15[20:09] <VoxPVoxD> Don't call it a rescue. Jai and the Ambassador are sharing the final details of their approach before preparing to delve deep into enemy territory and secure safe passage for Xu Sim, recently recovered from his discorporation. The sorcerer himself contemplates the same problem from the other side as he peeks over the next bluff to see the back ranks of Cethleann's vast horde of raksha 
15[20:09] <VoxPVoxD> and thralls shimmering in the distance. They appear closer and then further, and their makeup seems to shift as Xu Sim concentrates.
[20:10] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador certainly will call it a rescue if it means gaining the arrogant sorcerer's marker. Always be dealing.
15[20:11] <VoxPVoxD> Back on the homefront, Stranger, Xia Lan, and Keldar are called to Council, as a number of matters merit their full deliberation. This is the first time they've been rejoined by the newly(?) restored Emissary, who most of them haven't seen since he murdered Brueghel in front of them.
15[20:11] <VoxPVoxD> It's a little awkward.
[20:15] <Crion_> 14He's still technically one of three Emissaries present. Stranger doesn't expect him to treat them as equals as a matter of course, but he does expect an acknowledgment of their legal right to be there and deliberate as such.
[20:16] <Crion_> 14Is the Dawn Sergeant still fanboying out?
15[20:16] <VoxPVoxD> Councilor Hayle seems unwilling to start until Councilor Ephiselle shoots him a look. Hayle clears his throat. "I've been briefed that there's a shortfall in our medicine supply. We've been depending on support from Lookshy and their resources have been stretched over a population four or five times the size of their deployment, and that's not the soldiers. We still have vulnerable 
15[20:16] <VoxPVoxD> people falling prey to the dreaming sickness, in fits and starts. Sleeping for days at a time."
[20:16] <Crion_> 14Stranger will take the starting of the meeting as an opportunity to read the room.
[20:17] <trenchfoot> 13Xia Lan, too, though she still feels - sluggish. Off-kilter.
[20:17] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar looks perfectly comfortable with the Emissary. What he doesn't look perfectly comfortable with is the hideous wounds sustained in retrieving the Emissary's stolen Eye. Though Keldar's got on a cloak and badge of office, beneath it he's wearing mostly linens and bandages, and even though they're multiple layers deep there are already red spots appearing on the outermost surface 
[20:17] <Ferrinus> 12of the getup. Crawling veins of red and black which vaguely resemble frost tracing its way up windowpanes are visible at the fringes of the Dawn Sergeant's actual exposed skin - the upper halves of his hands, the edges of his face.
[20:18] <cbass> 10Jai's been strapped back into the jade plate-and-graves on loan from Keldar's armorers. It's nowhere near as heavy as it felt the first time, at least, but it still makes an awful din if it isn't muffled. He's trying to strike a balance between silence and mobility... maybe if he manages to pull Xu Sim's ass out of the fire, he can get something a little more suitable made? 
[20:19] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Maybe Xu Sim can make what we've got go farther? ...if we can get him back in anything like a reasonable time, I mean."
[20:26] <Crion_> 14Allegiances are shifting across the Council now that the pressure's on and Bal---The Emissary is back. Something's come between Udelph and Kratz that he'll have to look into later. Hayle is terrified he'll be held responsible for the medicine shortage, which is foolish but bureaucratic of him; Stranger will reassure him later. Thalever seems at least sympathetic; Beale, the new 
[20:26] <Crion_> 14Evening Master, worries that he's not being included as part of the team. Shut out, as it were. And the Dawn Sergeant, well...his mind is on his work.
[20:28] <Crion_> 14Stranger nods to Hayle. "The plight is understandable, and no one blames you for it. The sleeping sickness was an unforeseen variable, and we all knew a long-term siege defense was never a practicable option." 14He turns to Beale. "Evening Master, I think the Council would your input on the medical situation. Are there any more pressure points with the merchant classes to press 
[20:28] <Crion_> to try and alleviate our issues? Within the boundaries of the Dogmas, of course."
[20:29] <cbass> 10Once he's geared up, Hai touches the folded codex page he's tucked into a belt pouch, and concentrates. It's his first time trying to use it to send, instead of just receiving. <Master Xu Sim? Can you hear me?>
[20:30] <cbass> 10Once he's geared up, Jai touches the folded codex page he's tucked into a belt pouch, and concentrates. It's his first time trying to use it to send, instead of just receiving. <Master Xu Sim? Can you hear me?>
[20:30] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador, meanwhile, is in housecat form, perched either on Jai's shoulder or following in his steps like a familiar. She's more than willing to let him lead out here; these are dangerous Wylds.
