. This mixture of subterranean animals and fungal life can support a full population's nutritional needs." [21:28] 14Stranger: "Bunkers exist only to be failure states." [21:28] "We heard you the first time," 5notes Xu Sim. [21:29] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar waves vaguely to his side. "Hang on, I wanna hear the end." [21:30] 14Stranger sits down. 15[21:36] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor goes into some detail about the specific mixes of mushrooms and moles and their various applications, as well as pointing out the largest areas and some solutions to the inevitable sanitation problems. "...and so we submit this as a plan-of-action to minimize civilian losses in the prospect of a siege. At this stage I would be grateful for comments and questions." [21:37] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar leans forward immediately. "I can't remember where I heard this, but don't bunkers exist only to be failure states?" 15[21:37] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "It has been said." [21:38] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Seriously, though, he's got a point. Doesn't this presume we lose the, uh, overcity?" [21:39] 13Xia Lan keeps reading over the plans and pursing her lips. This is... far outside her realm of expertise, and other than a natural disinclination to trust the Governor of Thorns, she's unsure how to proceed from here. 15[21:39] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Not at all. It merely assumes that - as we've seen from our intelligence briefings - keeping large civilian populations above-ground will leave them vulnerable to a larger swath of the invading forces. Siege engines, assault by air, and so forth. The bombardment of a populated Nexus could easily result in hundreds of thousands of casualties, even if our position is strong." [21:40] 5Xu Sim pours through the documents, absentmindedly twisting his moustache between his forefinger and thumb. [21:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "So the city proper's a barracks and staging area - a fort, basically - and it's got the advantage that it's fed from below instead of from outside." 15[21:41] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Just so, Mister Keldar!" [21:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar draws a few circles on the table before him with a finger. "We're talkin' about a pretty big cost in terms of manpower, right? How much... tilling or whatever 'til we can actually plant and grow enough mushrooms to feed the city?" 15[21:49] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "It's a large project, though the lion's share of the labor is comparatively simple. Nexus has a strong labor base, even with conscription. There are large populations of people in the Undercity already, many of whom are unfit for or skeptical of military service. We anticipate three weeks of labor, assuming that local authorities are able to manage the project effectively. And of course these solutions are all devised in full respect of local religious practice." [21:51] <@Ferrinus> "Even with volunteering, you mean," 12says Keldar with apparent earnestness. "But that'll be tricky. Plenty of communities and markets and such down there - buying plot after plot 'til we've got room for mushroom fields, and for hospitals, and suchlike could be a pain in the ass." [21:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "But, I mean, if we're in it for the long haul, making sure our food stores are self-replenishing and not in the field of battle's just good sense. Thing is, I don't intend to be in it for the long haul. Suppose we used all that manpower on... higher walls? Extra catapults? Whatever else helps us crush them in the field, straight up and straight away?" [21:54] 5Xu Sim: "The fortifications are quite effective, Governor. You've done commendably. You've been well-schooled." 5He takes a tiny charcoal pencil and begins marking up the diagrams, noting areas of improvement. [21:54] 13Xia Lan, still lost in diagrams: "Preferable, I think -- though maybe optimistic...?" 13She looks up to him. "You're the expert, here - could we do such a thing?" [21:58] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar rocks back in his chair, which is a dangerous move for a man wearing that much orichalcum. Still, he gets away with it. "Mmmmmmm... nah. Maybe if they were nice enough to come at us one at a time. We need a larder." [21:59] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "If Xu Sim and his people sign off on the technical stuff and our officials oversee and direct the actual labor, I'm behind it." [22:00] 5Xu Sim continues making marks on each page of the diagrams. "I would suggest these alterations, though... And as for the list of mushrooms -" 5He licks a finger and unfurls the next page, scanning the list carefully, making a check mark next to each one - "They are entirely acceptable." [22:01] 13Xia Lan: "I'm sympathetic to Stranger's view, but... these are desperate times. And we are, as you say, vastly outnumbered..." 