15[20:06] Xia Lan's Demon-Wracking Shout splits the air and everything takes notice. The battle stops, the storm lulls, even the great Yellow River seems to stop flowing for a moment. Through the primordial power of the Sol Ring, it leaves ashen devastation where once stood the armies of Thorns, purported allies of the cause. 15[20:07] A sense of profound, tip-to-toe transgression consumes Xia Lan as the full effect of her actions sinks in. She is seen, and known, and judged. 15[20:08] And then the heartbeat passes, the world resumes, and only the Governor and his master survive to profane the landscape. [20:08] 14Finishing the sip of his tea: "You did ask for it." [20:09] 14Over the Codex, to Vuol Ballare, Keldar, and Tsuka: 15[20:10] The Mask of Winters's great gauntleted hands clap together. He screeches with delight. "Marvelous!" [20:10] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar didn't head straight to parley with the Mask upon returning from Thran; he had to see to the Guard, then inspect the east gate again, then work through a set of administrative matters for the execution of the Civilities in the undercity shelter. He's somewhere in the middle of town now when Stranger's message comes through, and he responds as follows: <"Shit! On the way!"> [20:11] 14Stranger: "Does this demonstration suffice?" [20:11] 14The question is courteous, but he's clearly not actually asking if they need to do more to impress the Mask. [20:12] <@Ferrinus> 12What follows is quick coordination with Tsuka and the other mercenary liasons. A nominal guard's to be left at the east and south fronts, one stout enough to slow down some kind of surprise attack for long enough to allow a proper reinforcement. But Keldar himself, and Keldar's personally-trained legions, are heading straight north to stand where Thorns's corpses fell. Well, more [20:12] <@Ferrinus> 12like where Thorns's corpses' dust particles were carried away on the wind. [20:12] 10Jai, flat on his face on a damp dock, opens his eyes. The killing brightness is gone, at least. That's a good sign. In a moment, he's up again, surveying the destruction. This seems like an exceptionally bad time to bust in on the Mask, so he looks around for a new hiding spot. He'll waylay the other two Solars as they depart the parley. If they depart the parley. [20:12] 13Xia Lan feels exhausted, and also... when this war is over, she's going to need to find someplace to hide this ring. Hopefully for another several thousand years. [20:14] 05Xu Sim pauses for a moment from taking drags on the steambreather and looks at Seven - is she alright?  15[20:15] Seven looks dazed, suddenly. She turns to Xu Sim just as he looks up, confirming what he's already heard. "Something disastrous has happened. Oyr army is gone." [20:17] 05Xu Sim is ashen: "We need to get to the riverbank. Stranger confirmed the same." 05Xu Sim snaps his fingers - rudely - at one of the Dawn Guards. "Send runners to Cathak Tsuka and inform him to dispatch Bleak Ardua's legions to the riverbank at once!" 15[20:18] "You've nothing left to prove to me, certainly," says the Mask. Further words are cut off by the report of cannonfire. [20:18] 13She rubs at her wrist beneath the Sol Ring. "Glad it was good for something, then." 15[20:19] Jai has the best angle to see the great landship beached across the center of the city flare to life, a row of white spheres blossoming to life on its starboard side and then sprinting through the city, blowing out windows and knocking down walls as they go, to collide with the far banks of the Yellow, kicking up vast explosions of soil and bodies and filling the air with smoke and 15[20:19] ozone-smell. [20:20] 10I am in way over my head. 15[20:22] He can watch the great tide of Lookshy's army and Keldar's Dawn Guard surging north and north-west to mass and mobilize on the docks. Jai's never seen this many people move at once. [20:22] 10Sure, he could abandon the plan at this point, go back to the Bureau and hope for clemency, but... 10No! This is what I wanted! To be in the thick of it! All right, me, get pumped. [20:25] 14To Xu Sim: [20:26] <@Ferrinus> 12Huthuthut... Keldar makes sure to get someone to assess damage done to property by the shockwaves of the Final Word's essence cannons for later invoicing, but otherwise moves at top speed. His Guard can catch up when it catches up. [20:27] 10Yeah, these are people who get things done. He leaps from vantage to vantage. He's got a couple of knives drawn just in case. Hey, maybe one of the raksha will break through the soldiers' lines. 15[20:30] Keldar and Ballare's soldiers surge side-by-side through the streets, starting to pile up and take positions at the inner docks. Stranger, Xia Lan, and the last of Thorns can see them now. Dawn Guard Arrows begin to fly overhead at the great rafts and serpents bearing raksha and Wyld-tainted thralls and untold monstrosities. [20:35] <@Ferrinus> 12If this is Jai's first actual look at Keldar, he'll now become acquainted with the image of a tall, well-built, and rakishly handsome man with a mane of auburn hair and a trademark (okay, not yet, but it's on the to-do list) black bandanna. Times were, that's the first thing people tended to notice about Keldar, but now the gleaming artifact gear tends to register before any personal [20:35] <@Ferrinus> 12physical qualities: specifically, a suit of gold-and-silver articulated plate, on the back of which is a silver shield over a golden daiklave. The moonsilver's quite form-fitting, though, and Keldar runs and leaps as though it were weightless. [20:35] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, approaching