15[20:10] The first signs from the south appear in the midmorning, outriders on fleas the size of horses. Next they see the behemoth of copper and black blood, a bearded thousand-fanged maw cresting the horizon as it clears the southern foothills, trailing great saffron banners from its flanks as the remnants of seven nations throng beneath it. [20:10] 14Let the word and the way be: Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke. 15[20:13] The scouts in Nexus at the Ambassador's behest report that armies from the southeast and northeast mass just beyond eyeshot, as wind and mist descends from violet clouds crowding the skies of Nexus. Sorcerous whirlwinds keep the city clean but visibility falls to nothing less than half a malm from the city limits. [20:16] 14Not what you want. 15[20:16] The city's populace has rapidly been sequestered underground, and chaos ripples through the Undercity as people settle and struggle and brace for the worst. 15[20:17] But the fortified government of Nexus keeps the peace, if barely. [20:17] 14Is there a chance anymore for parlay? We already did it once; didn't go so well. 15[20:19] As fate would have it, word reaches the war council from the Lookshyan shock troops bulwarking the southern defense: a messenger has come with a rose clenched between her teeth and a writ in her hand. Elegba the Lion offers parlay. 15[20:19] The greater armies still linger in the mist. Is it a trick? A feint? An ultimatum? [20:20] 14Stranger Visits Heaven will accept, on behalf of his office. It's probably all three. 15[20:21] Dragonlord Vuol Ballare is skeptical. "Take an honor guard who can extract you if it's a trap. I can offer six Gunzosha." [20:21] 13That's -- hm. It seems a little too convenient, but... well, Stranger knows what he's doing. How many people can we spare with him? [20:21] 13...that answers that. [20:22] 14To the Dragonlord: "Can you spare those forces, assuming their total loss?" [20:24] 14With less of an edge: "No one with me makes it easier to run." [20:29] 14He'll look over at Xia Lan here, though. If he's taking any honor guard, it's the pop star. They'll love her. 15[20:29] Ballare: "If they wipe out a diplomatic envoy I want them to bleed to do it. We have to send a message." [20:30] 14Stranger: "They don't have a chance to kill me, Dragonlord. Friends in high places." [20:30] "And no one is going to tally you the wrong way if we all die here by degrees just because I went first." 15[20:31] Ballare: "Oh, make no mistake, I'm not letting you go alone. This is your play, because you represent the Council, but I'm taking a seat at the table." 15[20:32] The Governor grumbles from his station arranging figures on the map table. "I will dispatch the Scion to join you." [20:33] 13Xia Lan: "A smaller group would be better and could still make them--" 13she starts, before being interrupted by the Governor. She eyes Xu Sim and Stranger in turn - their thoughts? 15[20:33] Scion of the Sevenfold betrays no reaction, and though the rest of the Council has no love for the Thorns delegation, no one objects. [20:34] 14Stranger grimaces. "My plan for leaving involves flight and small responsibilities. If you're worried I'll negotiate without you, you should be aware that the only likely outcome of this parlay is stalling for time." [20:35] "Everyone in attendence is likely to have to run, fly, or swim at the conclusion of the festivities." [20:35] "If you're down with that, then welcome to the team." [20:35] 5Xu Sim: "A sharp scout report could tell us where to aim the thistledown." 15[20:35] Governor: "I am prepared to make this sacrifice." [20:36] 14Asshole. [20:38] "Are you?" 5 asks Xu Sim, quietly. "Perhaps I should attend; none of you can resist the Wyld's warp but I can protect the delegation." [20:39] 14Well. I guess we're putting a party together, then. 15[20:40] Seven, a little too quickly: "You needn't endanger yourself, a brief exposure to Wyld corruption shouldn't harm pose us any danger." 