15[22:02] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Alterations?" [22:05] "Yes," 5notes the doctor - "in a number of areas, we are able to simplify the necessary construction without sacrificing defensive capability. A little more efficiency in your designs, which, like I said, certainly demonstrate the depth of your education on the matter." 15[22:06] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Mmm. A valuable insight." 15[22:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Thalevar: "What about the rivers?" 15[22:10] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Hmm?" 15[22:11] <@VoxPVoxD> Thalevar: "The river gods are still bucking. How safe's the Undercity if we can't trust the rivers?" 15[22:11] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "It isn't. Nothing in Nexus is safe if we can't count the river gods as allies. Or subjects, I suppose." 15[22:12] <@VoxPVoxD> Gen: "Subjects?" 15[22:12] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor grins toothily. "If the gods prove disobedient... there is a Wyld Hunt in the city, after all." [22:12] 13Xia Lan, interrupting: "As allies. The Emissary has already agreed to work on that front." 15[22:13] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor: "Then there is no problem." [22:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's looking over maps and charts himself now, taking note of every point of ingress into the undercity. They'll have to be fortified. 15[22:15] <@VoxPVoxD> There are plans for that! And it sounds like Xu Sim's improved them. [22:18] 5Xu Sim is happy to demonstrate but would prefer to take any in-depth questions outside the meeting. [22:18] 13It seems like we've covered approximately everything fit for public consumption at this point...? 15[22:20] <@VoxPVoxD> The Governor just sits there expectantly. It takes the Scion to speak up and say, "If there are no further questions, then the Governor and I thank you for your consideration and will happily leave you to your deliberations." [22:20] <@Ferrinus> 12Oh, for sure, but it'll probably be up to Keldar to select the guards and allocate the weapons and such. He's started sketching it out now, though he's keeping an ear out in case someone turns out to need force to deal with the river gods. 15[22:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Soon the room is empty save the Councilors. [22:22] 13If no one else takes it upon themselves: "Dismissed, thank you." 13She keeps her tone as warm as it can be under the circumstances. "We'll send for you, should we have any updates." [22:23] 5Are all the Emissaries on the Council? 15[22:23] <@VoxPVoxD> They are, though there is only one vote between them. [22:23] 13Also, note that Keldar is the Dawn Sergeant now, and no longer an Emissary. [22:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Well, like I said, I'm for it. We need to settle anything else?" 15[22:26] <@VoxPVoxD> Ephiselle: "We're not seriously..." [22:26] 5Xu Sim: "We are seriously." 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> She makes a small noise of disgust as she shuts the book. [22:27] 5Xu Sim, continuing - "Shadowlands can be produced by mass death in an area in a small amount of time. Right?" [22:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "What? What's the problem? ...ooh, yeah, rest of you are gonna have to actually do the rezoning, eh? You got my condolences." 15[22:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "It is so." [22:28] "We don't want that. Right?" [22:28] 13Xia Lan: "I'm not thrilled about it. I'm sure there's a catch, somehow, but... with what I know about, you know. The situation, and from what I can glean from the diagrams, and what Xu Sim has said..." [22:28] "...we need to do a full examination of the Undercity, I think, but if that's clean...?" 15[22:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Kratz: "I simply don't believe there is no ulterior motive here. There must be." [22:29] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I figure it's the same as helping us in the first place. Mask can't conquer the east if the east's a giant middlemarch." [22:29] 5Xu Sim sighs. "An itinerant monk walks past a farm one day and notices a pig with a wooden leg. Are you familiar with this story?" [22:30] "The short version is what Keldar just said," 5he explains. 