Stranger and Xia Lan: "Hell's going on here!" [20:38] 14The Mask's too caught up in his glee to be so easy to read right now; Stranger has to re-engage him. A topic of discussion does come to mind: "Just like the old days, I presume." [20:40] 10Coooool. Yeah, so far everyone has fit the descriptions in their dossiers, but also they cut way more impressive profiles in person. Not being seen by the Godsdamn Mask of Godsdamn Winters is still more important than making contact, though. [20:40] 13To Keldar, Xia Lan just gestures helplessly to the Sol Ring. She's still got her eyes on the Mask. 15[20:41] The Mask of Winters has a palm out, and an icy wind cuts across the river, stalling the raksha further while others get into position. [20:41] <@Ferrinus> 12The Dawn Sergeant looks out across the river, then back at Xia Lan. "...on purpose?" [20:42] 13Shake of the head. [20:42] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar : "Doesn't that fuckin'... aren't you doomed?" 15[20:43] Both Stranger and Xia Lan can tell the Mask is far from distraught at losing his army and being injured by a display of irrefutable divine power. He's exhilirated, he's ecstatic, he's alive. "Such a treasure! Such terrible, terrible power! It's positively nostalgic." [20:44] 13Xia Lan: "Mostly I just feel tired." [20:44] 05Xu Sim acknowledges Stranger's words over the Codex and moves cautiously through the tunnels of the Undercity towards the north end, Seven by his side (hopefully). He'll keep an eye out for Bleak Ardua's Legions or any signs of the DIsciples of Thran as he does so.  [20:44] 14Was afraid of that. [20:45] 13Also, the Mask being delighted is way more alarming than him being angry, in the long run. In the short run, she's already been nearly beaten to death twice and isn't eager to add a third. [20:46] 13...the things he's saying aren't exactly making her feel any better, though. [20:46] <@Ferrinus> "Hrrn. Well, if you feel a meteor coming lemme know." 12It's not clear whether this is so Keldar can cover her or get to cover himself. "And lemme know if you're in shape to fight. Looks like this is happening ahead of schedule." [20:46] 13Xia Lan: "I'm going to have to be, aren't I?" [20:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar considers this. "...yeah, basically. ALL right, odd-numbered companies to my LEFT, evens to my RIGHT-" 12His guardsmen are starting to file in, and he's got to get them sorted. 15[20:51] Xu Sim is able to surface in the rain a couple hundred yalms upriver. There, he sees Dreamer Mentat leading Ardua's legions toward the fray. "Master!" he salutes fourfold. [20:52] 13Is Tsuka visible? 15[20:52] Not yet. 15[20:54] Jai can see this strange army meet its master. [20:56] 05Xu Sim emerges from the sewers. He looks like a distinguished gentleman - his haircut reveals him as someone from a River Provinces court, perhaps - just old enough for the salt in his salt-and-pepper mustache and hair to not look out of place. He's wearing a white robe that's been stained with mud, dust, and blood. 15[20:58] Beside Xu Sim is an ethereally pale woman who stands up straight and is alert of eye but seems frailed by long illness. Her hair floats around her as if she were underwater and her brow bleeds black. [20:58] 10Yeah, Jai's tired of waiting. He swiftly crosses over the roofs and walls, pulling his hood down and wrapping a scarf around the lower half of his face as he approaches. He's kiiiinda been rehearsing this in his head. [21:04] 10A few moments' search, and he's found an appropriate perch. 10All right, this is it. First impressions count.10 With a terrific leap, he springs off the wall, and lands all-but-silently in the wet muck, not even a squelch. Maybe they see a dark blur overhead in the predawn lighr, maybe not. [21:05] 10Jai: "The sorcerer Xu Sim?" His voice is a low tenor, steady. And it sounds like it's coming from right over Xu Sim's shoulder. [21:06] 05Xu Sim twirls around, his robes flowing in the air and sending flecks of water and dirt in an arc past him. At his waist is a golden rod holding a pale, dripping, wrinkled thing, and as his arms wheel rapidly about, the red and blue jade bracers on his arms are visible. "Hunter in Darkness, I'll slay y- wait, who in the nine hundred ninety-nine hells of the Yozis are you?" 15[21:06] Downriver, Ballare joins Keldar, Stranger, and Xia Lan. "Was that you?" she asks Xia Lan, while behind her a thousand armored soldiers prepare for violence. [21:08] 10Perfect! Just according to keikaku. Jai half-bows. You can't really see more than his eyes, and then the soft golden glow of his Caste Mark. "My professional name is Black Wind Howling. I've come a long way to meet with you and your friends." [21:09] "Although I am of no great ability, I wish to offer my services." 10Cooool.  [21:11] "Any port in a storm," 05he replies, and extends his hand. "Lucky us, I suppose. Things are going to hell here, but I'm sure Stranger-Visits-Heaven can help get you sorted out." [21:11] "It was us," 14Stranger says. "But Xia Lan bears the burden." [21:12] 13Xia Lan: "It was me. The Mask asked for a demonstration of the Ring's power, and..." 13She gestures with the ring hand towards the annihilated undead. "It's as it was written." 15[21:12] Ballare: "Nice." 15[21:13] "Fuck 'em up." [21:13] 10Jai accepts the offered hand, and shakes firmly. Although Xu Sim can't really his face, he does see a long-limbed lanky frame, all knees and elbows.  