15[20:31] <VoxPVoxD> The front of the Wyld horde hugs the far bank of the Yellow River, with pikemen, archers, and barricades erected to resist any direct over-the-water assault. The sky is patrolled by soldiers with lances mounted on great dragonflies, and flying up and down the ranks is the Stormwind Rider that implies least one true sorcerer - reconnaissance reveals this to be some kind of reptilian 
15[20:31] <VoxPVoxD> mutant with four scaled arms. The army's position stretches across more or less the entire city boundary, and back for over a malm. The army is vast, and has a large support structure that feeds both its mortal thralls and its soul-drinking fae.
15[20:33] <VoxPVoxD> Wyld corrosion is thick and fast-acting; the terrain seems to shift moment to moment and while no one who dove across its threshold has reported any bizarrely fast-acting mutations, they *have* reported visual and auditory distortions and outright hallucinations that are impossible to distinguish from the frayed reality within.
15[20:34] <VoxPVoxD> The rear is much the same, although Xu Sim sees camps along with soldiers - fires, tents, cots. Unarmed men, women, and even children. Many are asleep, despite the early-evening hour.
[20:35] <cbass> 07Jai's own familiar shoots the interloper a rotten look, then scrambles up to a perch on Jai's other shoulder. 10Jai, bemused, recalls an old parable about a man with a benevolent spirit on one shoulder and a mischievous demon on the other.
[20:37] <trenchfoot> 13Xia Lan is frowning, but remaining quiet. She's trying to keep her focus on the meeting and it's not going well. Thoughts tend to drift, especially when they're talking about medicine shortages and -- well. Focus.
15[20:38] <VoxPVoxD> Beale: "Guildsmen will plead both poverty and ignorance, but they'll have wide withholdings still. No one wants to be the first Factor who bankrupts himself to save the city. Tradesmen and merchants... as conditions worsen they'll start looking more and more like the peasantry and less and less like the elite. They could be reminded of it more firmly."
[20:39] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim calms the swirling cloud of dust he's mounted as he considers his options. A headlong charge through an army of those flying wasps? Too bad the Thistledown was expended days ago... ah, a voice on the Codex! <Jai?> 5he enquires.
[20:43] <cbass> 10Jai: <Hey, it works. We're going to be moving out from the city any minute now. What's your current status? And can you estimate your distance from Nexus?>
[20:44] <Crion_> 14Stranger nods. "I have an understanding with the Guild's Overfactor in the city, but it doesn't extend to medical supplies. I'm confident the Council will gladly trust you to begin making the necessary inquiries and determining the attendant costs." 14He looks about the table. "Are we agreed to pass that as a voice vote, or are there objections?"
15[20:44] <VoxPVoxD> Hayle, to Keldar: "Not even great doctor Xu Sim could turn one yalm of bandages into two."
[20:46] <Crion_> 14Mmmm well. I wouldn't bet against him.
[20:46] <mattbaby> <I'm behind their camp followers.> 5Xu Sim relates the intelligence to the best of his abilities - as he has ever maintained, he is not a strategist or man-o-war, but he explains their composition, defensive posture, and <I suspect that, given how many are sleeping this early, they might strike before dawn. Maybe an opportunity for sabotage?>
[20:46] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "There's this trick where you cut in a zig-zag pattern- but I take your meaning. Maybe the guildsmen'd make us a loan?"
15[20:47] <VoxPVoxD> Master Gen: "I think we'd be unwise to pressure the Guild, particularly, at this stage. We're already fighting civil unrest, as our, heh, esteemed Dawn Sergeant knows only too well. If we're too hostile, we risk inciting violence we can't contain."
[20:47] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador also has a Codex page on her, and Stranger has networked the three of them. Does Jai want her close or in the air providing overwatch?
[20:48] <cbass> 10If it's possible to express doubt over the Codex link, Jai's expressing it. <If the opportunity presents itself, maybe. Is the area stable? Safe for you to pass through?>
[20:48] <Crion_> 14Stranger nods graciously. "Perhaps. But with the return of...the original Emissary, our bargaining position has improved. The Guild at the very least must know that both we will respect the Dogmas or suffer the fate of Brueghel, and that any attempt by them to cheat us will end similarly poorly."
[20:49] <cbass> 10In the air, definitely. You can't not capitalize on an advantage like that.