15[20:40] Then she cringes privately at using the word 'danger' twice in such short succession. [20:41] 14Stranger: "I want to keep our delegation under six." 15[20:41] Ballare: "What a pity, we won't have any room for Keldar." [20:41] 13We've all been there. "A pity indeed." [20:42] "He has more pressing responsibilities." [20:42] 14And he probably wouldn't fly, the fool. [20:43] 14Stranger: "I'll be heading out in half an hour. Xia Lan, Seven, and two or three more -- that's what I'd prefer as a delegation." [20:46] 5Xu Sim slides a small wooden chest down the table towards Keldar. Inside rests a small brass and crystal orb. [20:46] 14When the parlay group assembles near the Nexus gates, they meet Stranger-Visits-Heaven and the Ambassador of Night and Day. [20:52] 13When she arrives, Xia Lan's switched to more formal wear, a tight black dress with a light shawl, hilts of her swords peeking out from the sides of her belt. Elegant, yet dangerous, and hopefully she can be the former without needing to reach for the latter. [20:54] 14Ambassador, to Xia Lan: "Darling. Excellent." [20:55] 14Stranger is wearing his normal cream-colored robes, and the Ambassador is in her usual black form-fitting gown. [20:57] <@Ferrinus> 12Many would be unrecognizable after having taken their Second Breath, clad themselves completely in artifact regalia, shifted careers from sellswrd to guard captain, and spending about a month and a half devising and executing the most grueling yet effective training regime known to man, but Keldar has an iron grasp on his personal brand. The still-technically-a-mercenary's black [20:57] <@Ferrinus> 12bandana flaps in the wind, its tails rippling over the gold-and-silver plating otherwise ensconscing the Dawn Sergeant. For symbolic reasons, Keldar's also wearing a shield; Entreaty hangs on his back with Terminus threaded neatly through it. [20:57] 5Xu Sim appears distracted, puffing nervously on the steambreather. He's thrown a coarse, dirty brown cloak over the white robes he's been wearing since nearly being assassinated by hobgoblins. [20:57] 14Good thing that Ballare is attending, not Dorma. [20:58] 13She flashes a quick grin to the Ambassador. "Thank you. I thought it'd be important to look my best, given..." 13She trails off while subtly gesturing over to Xu Sim. [20:59] 14The Ambassador gives him and then her a look that is cleaved between pity and mirthful reprove. "We are as we must be." [21:00] <@Ferrinus> 12Despite Ballare's efforts, Keldar's shown up - one supposes that you hear about things when every guard answers to you. Keldar's fiddling with the blue and gold badge clamped to his breastplate as he announces and explains himself. "Guard's mustering as planned. I'm thinkin' I want to be able to capitalize in case the southerners try something stupid." 15[21:02] Ballare conceals her displeasure with a curt nod. "Let's go then." [21:03] 14Stranger: "I need everyone to agree to something beforehand." 15[21:04] Seven: "?" [21:04] "Namely: Negotiations go to the principals. That means myself, the Dragonlord, and Seven. And the Ambassador, for the Lunars." [21:05] "We are no longer allowed to fuck this up frivolously. If we fuck this up, it has to mean something." [21:06] "That doesn't mean you don't contribute. Take your negotiator aside. But we are gambling for everything, and our best outcome is buying time. I want everyone to respect that before we walk down that road." [21:07] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "'course. United front, and Emissary speaks over the council if he wants to. If they want to." [21:08] 14Stranger nods. "Let's do this." [21:08] 13Xia Lan just nods. Let's go. [21:10] 5Xu Sim folds his hands over one another and will walk (are they walking?) alongside Seven. [21:10] 14Stranger will take Xia Lan aside once they're a bit down the road. [21:11] 14When they're done talking he'll return to the Ambassador's side. [21:14] 14Long walk. 15[21:15] The seven emissaries walk a thousand malms, within clear sight of the southern line. A long table with seven chairs a side is set up in the shadow of the great burning colossus at the heart of the army. All but the center chair on the far side is occupied, and a voice hails them from above. 15[21:15] "Hail!" [21:15] 14Stranger: "Hail, hail." [21:16] 5Xu Sim puffs away, ignoring the conversants and examining the colossus. [21:16] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar takes up station beside Stranger, arms crossed. He looks skeptical. 15[21:16] A sound like the deepest register of a pipe organ being mashed all at once accompanies the colossus's head descending, a figure nimbly touching down after leaping from its brow. [21:17] 13Xia Lan shifts slightly in place. Does the figure look familiar? 