15[21:14] The woman beside Xu Sim peers at Jai. "Have we met before?" [21:14] 14Well, hopefully this will improve things between the circle and the Dragonlord. Stranger still hasn't forgotten that he has a deathmatch to try and bargain down to first blood. [21:14] 13She grimaces. "I -- thank you? Still, next time I'd rather not break an oath." [21:14] 05Xu Sim had been about to introduce them, but now he hesitates. [21:15] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Might've been nice in other circumstances. Kinda hoping that all those skeletons would've been taking faeries with 'em when they shattered." [21:17] "Chii! Kii!" 07A loud chittering as a fuzzy face pokes out of the oh-so-cool cloak. "H-hey! I ASKED you to keep quiet." 10Immediately thrown off his pace, Jai trips over the next sentence. "Ah-um, you're Sevenfold Scion! N-no." 15[21:18] Seven's eyes narrow. "Did you see what happened at the docks? Where are the spirits? Why are soldiers massing up?" [21:20] 10NCompiling information about the deathknights was part of his work. He's at least passingly familiar. Jai clears his throat. "Y-your master's army is... no more." [21:21] "Your comrade, Xia Lan? She just… yelled, and everything turned bright." [21:21] "When I could see again, they were gone." 15[21:22] Ballare: "What's the plan? There's no room for armies to fight out here. I'm fortifying the inner docks." [21:22] 14Stranger will leave the war plans to the fighters. He's still keeping an eye on the Mask. [21:24] "Oh." 05Xu Sim ponders. "She must have been provoked, though?" [21:25] 13Xia Lan crouches to the ground and looks miserable while the warriors handle tactics; other than "put me somewhere I can do something," she's got nothing to add. [21:26] "Looked like they were deep in negotiations. Then she pulled out a bracelet, or something. Do you know anything about it?" 10Aiya! Keeping up the cool facade is harder than he expected it would be. 15[21:27] Seven: "?! The Sol Ring?" [21:28] 05Xu Sim: "Sounds like it, Stranger wanted her to hold it." [21:28] 10Jai: "Is that what that is? Well, they're all still alive. And the Mask… well, before I came over here, it looked like he was having the time of his life." 15[21:29] Seven goes somehow more ashen. [21:29] "Should we go find them?" 05Xu Sim asks. [21:30] "They're still on the docks, that way." Jai points. "You'll forgive me if I don't attend, though." [21:31] "I thought you just said you wanted to help?" 05he asks, pointedly. [21:32] 10Jai: "Eh... haha." 10Think fast. [21:33] "It's best if I don't alert the Mask to my presence, just yet. I can rely on you to keep a secret, can't I?" 15[21:34] Seven: "Absolutely not." [21:35] 10Jai: "Oh." 10He suddenly looks a whole lot less sure of himself. [21:35] 05Xu Sim laughs, a rather shrill sound. It's nearly a cackle, actually. But then it cuts off and he looks rather serious. [21:36] "Well, if my cover's blown... " [21:36] "Come on, we've got to try to get a lid on this." [21:39] "Yeah, you're right. I didn't come all this way to keep skulking around." 10He pushes the hood back and unwraps the scarf. "Like I said, my professional name is Black Wind Howling. But you, uh. You can call me Jai." 10Seven probably notices his hairstyle as one recently fashionable in Thorns—long bangs, swept low, covering an eye. [21:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar squints, then nods to Ballare. "You're not wrong. We're gonna have to back off the north docks and just write these trading boats off - set our troops up in a west-to-east band on the south rim of Nexus Pool and stretching off in either direction. [21:39] 10Somewhat the worse for wear by having been dunked in a river. [21:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Once the first of those snakes start to cross over the north docks, feel free to lay in with the Word's cannons." 15[21:40] Seven makes no effort to conceal the suspicion on her face, but she raises no further objections to Jai. [21:41] "Shall we, then?" 05Xu Sim asks, gesturing in the direction of the others. [21:43] "Yeah, let's go. Follow me, I figured out the quickest route while I was coming to meet you." [21:43] <@Ferrinus> 12The Dawn Sergeant then looks up at the Mask. "You, uh, can keep that up as long as it makes sense. But I'm gonna need you to point anything you want to throw at the raksha out of the city. Anything that crosses in's my and Ballare's business." 15[21:44] The Mask is supercilious. "You're in charge." [21:44] 13This does little to improve Xia Lan's mood. 15[21:46] Everyone converges on the inner docks, among the massed troops of Nexus, Lookshy, and Ardua's legions. The Mask of Winters looms over everyone assembled, and the soldiers closest to him can see their breath as the icy air seizes it from their chests. [21:46] <@Ferrinus> "s'right," 12says Keldar, choosing to take the undead tyrant seriously. He gets immediately to the business of reinforcing the inner docks. His instinct is to take the east while Lookshy takes the west, on the basis that it'll put him closer to the east gate and Lookshy closer to the water in case their ship ever gets riverbound again, but if Ballare strongly objects the Dawn Sergeant's [21:46] <@Ferrinus> 12willing to switch. 