15[22:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Gen: "The doctor is right." 15[22:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "Eh?" 15[22:31] <@VoxPVoxD> Gen: "The real doctor." [22:31] 5Xu Sim slowly turns his head to look directly at Gen. 15[22:32] <@VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "Oh. Oh, yes, I'm afraid so. It's not as if we can reject him just because we don't like his face." 15[22:32] <@VoxPVoxD> "We're all ugly here. Metaphorically speaking." [22:32] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hey- ah, sure." [22:33] 13Xia Lan declines to comment. [22:35] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar nods to Xia Lan. "But yeah, I'll run a sweep. Should be able to find time to pop down there personally for at least part of it." [22:36] "We don't have much time for extensive deliberations. Work will need to begin very soon if we want to keep the people safe." [22:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "First things to do'll be, like, zoning and spreading information, right? We can get that started straightaway and do a check at the same time." [22:41] "A check for what? They'd be foolish indeed to have already started sabotaging the Undercity _before_ calling our attention to it with this meeting." [22:41] 13Xia Lan: "We need to know what we're looking at first, before we begin cataloguing changes." [22:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Anything weird or that they've missed, best case scenario. I mean, you're actually smarter than the Governor, yeah?" [22:42] 13Xia Lan: "That's been made abundantly clear," 13she nods. [22:42] 5Xu Sim clears his throat. "I understand, and share, concerns about making use of the Thorns delegation's assistance. But it is not the first, and I suspect it shall not be the last, piece of our defenses which is bolstered by the dead." [22:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Anyway, I don't think we're in disagreement here. There's no reason for Xu Sim to slow down any of the actual work, and there's no reason that I can't dispatch some of the Dawn Guard to do our own assay - with either of you or even me along for the ride, if we like." 12Keldar nods to Xia Lan and Stranger, here. [22:44] 14Stranger: "I think it's a worthy investigation." [22:44] 13Xia Lan: "It's not distaste alone that makes me nervous. I'm not sure their benefits from having Nexus around match up with - their investments. Unless we're missing something, which we have to be, or else why are they here?" [22:45] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar looks to Xu Sim. "How's the story about the pig go, anyway?" [22:45] "So. Suspicion is the name of the game. And I look forward to being proved a dumb paranoid idiot who couldn't see the hand of a true friend extended when it was, ghoulish though it may look, so long as we can actually get through this." [22:48] "Ah. Well. The itinerant goes by again a season later and notices the pig has a second wooden leg. Two seasons, a third, three seasons, a fourth. A year later he finally asks the kulak who owns it why the pig has two wooden legs. The kulak explains - the pig is part of the family, it saved the kulak's daughter from drowning, it untangled his foot from his horse's stirrup when the horse [22:48] bolted, it was the greatest pig in the world." [22:48] *four wooden legs [22:48] "Irritated, the monk repeats his question - why does the pig have four wooden legs? The kulak answers: you don't eat a pig like that all at once!" 15[22:49] <@VoxPVoxD> Couple laughs. [22:49] "Ancient proverb." [22:49] "In any case, I would also point out one other detail." [22:50] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar snickers. [22:50] "The Mask of Winters is the overlord of Thorns, at whose orders the Juggernaut climbed out of the underworld, smote the legions of the satrap, and laid low the defenders of the city before plunging it into tyranny and so forth." [22:51] "The Mask of Winters is not in Nexus." [22:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I mean, neither is Lookshy high command. Although Juggernaut'd be a hell of an asset, I can't lie." [22:53] 13Xia Lan, to Xu Sim: "What are you suggesting?" [22:55] "We would be fools to trust Mask of Winters. But we don't have to trust Mask of Winters, we aren't being asked to do so." [22:56] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Still gonna have to figure out the neatest way to make sure all the Governor's forces are in front when the fae hit." 12He stands and stretches. "Anyway! We done here? Or am I gonna have to preside over a bunch of zoning Civilities?" [22:58] 13Xia Lan purses her lips at him, but says nothing. 