15[21:18] "Hail and hail again!" says a thin and garish man glad in yellow and scarlet with a rose the size of a melon perched in his large hat Xia Lan once saw in a dream. "Sit, please!" [21:22] 14Stranger stares at him for a moment, then smiles: "And where should I sit?" [21:27] 5Xu Sim sits and cranes his neck to examine the leering, demonic visage staring down at them. 15[21:27] "Please, arrange yourselves on this side of the table here, and we can all introduce ourselves." Elegba sits at the center of the far side of the table. [21:27] 13She's owed something from him. Something important. And... he didn't seem so bad, the last time. [21:28] 14Not an answer. Fantastic. Stranger will take the middle seat out of seven. [21:28] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar takes the first seat to the right of the center. [21:28] 14Stranger wants Xia Lan on his left. [21:28] 13She's there as soon as Keldar makes for his right. [21:29] 14Xu Sim should sit next to his woman, who should sit closer to center than him. Ballare should sit next to Keldar. 15[21:29] Ballare's already settled down next to Keldar and Xu Sim and Seven have open seats to Xia Lan's left. [21:30] 14That puts the Ambassador to Ballare's left, at the end of that table. She's fine with that. 15[21:31] "Excellent, excellent. Do you prefer sun or shade?" The colossus above currently blocks out the sun for the assembled parlay. [21:31] 14Stranger: "Aesthetically or ideologically?" 15[21:32] "Aesthetically. We of course respect your position and the old pacts." [21:34] 14Stranger: "Aesthetically, it would be nice if your boy stepped off. Ideologically, we're here anyway." [21:34] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar doesn't offer an opinion here. He slowly limbers his hands and wrists as he sits, his immaculately-maintained and essence-lightened armor not issuing so much as a scrape in the process. [21:36] 13Xia Lan watches the Lion with interest. Sorting through what she remembers of the dream, and comparing. Otherwise, she remain calm, poised, and silent. [21:37] 14He leans forward. "I haven't met you before, Lion. I'm looking forward to it, whenever it happens." 15[21:41] Elegba waves a gloved hand and the great beast rears back, letting the sun bear down on them. "I am Elegba, and these are the six great generals of the Enigman Liberation Army." They go around and introduce themselves: Grans, Iron Crab, Shandra of Harborhead, Makwame Lu, Wen the Luminate, and Heart of Kirighast/ [21:43] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar quietly takes note. Has he heard of any of these? If or when it comes time to cross the table, who'll be the easiest to pick off immediately? [21:45] 14Stranger leans back. "Whenever it happens." 14He looks across the table. "Ladies and gentlemen." 15[21:46] Ballare: "Vuol Ballare, Dragonlord of the Seventh Legion's General Staff." 15[21:47] Seven: "I am Scion of the Sevenfold, emissary of Thorns." [21:47] 14Stranger gestures for everyone else to introduce themselves, if they haven't. [21:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Dawn Sergeant Keldar, of the Council of Nexus and Ninth Orchard Company." [21:48] 5Xu Sim: "Xu Sim." [21:50] 13Xia Lan: "The Unfettered Xia Lan, of the Council of Nexus." [21:51] 14From the end of the table: "The Ambassador of Night and Day." [21:54] 14Stranger: "And I am Stranger-Visits-Heaven." 15[21:56] Elegba: "Splendid. I'll be brief: we can avert further disaster. I'm heartened by the assemblage I see before me. Both for who is in it and for who is not." [21:56] 14Stranger: "Further." [21:58] 14Stranger: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Go on." 15[22:03] Elegba hesitates only briefly. "We can offer total amnesty for all mortals held involuntarily, a withdrawal from all the territory we've absorbed en route, and an iron vow to leave your lands unblemished by the scarring of greater conflict." 15[22:03] "What we require is the body, the Eye, and the heart in the hollow." [22:07] 14Stranger: "You require a lot of things, and iron isn't steel. And frankly, Lion and generals, the things we are define us. To put it finely: no one marches on Meru not to have a crusade." [22:07] "So here you are." 15[22:09] Elegba: "You aren't wrong. This is a move of some desperation on our part. The Throne was insistent that a final confrontation with the forgotten king cannot be averted. But with him in our custody in full they conceded there would be little reason to press an attack." [22:11] 14Stranger: "He's in your custody? We've seen other miracles." 