15[21:47] Seven sees the state of the Governor - unsteady on his feet, eyes and ears scorched and smoking - and runs over to him. "A well-earned rebuke," the Mask says to her as she passes him. "I leave his care to your discretion." [21:47] 14Still keeping his eye on the Mask, Stranger pours himself another cup of tea. 15[21:47] Seven almost stumbles, but she collects herself and looks back and up at him. "My lord?" 15[21:47] The Mask: "Use your judgment." [21:50] 14Halfway through, he notices there's someone new in the party that's joined them. [21:52] 10It takes absolutely every ounce of courage Jai has not to dive into the pool and swim for the far shore. [21:53] 10The same practiced half-bow. "My professional name is Black Wind Howling. I've come quite a long way to meet you. Although, uh... I didn't think it would be in this company." [21:54] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar, to the last of his messengers as they cross south: "...and remember the braces this time! Triangles beat squares! Eh?" 12He turns. [21:56] 13The Unfettered Xia Lan straightens up with the approach of Black Wind Howling. A tiny bow. "A pleasure," 13she adds, no trace of prior exhaustion in her voice. "I am the Unfettered Xia Lan, though if you've been following us I guess you'd know that." [21:57] 05Xu Sim creeps around the edge of the loose circling of Exalts with all the discretion of a cat sneaking towards it's master's dinner. He lays a hand on Seven's shoulder and stares down at the Governor. 15[21:57] The breath catches in Jai's throat as that placid mask sinks down to meet him eye-to-eye. "Bumper crop this year." [21:58] 10Jai: ":Following? No! It's not like I've been stalking you or anyt—" 10You just met her and you're choking already. [21:58] 14Who in the world is--well, he's soaked, for one. And are those manacle marks on his wrists? Striations on the neck, too. And yet there on his brow, a caste sign. The Night Caste. You almost never see that mark, if only because, well, not showing their anima is the Night's whole deal. "Have you been running around getting yourself caught on purpose, young man?" 15[21:58] Seven whirls around, hatred in her eyes, dissolving on contact with the sight of Xu Sim. "Help me get him to the Undercity. He needs rest," she says quietly. [21:59] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "That so? Well, then you know who I am. What're you doing here?" [21:59] 13Xia Lan raises an eyebrow to Black Wind Howling, but says nothing. [22:00] 10Jai draws himself up in the face of Stranger's affront. "Well, how would you get through an entire camp of undead?" [22:01] 14Stranger gestures languidly at the Yellow River, blown free and clear of the whole of Thorns' army. [22:01] 13Xia Lan unconsciously adjusts the Sol Ring. [22:01] 14Then: "Tea?" [22:01] 10Jai: "I know that… how would you have done it an hour ago… is there honey?" [22:02] 10Seeet tea? What an absolute pleb. [22:03] 14Stranger: "Absolutely, there is honey." 14What middling diplomat doesn't bring milk, honey, and sugar? [22:03] 10Deep breath. He turns to the impressive figure of Keldar. "I came into some information about the trouble that was brewing here. I thought I might be able to do something to help. But, er. You seem to have everything already in hand?" [22:04] 14Stranger: "An hour ago, I would have been working to put myself in a position to do this now. Which brings us to the main point, I suppose. You and I, and The Unfettered Xia Lan, and Keldar, the Tiger of Nexus, and the Arsenic Handshake -- we are creatures of absolute purpose. Of pure will." [22:04] 13Xia Lan flinches. [22:05] "So forgive my curiosity if I ask: what purpose and what will brings you to Nexus now, at the, ah. Turn of the tide?" [22:05] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar rubs a thumb along one edge of his five o' clock shadow: "Can you fight?" [22:07] 05Xu Sim snaps his fingers, and the blood ape Grittoth steps out of a puff of smoke in his shadow. Muscles ripple beneath long, loose, orange fur. Bloodshot eyes rolling, it fumbles at the cap awkwardly perched atop its apelike head. "Master," 05it mumbles. "Help us carry this man into the Undercity for medical treatment," 05he instructs it. 15[22:07] "Xia Lan!" Tsuka's pushing through his troops towards her. [22:08] 10Jai runs a hand through his hair. "I got sick of being a cat's paw. I realized one day I wasn't going to be able to get out from under my previous employer's thumb." 10A sip of tea. Oh, this is good. [22:08] 13Everything else is forgotten. She dashes towards him, meeting him with a crushing hug. [22:08] "Unless I did something really drastic." 15[22:09] The Governor cackles as Grittoth hoists him aloft. "Service you get in Nexus is unlike anywhere else in the world!" [22:09] 14Stranger blinks. "Well, you've come to the right place." [22:09] "For drastic." 15[22:09] Tsuka: "What happened? You look terrible." 15[22:09] "Uh, I mean, in terrible shape. No, no, I just mean, you look unwell." 15[22:09] Wincing: "Are you okay?" [22:10] 14He grimaces: "One question to get out of the way first. You do not serve the Guild or, specifically, the Guild's Overfactor in Nexus, correct?" [22:10] 10Jai: "Yeah. If anything, the reports undersold what was going on here." [22:10] 14Stranger: "I've made certain promises not to outright work against him for the duration of this little fracas." [22:11] "But frankly, if I might be so bold, you don't seem like they could afford you." [22:11] 10Jai shifts uneasily. "I've been acquainted with some Guildsmen, but I don't work for them. They're useful sources of information, though." [22:11] "Ah! Excellent." [22:12] 14...Perhaps he works for Bubo? Or one of Bubo's friends? Stranger frequently misses Bubo's company, but not having access to his knowledge is the real problem of him being out of pocket. [22:12] 13Xia Lan: "I'm going to have to be. But. The Sol Ring is, um, as advertised." 