15[20:49] <VoxPVoxD> The Emissary: "I am seen as above politics."
[20:49] <Crion_> 14Indeed. The Ambassador curls into a ball and explodes into feathers, and a swan alights into the dusk sky.
[20:54] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <Who can say for sure? The terrain I can handle, but I don't like trying to outrun their fliers while also avoiding their archers, and their other sorcerer, to boot. It's too much at once.>
[20:54] <Crion_> 14Does the Ambassador have any resources left to tap here? Crowman flyers, anything?
[21:00] <cbass> 10Jai blows out a long breath and thinks. After a moment, he sends: <How long can you hold out in your current position? If it's as bad as you say, I wouldn't recommend moving until we have a good chance of linking up with you. Thoughts?>
[21:00] <Crion_> 14She does, thank god. Some of the crows are still valiantly patrolling the area, and they fall into formation with her.
[21:01] <Crion_> 14At the very least they're less suspicious together than a lone swan would be, so long as she stays in the middle of the flock.
[21:01] <Crion_> 14Ah.
[21:01] <Crion_> 14The murder.
[21:01] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "The Guild doesn't actually want us losing, and winning with only five percent of the people still standing means a reaaaal meager customer base. As long as the people holding medical supplies right now know they'll be made whole in the long run we should be able to get our hands on 'em."
15[21:02] <VoxPVoxD> Master Gen: "I'll press my contacts, then. I think I'm the one in the room the Guild trusts the most."
15[21:02] <VoxPVoxD> Beale: "That's true. You are."
15[21:04] <VoxPVoxD> Master Gen: "...right, so I think there's a broad consensus here."
[21:05] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <Mask of Winters destroyed the last rearguard picket I saw, maybe they won't send another out for a while?>
[21:06] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <I think their camp followers are soul-eaten, or honey-plague vectors, or worse. Maybe I can do something to help them without being noticed...>
[21:10] <cbass> 10Jai: <Go for it, then. It might be easier to lose yourself in a crowd, especially if the raksha aren't thinking of them as much more than cattle. Check in every hour if you can. If either of us misses three check-ins then we're probably dead or worse.>
[21:13] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "You are both required, in my humble estimation. Master Gen, you are undoubtedly the most connected member of this body with the Guild and we will defer to your judgment in negotiation. But Evening Master Beale is our knower of non-public things, and as such will be very valuable in not only helping you fully assess what we bring to the table in a deal with the Guild, 
[21:13] <Crion_> but in smoothing the path and making the consummation of that deal harmonious -- especially as it might relate to any outside parties in Nexus with a legitimate business interest in fouling the deal, or, even worse, enemies of the city posing as such to interfere. We cannot be too careful, and Evening Master Beale deserves our confidence in his abilities to assist in crucial tasks such 
[21:13] <Crion_> as these."
[21:13] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <Are you coming for me?>
[21:14] <Crion_> "But I, of course, defer to the wisdom of the Council as a whole."
[21:14] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador, to the both of them: <Our eyes are in the sky, darlings. Look for the flock of birds but try not to stare.>
[21:15] <cbass> 10Jai: <I've already slipped through raksha lines once before, so I've got the best chance of doing it again.>
[21:17] <Crion_> 14His expression doesn't betray it, but Stranger is paying special attention to Udelph and Kratz here. He'll need to figure out what happened while he was out playing martial artist.
[21:18] <mattbaby> 5The wind gives a gentle sigh, and the dust devil fades away into the breeze as Xu Sim's feet settle on the ground again. He peers over the edge to get a sense of the surest path into the midst of the camp followers. Reincorporating brought no rest, but he does feel a sense of his strength having partially returned.
15[21:21] <VoxPVoxD> Gen mulls this over silently, but Stranger can tell he's won the Councilor over.
15[21:21] <VoxPVoxD> Ephiselle: "Won't sending two Councilors look a bit heavy-handed?"
[21:22] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "Given the circumstances, I suspect it will demonstrate how seriously we are taking the matter. We are under siege from the second-greatest army of raksha in the recorded history of Creation; we are not doing our jobs if we're not personally attending to matters such as these."
[21:22] <Crion_> "I would go myself, but. We Emissaries will be heading back out to the front lines in short order."
15[21:26] <VoxPVoxD> Hayle: "What of the Dawn Sergeant? Is there no treatment for the city's best warrior?"
15[21:26] <VoxPVoxD> "He is beyond our arts, and the arts of Lookshy, but perhaps great Xu Sim...?"