15[22:11] Elegba: "Oh, no, forgive me. I mean that if he were, we would have no reason to go in and get him." [22:12] 14Stranger: "As far as we know, he's roaming about the world. He's incredibly defiant. But you've all come here." [22:13] "Unless you're fishing for a corpse." 15[22:14] Elegba: "As many bodies as he claims." [22:15] 13That's going to be a bit trickier. [22:16] 14Stranger: "I suppose my problem is that I've taken his job, and I don't give a shit about him, his provenance, or anything else he represents." [22:17] "I suppose my problem is that I think that if all you wanted was a corpse, you wouldn't have killed so many people to come here." [22:17] <@Ferrinus> Keldar's maintaining a steely expression throughout all this. He's stopped stretching his hands and has just got them clasped on the table. 15[22:20] Elegba: "I won't deny it. It's not all we want. But it is all we require. It's a path to avert the Crusade." [22:22] 14Stranger: "You've tried to kill four directions just to get here. What happens if we give you that corpse and 'the Crusade' is averted?" [22:30] 14He inhales, exhales, and leans back. "I like you. I just don't know how much everyone else likes you." [22:32] 13Xia Lan glances to her side, then back up to Elegba. He still owes her something - can't be throwing that away just yet. [22:34] "Why have you returned at all?" 5the doctor pipes up at last. 15[22:36] Elegba: "Ardua and the Throne are not quick to calm. But they desire, more than vengeance, the ability to move on. If we can claim our debt from the king's betrayal, we will have that." [22:37] "It's been more than seven hundred years," 5he points out. [22:38] 14Stranger, to Seven: "Please ask the doctor to get his dialogue right." [22:39] <@Ferrinus> "King's betrayal?" 12says Keldar, breaking his silence. He leans forward slightly. "Wasn't the king betrayed?" [22:39] 14Well, fine. 15[22:39] One of the generals - Wen - speaks up. "The Lion comes because the Lion swore. We follow the Lion." [22:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Just trying to get this straight." 15[22:40] Elegba looks at Keldar, incredulous. "Betrayed by whom?" [22:40] 14Sometimes you set up a system, but everyone has to talk. Fair enough. [22:41] 14The Ambassador stares down the table at Stranger, and he waves her off. [22:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Way I heard this told, lot of you were massed in Nex- in Hollow when the Sword of Creation finally woke up. The Empress said she'd let you four live if you turned back, and... well, here you are, alive. Right?" [22:42] 13Xia Lan's hands uncross themselves and return to their proper sides of the table. Palms down, easy movements. This is... a complex topic to broach. [22:42] 14Stranger's hand goes to his parasol. Far in the distance, almost impossible to hear, a crow caws. [22:43] 14He's still smiling, though. 15[22:44] Elegba: "Preposterous. Preposterous in the extreme." [22:44] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "So what's the story?" 15[22:47] Elegba: "...I can't say." [22:47] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar gives the raksha lord a look. 15[22:48] Elegba: "I have no desire to make this harder than it is." [22:49] 14Stranger: "It's fairly hard." [22:50] "What is the name of your warstrider here? It isn't too shabby," 5an obvious understatement. "I doubt it was inexpensive." [22:56] 13Xia Lan, interrupting: "Not to interrupt - I've kept my silence, but -- Elegba. You have something of mine, and promised to return it on your honor when we met in three weeks time." 13She gestures at the table. "Here we are. I'd like it back." 15[22:56] Elegba: "She is a beauty, isn't she? We know her as Akasha, the Wailing Wall, but it's older by far than I am. It greeted me when I first arrived in our fair city." 15[22:58] To Xia Lan: "I'd intended to conduct our personal business when the meeting concluded. I am delighted to see you looking well." [22:58] 14Creep. [22:59] 13She leans back slightly, but offers no further comment. This... isn't likely to go the way she wanted. [23:01] 14Stranger: "The former Emissary isn't the current Emissary. If you want us to hunt that creature, we will need guarantees and assurances. Can you give them?" 15[23:05] Elegba: "I can guarantee that I have received assurances." [23:06] 14Stranger smiles. "That ain't it." 15[23:07] Elegba: "If you agree in principle I can arrange negotiations with the Throne, if you desire. I am certain I can guarantee that. Only they can provide absolute certainty of their intentions." [23:09] 14Stranger: "Agree in principle to what? Because those fire and ice kids aren't us. You can talk down to them all day; they'll probably believe you. But this is another conversation." 