13She gestures to the absent legions of the undead. "I feel awful. Glad to hear that I look it, too." 13She pulls slightly back to give Tsuka a small smile. [22:13] 13It vanishes almost as quickly as it appears. "The Mask asked for a demonstration. Apparently, that sufficed." [22:13] 10Keldar notices that Jai carries himself like someone whose first impulse in a situation is to run. But he also notices at least a dozen blades, that would be cleverly concealed to anyone with less of an eye than Keldar. So maybe he's got some backbone, it just needs to be drawn out of him a little more. 15[22:14] Per Xu Sim and Seven's instruction, Grittoth bears the Governor below the city. There are heavy fortifications at every northern point of ingress into the Undercity, but the area beyond is dead quiet - evacuated, it seems, to safer corners. The air is still except for the overpowering smell of mushrooms. [22:15] 05This must be the heart of the Thorns quarters, then? [22:17] 10Jai turns to Keldar. "I can fight, they made sure of that. I'm decent with the staff and the spear, and I can put a knife into a target from half a malm, if I'm really trying." 15[22:17] It is: Xu Sim's been here before, at Seven's little hut/laboratory. She sweeps the table clean, knocking bottles and beakers to the floor with an acrid crash, and has the Governor laid out on top of it. Xu Sim's become increasingly adept at reading his beloved's moods, and he can tell she seems terribly nervous. [22:17] "Uh. We could... spar sometime?" 15[22:18] Tsuka: "What?? Is he insane?" [22:19] 14Stranger, to Jai: "Try not to worry about standing on ceremony. I fight with this parasol." 14He pops it open, then shuts it again. "I am Stranger Visits Heaven." [22:19] "Pardon my ignorance," 05begins the doctor, "but why is the man with his eyes burnt out having a laugh, while you are the nervous one?" [22:20] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar nods a few times, thinking. "Okay, well, I'm guessing you're not in the market for a Guard contract here, but the more ancient demons we got on our side, the better. You tell me your favorite kind of ambush to spring and I can find you a place on the wall." [22:21] 13Xia Lan: "I haven't ruled it out," 13she says. "But. I also haven't ruled out that it was bait to get me to break the oath." [22:21] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Take you up on the sparring after we win." [22:21] "Or maybe that's just me looking for an excuse," 13she sighs. 15[22:21] Seven's hands are shaking as she unfolds a leather case of instruments - scalpels and tweezers and phials and tongs, as well as a glittering, curved dagger of obsidian. "Forgive me. It was an alarming display." 15[22:22] The Governor: "It was riotous! Riotous and terrifying. We'll all burn, in their eyes. It's what we're fit for." [22:22] 10The professional facade drops entirely. "Stranger, yeah. You look older than you did in the sketches. Ooh! Neat. I was supposed to learn a proper martial art, but, well. Stuff got in the way." [22:23] 14Stranger smiles wanly. "I chalk it up to all the Sun damage." [22:23] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Might've missed it. You were working for...?" [22:23] "He didn't say, of course." [22:24] 05Xu Sim grits his teeth. Two of them. [22:26] "I don't know what happened. But right now, it doesn't matter. Can I-" 05he takes a deep breath here - "help?" [22:26] 10Jai waves a hand. "Sorry. That's classified." [22:27] 14Stranger: "But I'm assuming you're not in employ, ensorcellment, enslavement, or otherwise beguiled or compromised by the lords of the faerie realm, or any other enemy of creation?" 15[22:27] Seven looks up sharply, searching Xu Sim's expression. "This will not be medicine as you practice it." [22:29] "Absolutely not." 15[22:29] Her cheeks stain crimson, and she says quietly, "I would prefer you not be here to see this." [22:30] "The raksha don't have anything on me, and I wouldn't work for them if they gave me a kingdom." 15[22:31] Tsuka: "Can you do it again?" [22:31] 14Stranger sips his tea again. "Well, I for one believe him." [22:32] "I've seen many strange medicines," 05Xu Sim says, cautiously. "What would you show me, that I could shrink from?" [22:32] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar works his jaw around a bit, then nods. "Good to hear. But, yeah, my boys are setting up roughly there -" 12he points with his daiklave, then sweeps it sideways "- to there. I can dig up a white jade breastplate for you if you think it'll help but that's about all the spare magic we've got." [22:32] 13Xia Lan: "I don't want to find out." 15[22:33] "What's going on?" asks the Governor, who in the stuffy, smoky lab tent seems quite disoriented. 15[22:34] Seven answers neither of them, drawing the obsidian dagger from its sheath. "14Please," she says. [22:37] 10Jai: "Wow. You just met me and you're already willing to lend me something like that?" [22:37] "Grittoth, cover his ears, if you'd please." 05Then, in a whisper, "Why?" [22:37] "I know you hate him. I can't say I disagree with you..." [22:37] 14Stranger: "We're a bit short on time for quests to prove your worth." [22:38] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "You'd give it back one way or another." [22:38] 14Stranger: "Did you know there's a warstrider encamped on our southern front? We're headed there next. This is all a bit ersatz." [22:38] "Encamped. Enwalled." [22:38] "What have you." [22:39] 10Jai's eyes widen. "You're not kidding?" [22:39] 14Tea from Stranger, veiled death threats from Keldar. This is the full orientation. [22:39] 14Stranger: "I often joke, but I never kid." 15[22:39] Seven: "We had a deal. I am owed. My lord has given his consent." [22:40] "Who's the pilot? Him?" 10Indicating Keldar. [22:40] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Don't think it has one. And it's their machine, to be clear. Got in the way of one charge already." 