15[22:59] <@VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "I think we're done for now. We'll recess for an hour; those of us with pressing business should attend to it, while those of us who can stay will meet with Mr. Baillie later." [23:01] 13No objections from this part of the Emissary. [23:01] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Then I've got an army to train. Have fun with the committee thing." 12He collects Terminus and heads out, walking briskly back to Nexus's central park while being briefed by his sergeants on the way as to any outstanding events with regards to crimestopping and civic order. [23:03] 5Xu Sim proffers the 'corrected' version of the plans to some sort of underling. "If I am not needed, I will take my leave," [23:03] 13Xia Lan: "Wait outside a moment, if you will? It'll be quick." 13She puts as much of a smile as she can manage behind that. [23:04] "Alright," 5sighs the alchemist. [23:06] 5 Xu Sim gets up and strides out; he pauses outside the doors to the chamber and peers around, looking for a private room. [23:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar pauses as he's leaving, turning to address... well, all three other Chosen, actually. "By the by, I meant that before - you're all martial artists, right? You want some practice, my troops need more experience fighting weird shit. Feel free to stop by." [23:08] 13Xia Lan: "...noted. I'm occupied for the day, but I'll see if I can make time." 13She'll be out shortly afterwards, looking for Xu Sim. Did he immediately rush off to a concealed room, or did he wait? [23:08] 14Maybe Stranger hasn't gotten punched or stabbed enough. [23:08] 5He waited. [23:09] 13Quietly, Xia Lan will say: "Let's go wherever you were headed - this isn't for prying ears." 13Gently: "No judgements, just... caution." [23:10] 14Stranger will just leave. [23:10] 5Xu Sim gives a skeptical look but gestures to an unused and empty room, if one is available. 15[23:12] <@VoxPVoxD> There are plenty, it's a big palace and he's an Emissary. [23:14] "What do you need?" 5asks Xu Sim as he takes a closer look at the wrapped package. [23:15] 13Xia Lan: "So, we don't have to trust the Mask of Winters... how much do you trust the Scion of the Sevenfold?" 13It's mostly curiosity. She hasn't actually spoken with the Scion herself, afterall. "Is she independent of - her father? The Governor? Whatever his preferred title is." [23:15] <@Ferrinus> 12It's war games for the rest of the day, back in the parko. In full regalia, but commanding men and woman with tipless spears and wooden practice swords, Keldar's pitting himself against his best commanders in what amounts to real-time, full-size Gateway. Tsuka ends to win these things if he isn't handicapped - where 'win' means 'do the best', since Keldar's contingent tends to play [23:15] <@Ferrinus> 12the antagonist role. 15[23:15] <@VoxPVoxD> Beneath the wrapping Xu Sim finds a plain box of polished wood. [23:17] "He keeps her under surveillance, I can tell you that much." 5Xu Sim turns the box so Xia Lan can't see him peek at whatever is inside. 15[23:18] <@VoxPVoxD> When he opens it he finds himself looking at a row of seven stoppered vials in cloth, packed firmly so they don't rattle or shift in the box. There's a card as well. [23:18] 5One should always start with the card, of course. [23:18] 13She doesn't bother looking. "So, do you trust him? Or... her abilities of evasion?" [23:20] "I think they're both sincere about wanting to save Nexus from Cethleann. I doubt they have much choice about it." 5That's not exactly an answer. [23:23] 13Xia Lan: "Then... let me know how it goes? Let us know, I guess. And if you want to take her out, consider this an invitation." 13She winks saucily at him before heading towards the door. Short pause: "I'm serious, though. We all trust your judgement - let us know, once we're all back home I guess." 15[23:23] <@VoxPVoxD> 'To Xu Sim-- Thank you for your most gracious gift at our last meeting. I enjoy it thoroughly, and I've found myself tinkering with it. Enclosed are a few steambreather cartridges of my own design. Tell me what you think when next we meet. -=7=-' [23:25] 13If Xu Sim doesn't stop her, she's out afterwards - she's got to track down this "Unfeathered Xia Lan" person, after all. [23:26] 13...condolences to Stranger, who seems to have been left holding the bag on the Council meeting. [23:27] 5Xu Sim turns red - rather impressive, Xia Lan, to do that to a man who spent a week living in a barrel of pickled fish - but he also fumbles for the steambreather and one of the new cartridges. He puffs his way out the building and back towards his own workshop. 15[23:29] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: The bird, the nerd, and the Final Word