15[23:10] Elegba: "Say we take a proposal to the throne that you can offer up the king provided you can first consecrate an oath binding them to terms." [23:19] 14Stranger: "Say you remember what happened the last time you walked down this road, how much it burned, and say you realize that it happened without most of the people on my side of the table sitting on my side of the table." [23:20] 14Stranger: "There's a hard line here." 15[23:20] "What is it?" [23:21] 14Stranger: "It's where your assurances don't meet your guarantees. It's where you march four armies on your former glory. It's where the Sun sets." 15[23:21] "I see." [23:22] "Give me something I can return to Nexus or do me the favor of not pretending any more." 15[23:22] Elegba: "I have only my word. I cannot offer you the throne's." 15[23:22] *Throne's [23:22] "And fuck me if I can't take a joke." 15[23:23] Elegba sighs. [23:23] 13Xia Lan does, too. [23:23] "You knew what this was, coming in." 15[23:23] "I did not expect to succeed, but it still saddens me to fail." [23:24] "I know how that feels." [23:24] 13That makes at least two of us. [23:24] "Do we end this parlay well?" [23:25] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar glances back over his shoulder at the red sky over Nexus. "Out of curiosity - how did you even expect us to deliver the Eye? Stand aside while you wheeled a ladder in?" 15[23:26] Elegba: "Just pluck it down." [23:26] <@Ferrinus> "That easy, eh?" 12Although, reflects Keldar, it's not like anyone's ever tried. 15[23:27] Elegba stands. His generals join him. "Then I fear we all have our preparations to make." [23:27] 14Stranger stands. "We do." 15[23:28] He reaches into one of his sleeves and extracts a small sapphire vial. "Your heart, madam." [23:28] 13Xia Lan stands, and reaches to take it. "I'm sorry it had to end like this." 15[23:29] Elegba lets it go. "It hasn't ended." [23:30] 14Stranger: "No, I suppose it hasn't." [23:30] 13Xia Lan: "Until the next time, then." [23:30] "We'll meet again, Lion." 15[23:31] "So we will, Stranger." [23:31] "In better days." 15[23:31] "Farewell." [23:31] 14Stranger-Visits-Heaven bows slightly, then motions for the retinue to follow him out. [23:32] 13Xia Lan bows deeper, and clutches the vial close as she follows Stranger out. What remains is a private matter. [23:33] 14Once they're well enough away: "I hope that bought some time. I don't think we have much left." [23:35] "More importantly, we got a closer look at that monstrosity. The Wailing Wall, eh?" 5He scoffs. "A powerful demon built it. Ligier. His name keeps coming up." [23:36] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "How do we dismantle it?" [23:36] 5Xu Sim: "I'll let you know when I think of something." [23:37] 14Stranger: "Do it soon. They're not magnanimous." [23:38] 13Xia Lan: "Xu Sim. Could you - I want this back. Desperately. But I don't know--" 13She gestures to the vial. "It might not only be what I gave up." [23:41] 5Xu Sim looks at it with surprise. "This is yours? Are you sure you really want it back?" [23:42] 13Xia Lan: "More than anything." [23:44] "It's warded, protected, preserved... but unaltered." [23:45] "But, how did he come by it?" 5he asks, pondering it for an instant longer. [23:45] 13Xia Lan: "Then I hope that stalling worked. I'm going to need some time. When we get clear." 13Her voice is the practiced evenness of someone delivering unpleasant news the dozenth time that day. [23:46] 13Xia Lan: "I told you, once. We met in a dream. I was nearly dead, and so were you, so I don't blame you for forgetting." [23:54] 14Stranger just keeps walking. [23:55] "I remember that. I didn't realize that losing this was why you felt the way you did." 5Ironic, that losing this sadness would cause grief, that having it returned might someday relieve it. [23:55] 13Xia Lan: "I couldn't say. I - don't feel it. Just the absence of something important." 