15[22:40] The Governor's too-loud murmurs dribble through Seven and Xu Sim's conversation. "Are you talking about me? My ears are burning..." [22:41] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Good news is, it sounds like the southern general's trying to whip up a legal excuse for surrender. But Cethleann ain't quittin'." [22:41] 14Stranger laughs. "Hahahah! He thinks it's OUR warstrider! Good Sun, no." [22:41] "We're just the ones who are going to kill it." [22:41] "Owed for... what?" 05he asks. [22:44] 10Jai: "Oh. That's almost as good!" 10He's finished the tea. "And I think I might be able to help with that." [22:44] 14Stranger chuckles. "Oh, I don't know. I throw a mean parasol." [22:45] 10Jai: "No, no, not like fighting it directly." [22:46] "But, umm, all that First Age stuff requires a lot of maintenance, right?" [22:46] 14He leans forward. "Now I'm intrigued. Another cup?" [22:46] 14He's pouring one anyway. "Yes and no. These are the Fair Folk, and they do like to cheat on things like 'logistics.'" 15[22:47] "He-- the Governor, when the Mask came to Thorns, made a bargain that wasn't his to make. And then for my name, freely given, so did I. Those were my terms. Service for vengeance." [22:48] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "The Wailing Wall - that's its name - comes from some southern city that Elegba apparently freed in a usurpation. I don't know where it's from but I don't think the raksha just dreamed it up." [22:48] 10Jai deflates. "Huh. So no workshops to get in and sabotage, then. That's a shame." 15[22:49] Seven: "He agreed readily. He said to me, that there would be such time as his fate was left to my discretion. And so he did, when we arrived. You heard him." [22:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Which means you might be right. If we can't lawyer Elegba into leaving, sneaking behind his lies and fucking up all the... what, unguents? Hearthstone shavings? ...that thing needs to keep going'd be a smart move." [22:49] 14Stranger: "Well, that's the thing. These are particular creatures. They might have to go through the narrative of maintenance, even if the tools don't do anything or they're just doing aesthetic pruning of the great vines which drive it, so one and so forth." [22:49] 13Another hug to Tsuka. "Anyway. I'm glad you're here. I'll be able to stick close during the defense." [22:49] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "That's only 'might', though. Probably want Xu Sim to confirm." [22:50] 05Xu Sim chews the edge of his mustache. "But you don't want to serve the Mask," 05he points out. [22:50] *so on [22:50] 14Stranger: "Either way, we'd need more information." [22:50] 14He sips his tea again. "Which sounds to me like a sneaking mission." 15[22:51] "I didn't have a choice!" The Governor starts as the volume, if not the context, pierces the blood ape's meaty hands. 15[22:51] "But I do now." [22:52] 10Jai grins real wide. "So you remember how I got caught on purpose? After these skeletons pulled me up from the river, I walked right out of that camp." [22:53] "You're right about that," 05he points out. "But for that vengeance, what did you promise?" 15[22:53] "Only what the Governor had already offered. My name, and my service." [22:53] 14Stranger: "I do remember that. Go on." 15[22:54] Tsuka: "...you're still hurt, aren't you?" [22:54] "Made myself look dead. Not a single one of them saw through it." 07A displeased chitter. "Yeah, I had it right down to the smell." [22:55] 14Stranger lifts an eyebrow. "Hello there." [22:55] 13Xia Lan: "I made the situation, I have to fix it." 13Not an answer. [22:57] 10Jai: "Oh! I haven't introduced you." Shiki, Stranger. Stranger, Shiki. I met her when I freed all of the animals from this guy's fur farm in Zinj. Practically bankrupted him. She's real smart and can get into places I can't. We're partners!" 07Shiki: "Chii." 15[22:59] Tsuka: "You're such a baka sometimes." [22:59] "But you don't owe either of them a thing. You owe nothing to no-one. That power, that dark star that blushes your brow, it can't be taken away." 05Less confidently: "Surely it cannot. However it was given to you." [23:00] 10Jai catches himself. He's only just met Stranger, and he's already on the verge of spilling out his entire life story. He might be more dangerous than Keldar. [23:00] 13Xia Lan: "A - did you just use High Realm at me?" 15[23:00] Tsuka: "What of it?" [23:01] 14Stranger chuckles. "Well, there's partners, and then there's partners." 14This seems to be a joke mainly for himself. "But it is very nice to meet you, Shiki. You're not scared of cats, are you?" 15[23:02] Seven: "What are you saying?" [23:02] 13Xia Lan: "You'll have to teach me. But why am I an idiot?" [23:02] 07Shiki: "Ki! Ki!" 07Is... that some kind of threat? [23:03] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar sizes up Shiki: "Nice. I thought about getting a hound or falcon or something for a while but never got around to it." 15[23:03] Tsuka: "You're always punishing yourself!" [23:04] 13Xia Lan: "??" [23:04] 05Xu Sim: "Why play by the Mask's rules, if what you want is to be free of him forever?" [23:04] 13It's more of a "buhh?" but that's less elegant in text. 15[23:05] Seven: "I want this. It's not about the Mask." [23:06] 10Jai nods. "I heard that if you work together for a while and really harmonize, you can actually learn to see through their eyes. Even if I don't ever learn to do that, though, it's good to have a friend." [23:07] 14Stranger swallows