[21:27] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "Xu Sim's swift return to us is being effected as we speak, by both our Lunar allies and...our newest operative."
[21:28] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Xu Sim's about my last hope here. ...unless, and this just occurred to me," 12The Sergeant turns to the man in the silver mask. "You can't just reverse this, can you?"
15[21:28] <VoxPVoxD> Thalevar: "'Newest'? You've been recruiting up there?"
15[21:30] <VoxPVoxD> The Emissary looks at Keldar, arms folded. "Yes, but you would die even faster."
[21:30] <Crion_> 14Stranger smiles placidly. "He came to us. And highly recommended, as well."
15[21:31] <VoxPVoxD> The Emissary then addresses the group. "This new operative is effective, and has acted in the city's defense at great risk to his own life and property."
15[21:31] <VoxPVoxD> Beale: "That is a high recommendation.
[21:32] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "Hrrgh. Pass for now, though."
[21:32] <Crion_> 14Stranger meant The Ambassador, but that works as well.
[21:32] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: "And, yeah, I can vouch for our guy. Saved our asses and probably this city just hours ago."
15[21:33] <VoxPVoxD> Kratz speaks for the first time. "What's his name? Where's he from?"
[21:34] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim passes into the camp as gracefully as a viper, slipping between hobgoblins, mortal men, and stranger things besides.
[21:35] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "He is Jai, the Black Wind Howling. He's previously done some work to the southeast for...friends of friends. The Ambassador vouches for his skills then, and our Emissaries and Dawn Sergeant vouch for his skills now."
[21:35] <Crion_> *southwest
15[21:35] <VoxPVoxD> Ephiselle: "A stylish name. Is he a dandy?"
[21:36] <Crion_> 14He chuckles. "No. Frankly, he's wearing hand-me-down armor right now. He was in rags when he fished himself out of the Gray."
[21:36] <Crion_> "He slipped into the city by pretending to be undead."
15[21:37] <VoxPVoxD> Thalevar: "I hope he's got another trick, that pasty blonde kid's the only person keeping the Lookshyans from killing the undead on sight. We still need those bodies."
[21:37] <Crion_> "We are much stronger for his arrival, and he is dedicated to the mission. I won't move to make him an emissary for a number of reasons, not the least of which he hasn't given his assent to me doing so, but he should be viewed as having prowess matching mine, Keldar's, Xia Lan's, or Xu Sim's."
[21:38] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "He can disappear in plain sight and he can disarm the Mask of Winters."
[21:39] <Crion_> "All while wearing someone else's armor and swinging someone else's sword."
[21:41] <mattbaby> 5As Xu Sim slips into the camp, he keeps an eye out for any particularly unattended cots, or perhaps tents. A moment to examine the people here could give useful insight...
[21:42] <cbass> 10Jai sneezes, crossing the muddy no-man's-land between the city and the battle lines.
[21:42] <Crion_> 14The black swan and her crows keep their backs to the clouds and avoid rising Luna. She will understand. They keep their eyes trained to the ground and heads darting around on swivels.
15[21:44] <VoxPVoxD> The cots are largely unattended, once Xu Sim makes his way past the guards and some depth into the camp. The military presence is thin this far back - a sign that the constant skirmishes are pressuring the raksha as well?
15[21:46] <VoxPVoxD> There are other problems facing the Council, but they're easily dispensed with, or at least, consensus is easily reached. Some of these issues have no ultimate solution save victory. The Council breaks apart, and when the Emissary vanishes a collective breath is let out of the room.
[21:47] <cbass> 10Moonlight and starlight are almost as good to Jai as the Sun, these days, if more than a little distant and cold by comparison. He keeps low to the ground, a mud-colored cloak serving as concealment when there's no cover. There's precious little of it to go around.
[21:47] <mattbaby> 5Let's give thanks to great Bushi Sunipa that that would be the case. Xu Sim leans over one of the cots to take a closer look at the person sleeping there... Dreaming there?
15[21:47] <VoxPVoxD> Jai is able to sneak through the barricades and avoid both stationary and patrolling guards.
[21:48] <Crion_> 14After checking on Xia Lan, Stranger's top priority is to figure out what in the world is going on with Kratz and Udelph. In fact...
[21:48] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar grunts as he stands from his seat, though thus far he's been too proud to actually get a walking stick that isn't a sword. Time, he supposes, to retire to his own offices, get caught up on reports, and maybe change some of the bandages.