15[23:57] NEXT TIME: The fall of Nessun Dorma [23:58] what!? 15[23:58] I said, 15[23:58] NEXT TIME: The fall of Nessun Dorma 15[21:19] Nexus settles for its first uneasy night underground. Newly minted administrators make sure bedding and rations are distributed, undead servitors haul bushels of mushrooms up and down the Undercity, and Keldar's fierce irregulars keep the febrile peace. 15[21:20] Stranger, seeking Selin, finds him noisily eating what must be mushroom soup around a stale-smelling spore fire with half a dozen other men, all too busy eating to carry on much conversation. [21:20] 14He cares more about the administrators than the irregulars, but he'll beat either of their asses if they're lacking. These are war hours. [21:21] 14Ah, mushrooms. [21:21] 14Stranger: "Selin. How is it." [21:21] 14He'll sit down and grab a bowl himself, unless it's all gone. [21:21] 14He hasn't eaten all day. 15[21:24] "Better than yesterday," is all Selin manages between slurps as Stranger serves himself. "Keeping busy?" [21:25] 14Stranger: "You know me. I try too hard." 15[21:27] The men around the fire make room for Stranger, but no one engages him in conversation. Maybe they don't know who he is. Or maybe they do. [21:27] 14That's how it goes. [21:28] 14How is the stew? Can he improve it? Discreetly, if possible. 15[21:28] It's adequate. Not undersalted, which is the fatal flaw of all bad soups, but there's not a lot going on. If he's got some spices to sneak in or something... [21:29] 14Stranger: "I just thought of something. I'll be back." [21:29] 14Time to find some spices. 15[21:45] Finding spices down here is surprisingly easy - every other tunnel it seems like there's another impromptu bazaar of people selling whatever they can tow, scavenge, or steal to save money for after the war, to buy creature comforts to ease the pain of being stuck down here, or simply to unload their possessions before they're stolen. But it takes a keen eye to select a palate for the soup that's still bubbling away behind you. What's Stranger come back with? [22:11] 14Cauyene, which will add some kick, and some garlic. There's other stuff on offer -- he'll tuck it away -- but this is the combo that will bulk up the stew the most. [22:12] 14Plus, all it takes is dropping it in and stirring, not additional simmering. 15[22:19] A line forms at the stew pot. The soup is good. [22:21] 14Stranger takes a small portion after dropping in the garlic and spice, stirring it around, trying not to make too big of a deal. There's enough left that after the rest eat what they eat -- he's not being too deceptive about what he's putting in -- he can get another portion. [22:21] 14Once it's all done, to Selin: "You should get seconds." 15[22:22] Selin: "I shouldn't. But I will." [22:23] 14Stranger: "Don't be an ass. There's mushrooms for days." 15[22:23] "Yes, but how many days? That's the question. There's talk of siege." 15[22:24] Still, he gets his soup. [22:24] "We're sustainable." 14He waits for Selin to return. "But." [22:24] "I did want to talk about that." [22:26] "I want you to show me the walls, and what's beneath them. And what's beside them. And what else supports them." 15[22:27] Selin: "Oh?" [22:28] 14Stranger: "I'm responsible for this city. That's how it happens, sometimes. I don't particularly have a choice. Some people spice the stew. Like assholes." [22:29] "And someone with that responsibility should know how the sewers, the walls, and everything in between work. Even if they can't fix it." [22:29] "I don't trust anyone else." 15[22:30] Saying that gives Stranger an overpowering sense of deja vu. 15[22:31] Selin: "There's more left of old Hollow than you'd think. For all the good it does." [22:32] 14He blinks, then sips his stew. "That sounds like a recurring line." 15[22:36] Selin: "I'm happy to help you if I can. What would you like to know?" [22:36] 14Stranger: "I want to start with the fundamental basics. How low can they go?" [22:36] "Can they burrow us out?" 15[22:39] Selin thinks it over. "That deep underground they'd be lucky to survive, nevermind chew up through the depths of the old city, the dams... no. We're safe on that score." [22:40] 14Stranger nods. "Do we have any emplacement options for the sky? We've got that Tomb, but what sort of ballistae is the wall supporting -- can the wall support -- in addition?" 15[22:44] Selin shakes his head. "The Council never had much of a civil defense budget. Didn't need one. You've got the siegecraft Xu Sim has built, but little else." [22:45] 14Stranger: "Was afraid of that. How many bodies are buried in these walls? Tied up in these sewers? Workers' bodies." 