his tea rather strongly. He's too slick to actually cough. "Yes. Harmonize." [23:08] "I have an...associate. A Chosen of Luna. She's helping us out. There's some overlap in your trades; I might detail her to help you out. Provide overwatch, that sort of thing." [23:08] 05Xu Sim: "Are you sure about both parts of that? Is there no better vengeance? It's not a ploy to take away your last..." [23:09] 10Jai lowers his voice. "I don't know, is there a better word for it? It's been a couple of years and I still don't have a handle on everything I can do." 15[23:09] Tsuka: "'Oh, I'm Xia Lan. I let everyone down, again. Guess I better suffer for no reason.' That's you. That's how you sound." [23:09] "You're, er." 10Jai taps his fingers together nervously. "You all are the only other Chosen of the Sun I've met." [23:10] 14Stranger: "No, no. Harmonize is fine. I believe the incredibly formal term is 'calibrate,' after the Sun and the Moon during-- it doesn't matter." [23:11] "Huh. There wasn't anything in the report about you working with a Lunar. She must be good." [23:11] 13Xia Lan snorts against his shoulder. "Can you say I'm wrong?" 15[23:11] Tsuka: "Yes! I am saying that! I'm saying it right now! You're wrong." [23:12] 10Jai's relaxing again. "Now I know I did the right thing. I wouldn't have found any of this out if I didn't see it with my own eyes." [23:12] "...thanks." 13She doesn't sound like she believes it. "I made defending the city harder just to show off for an a-- the Mask, and I don't even like him." 15[23:13] Seven: "Are you going to try and stop me?" [23:13] 14Stranger smiles, his own eyes shining back white and milky. "It's the only way to be sure." [23:14] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar snaps his fingers as he realizes something. "Actually, I can arm you a little better, maybe - hook you up with iron knives or swords or whatever, if you haven't got any already. Should come in handy." [23:15] 14If Jai's wondering: "The Fair Folk hate iron." 15[23:16] Tsuka: "It's not like that thing came with instructions." [23:16] "Oh, I at least know that much. My spear's got an iron head, but you can always use a few more knives." [23:17] 13Xia Lan: "Wish that it would've. Could have saved a lot of grief. I think Seven's going to hate me," 13she confides. [23:17] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "I'll send the order out. You gonna need the breastplate?" 15[23:18] Tsuka: "She's weird anyway." [23:18] 13Xia Lan: "Xu Sim likes her. And I did sort of, um, maul her dad. And... whatever the Mask counts as, to her." [23:18] "That shout was not discriminate at all." 15[23:18] Tsuka: "The Governor's her dad?" [23:19] 13Xia Lan: "Yeah. It's. A dynamic." [23:19] 10Jai: "I think I'm good, thanks. When this is all over, though, I ought to practice in heavier armor. But you can find a buff jacket anywhere, and they're quiet, so that's what I've been using up till now." 15[23:19] Tsuka shakes his head, as if rejecting the information outright so he doesn't have to process it. "Weird people." [23:20] 13Xia Lan: "Still peoplin'. She's okay, though. The rest, eh." [23:21] 14He sets the tea down for a moment. "If we're being frank, however, let's be frank. We've come into this...convenant we have due to the utter, spellbinding seriousness of our cause. I believe you when you say you're not a dillettante. I also believe you when you say your first instinct is to run from things. Even if you don't say it out loud. This is going to be a commitment. [23:21] Short but sweet. Win or die. Keldar and I and Xu Sim and Xia Lan and all the rest of our coalition have given up things to see this through. We've lost people. I need to know I have that same commitment from you...or that I don't, and that you're here on consignment, until you find a better gig." [23:21] "Either way, it's up to you." [23:21] "But you need to make a choice." [23:21] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "If you're Anathema, that breastplate's gonna feel lighter than a jacket." [23:22] <@Ferrinus> 12I'm gonna say Keldar snuck that in before Stranger speechified. [23:22] 13Another whisper: "You know the worst part? I haven't even come close to figuring out what this thing can do. And I have no idea how badly I'm going to screw up figuring that out." [23:24] "What the hell, I'll try it—" 10Then Stranger fixes his will on Jai. [23:24] 14We're just having a conversation. [23:25] 10Yeah, but it's been a long time since anyone sat him down and was Real like this with him. [23:26] 14There's a reason all the younger members of the team roll their eyes and call him dad. [23:27] "You know what? I believe you. It's been a while since I've met anyone who seemed to believe anything." [23:28] "No. I won't stop you, though I'm bound not to harm him myself. Nor will I judge you for whatever you decide. But I don't want it to be something you regret or ever have a second thought about. We have greater goals." [23:28] 13Look, you can just call Xia Lan out by name, dad. [23:28] "Petty lords, bandits, those utter pricks in the Bu—well, anyway. They were all just looking out for themselves." [23:29] 14Stranger: "You might come to regret believing in something, eventually. That's always the danger waiting on the flipside. You put yourself out there, you can get hit." [23:29] "In the end, though, I think that's our mission and our sanction." 