15[22:48] "A body won't last long in the Undercity. If the vermin don't get you then Hayle's men do. Lot of paupers' ashes behind that particular sanitation effort." [22:49] 14Stranger: "Not even being able to put names or numbers to it is the final insult. But Hayle's men are latecomers on the real taskmasters." [22:49] 14Stranger: "I need to know how it all works." 15[23:09] Selin: "As long as the gods cooperate, the rivers run the sewers. Flushing, drainage all runs with the current. You've got people - soldiers - at the sluices both inside and outside the city, and we've set up emergency earthwork barricades to shut them if we need to. Most of the old seals are stuck, you see. The sluice gates are the main points of access away from the Grand Canal, which runs over the heart of the city." [23:10] 14Stranger: "So those need to be reinforced. How defensible are those gates?" 15[23:12] "Not very. As the years wear on more of the sluice gates fall into disrepair or are deliberately damaged to make travel easier to and from the underground. You'd spread yourself thin trying to cover them all. Best to seal up as many as you can." [23:13] 14Stranger: "Is that possible without turning the system sideways, permanently?" 15[23:14] "No, but nothing is. This has already severely damaged the Undercity." [23:15] 14Stranger sips his soup again. "What sort of project would unfucking the system afterwards be?" 15[23:17] "A year at least. And that's just to undo the damage we're causing in these few weeks. Getting the system in anything like a healthy state will be a monumental effort." [23:18] 14Stranger sets down the bowl and pauses a moment, staring into the stew fire. Then: "You know what I am." [23:18] "Monumental effort can be brought." 15[23:20] Selin: "Then we ought to raise the dams." [23:21] 14Stranger: "...Might not be the fondest outcome for our river gods." 15[23:22] Selin: "They're rivers. If you want to bend them, you change the path of least resistance." [23:23] 14Stranger: "Wasn't saying it was undoable. Just that the wet season might get a bit more ornery." [23:23] 14Stranger: "Raising the dams dries out the rest of the underworks for greater projects, though, unless I miss my mark." 15[23:29] Selin nods. "And that's just what they do by stopping the water. The two and a half dams are the most intricate and powerful part of old Hollow's engineering. They moved the rivers to make that configuration possible. Purifying the water, moderating the weather, regulating the canals, draining the deepest part of the Undercity. This is just a fraction of what the dams were designed to do." [23:30] 14Stranger: "So that's where the focus needs to be should we survive this -- or even now. Proposition: we drop the ceilings on all the sewer entrances, given sunk costs, and reinforce the dams instead. What do we lose?" 15[23:34] Selin: "You guard against invasion but those sluices are also providing the city a large proportion of its water. It'll be very tight drawing enough water for everyone from the natural flows alone. People's access to water would be vulnerable to attack." [23:35] 14Stranger: "With the knowledge, of course, that said access itself is a vector for attack." [23:36] 14Stranger: "Could we split the difference? Preserve a few vital supply floes, monitor them, and divert the rest of the forces to the dams?" 15[23:37] "If it's properly thought through. Administrative nightmare, I'd think. But it's a strategy." [23:37] 14Stranger: "I love those." [23:38] "Administrative nightmares." [23:38] "Also, strategies." 15[23:38] "You must be in your element, then." [23:38] "I'm vamping. So, yes." 14He finishes his stew. "But I still want to know the theory behind the system, if you've got time for it." 15[23:43] "I've got more spare time just now than you do, I expect." Selin goes into the architectural principles undergirding old Hollow's construction - originally a sweeping engineering and geomantic project to draw energy from the confluence of the Grey and the Yellow rivers. Selin doesn't know what use the energy was meant to be put to - Stranger gets the sense that some particularly complex sorcery was involved. [23:46] 14That logically means further understanding entails consulting with Xu Sim...or learning sorcery himself. Either way, news for a younger crier. This is about the principles of standing upright, forever. [23:46] 14He listens intently and well.