15[23:29] Seven: "Thank you." A long pause. "...I would like privacy while I do this." [23:29] "I know that whatever you do will be the right thing. I trust you. I just want to understand it," 05Xu Sim explains. [23:29] "The Sun didn't choose us to merely be warlords." [23:30] "Yeah. Sometime I'll have to tell you the story about how I got Chosen." [23:30] 14Stranger: "I bet you lost a lot, and you value what you gained less than other men who dream themselves in your shoes." [23:31] "It's a smart bet." [23:31] "You look at the Realm. The Empress set everything up to it depended on her, and when she vanished, the whole thing started to come down. That's disgusting! It's selfish! Someone's got to do better." [23:31] "Grittoth, release him." 05Xu Sim looks down at the pathetic, wounded man. "I'll be waiting." [23:31] 14Stranger nods and steeples his fingers. "They do." [23:32] "We do." [23:32] "Welcome to the circle, Black Howling Wind." 15[23:32] Seven nods. Xu Sim leaves her be. It's terribly quiet out here. [23:33] 10Jai: "Black Wind Howling. But that's just my professional name. You all can call me Jai." [23:33] 10In a low voice. "I picked it because I thought it sounded cool." [23:33] 14Stranger: "Jai it is, then." [23:33] 05Terribly quiet. [23:34] 13There's nothing wrong with picking a name because it sounds cool. [23:34] 14In a similarly low voice: "Jai is an incredibly cool name." [23:34] 14He knows what Jai meant. [23:34] "That's not what I— Thanks for the tea." [23:34] 14Stranger: "Not a problem. Oh, and one more thing." [23:35] "Yeah?" [23:35] "It'll take a few days for the paperwork to go through, but you're now an Emissary of Nexus." [23:35] "And you act with that authority and responsibility." 15[23:35] Abruptly the Mask of Winters announces: "I'm afraid my esteemed Governor has succumbed to his wounds." [23:35] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar's heard this before, and moved off to talk to his troops while Stranger gave him the business. He returns shuffling some papers. "Alright, got your daggers. Possibly bad news - I remembered the manifest wrong. Vectron's a reinforced breastplate - 'bout as heavy as what I've got on." 12He bangs a gauntlet against his chestplate. "Which, as you can see, has its upsides. [23:35] <@Ferrinus> Still want it?" [23:36] 14He removes a piece of jade...paper?...from a book in his vest. "This will allow you to talk to me, and thereby all our people." [23:36] "Keep it on you. You'll feel it on the back of your neck." [23:36] 10Jai: "Emissary? That's… wow. That's no joke." [23:36] 13Xia Lan turns from Tsuka, looking at the Mask of Winters. "He - I'm sorry?" 13Brow furrowed. "Are there invaders?" [23:36] 14He turns to the Mask. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mask of Winters. Assuming you are." 15[23:37] "It is a pity." [23:37] 14Stranger: "Much of that going around these days." 15[23:38] Seven emerges, alone, a few minutes later, as calm as a still lake. "We should rejoin the front." [23:38] 13Xia Lan: "No, wait, do we need to - infiltrators, saboteurs, wreckers?" [23:39] 10Jai takes the paper and squirrels it away in his cloak. To Keldar: "Knives're good. I'll pass on the breastplate for now, unless I have to go up to the front lines myself." [23:39] "I am at your side," 05Xu Sim responds. [23:39] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar hands a bandolier over. "Everywhere might be the front lines in a hot minute, so make sure you know what you're doin'." [23:41] 05He is, literally. 15[23:42] The Mask: "He was simply beyond the Scion's arts to save." [23:43] 10Jai: "It's fine. Just don't let anyone hit you. Am I right?" [23:43] 14Stranger: "It's a bit more complicated than that, but yes. That's the idea." 15[23:44] Xu Sim and Seven return to the massed front where Nexus waits with bated breath for Cethleann's armies, withering slightly under the hail of oncoming arrows. The first barges just touch down on the outer docks when the pressure drops. Everyone's eardrums pop. [23:45] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar knows how to deal with this, and swallows a few times. [23:45] 14Stranger walks forward, and quietly but not whispering to the Mask: "You're still a very good liar." 15[23:46] "A careful lie is the keystone of diplomacy." [23:47] 14Stranger: "Who taught you that, I wonder?" [23:47] 14He sighs. [23:47] 14Stranger: "Don't answer that." [23:48] "...We should speak further of the past, some other time." [23:49] 13Everyone else seems to be gearing up. "Where do you want me?" 13she asks Tsuka. "You're the commander, here." [23:50] 10Keldar eventually managed to talk Jai around, but it takes him a little bit to get used to the weight of the jade. True to his word, though, it feels almost natural.  [23:51] "The Emissary approaches," 05Xu Sim notes. [23:51] 14Then he looks to the sky. It's a bird, it's a demense, it's... [23:51] <@Ferrinus> 12Should Jai want the armor after all, Keldar'll have gotten a couple men to wheel it up on a sort of mobile rack. It's very impressive-looking and punishingly heavy, but true to the Dawn Sergeant's word, once you start breathing right and let your essence circulate through the metal it becomes just as light as regular plate-and-chain should be. Keldar's men certainly seem impressed [23:51] <@Ferrinus> 12once Jai puts it on, although Keldar warns his new circlemate that the armor's on loan and that the Guild will need it back. 15[23:52] And the Emissary announces himself as the first sea serpent's heads explode, and they disintegrate ilm by ilm as they cross the line into Nexus city limits. [23:52] <@Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Oh, sweet." [23:52] 14The "Emissary" of Nexus. 15[23:52] "YOU HAVE NO PURCHASE HERE!" roars the ancient defender of Nexus at this, the city's last stand. 15[23:53] NEXT TIME: A Terrible Gaze