[21:49] <cbass> 10Jai marks a couple of the guards' faces. Enough to forge a composite from, if he does need to bluff his way through a checkpoint. Best to keep that in his pocket for now, though.
[21:49] <Crion_> 14To Xia Lan, sotto voce: "Would you mind checking in with the Astrologer? I want to make sure she's...well, taking care of herself. There was some bad energy between her and Udelph at the table just now."
[21:51] <Crion_> 14Strike that last; she should be with Tsuka now. Stranger will look into matters with both of them.
[21:52] <Crion_> "Udelph. Might I have a word in the lounge?" 14Whichever one of the little committee meeting lounges it is doesn't matter; if there are spies there are spies.
15[21:53] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph lets Stranger lead him somewhere private.
[21:55] <Crion_> 14Once there: "The return of our esteeemed colleague is very welcome, but doesn't change how I feel about this council or my dedication to its operation. Trying to encourage the others to let Beale stretch his legs is part of that. So is noticing when things get a bit...frosty between two of my most valued friends in this body."
15[21:56] <VoxPVoxD> Jai's making his way through the camp, moving smoothly and silently. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up abruptly - a freak chill from the Wyld? no,  so far there's just been strange auroras and unsteady footing - and Jai is seized with the realization that he's been made, and whirls around to face a relatively short, robed figure with a walking-stick.
15[21:56] <VoxPVoxD> Too tall to be a hobgoblin, too short to be a full-grown man...
15[21:56] <VoxPVoxD> "Wait! Wait!" Jai doesn't recognize the whispered voice, though the accent is familiar.
[21:58] <cbass> 10Jai hisses "Who—" and looks for a place to hide.
15[21:59] <VoxPVoxD> "14It's Oyabun! I'm in disguise. Keep your voice down."
15[22:00] <VoxPVoxD> He reaches out with a small, long-fingered hand and grabs Jai's hand to pull him behind a rack of weapons as a whistling hobgoblin riding a mastiff clambers by.
[22:00] <cbass> 10Jai was already pale but now all the blood drains from his face.
15[22:02] <VoxPVoxD> Once they're side by side whispering gets easier: "You crazy son of a bitch. Do you have any idea what I went through getting here?"
[22:02] <cbass> "You— dammit, you shouldn't have been able to follow me!" 10He'd left a trail of contradictory evidence implying that he might have fled to the east or north, other locations where Solar activity had been reported.
15[22:03] <VoxPVoxD> Something's wrong. The Oyabun Jai knows is a stern, thin man of late middle age with thick salt-and-pepper hair and a thin moustache. This person's hand is smooth. Their voice is young. That is the accent Jai knows, though -- he's never met anyone who speaks quite like Oyabun.
15[22:04] <VoxPVoxD> "Was it worth it?" Fun as this must be for Jai, he can't help but realize he does still have a mission.
15[22:04] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "What did she tell you?"
[22:06] <Crion_> 14Stranger purses his lips. "I haven't spoken with her yet. I haven't seen either of you since the last council meeting. I have been occupied."
[22:06] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "I came to you first because your bearing had more disdain than hers did. Your looks were icier. Has she wronged you?"
[22:10] <cbass> 10Jai: "It beats sitting behind that desk all day pretending to be a clerk, pent up in a cage." 10He fixes his (former?) handler with a glare. "You said all the Chosen of the Sun in the riverlands had been hunted down and slain, that I needed to stay with the Bureau to stay safe. What else were you lying to me about?"
15[22:10] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "We had words. She's not pulling her weight. She disagreed. It got heated."
[22:11] <cbass> 10Jai: "And since when were you a dwarf, old man?"
[22:12] <Crion_> 14Stranger nods. "Understandable. What is her weight? I must confess I am a bit hazy as to the Astrologer's codified responsibilities, even after all this time."
15[22:12] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun: "Listen, we can talk long and hard but we need to get out of here. This whole area's unstable. You've got an in with the Anathema inside?"
[22:15] <cbass> 10It's always answers later with Oyabun—Master 99 Dark Star, if he's feeling polite, which he isn't. "Xu Sim, the sorcerer? I'm here to get him out of the camp. You knew that already, though." 10An accusation. 
[22:16] <Crion_> 14Ambassador, on overwatch, a bit nervously to the two of them: <Is everything quite alright down there? Don't answer if it's not, I suppose.>
15[22:17] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "I don't think she has any, to be honest. What's Astrology, anyway? Something rich women in the Realm made up to amuse themselves. But we're in the shit here. There's a lot of work, belt and braces work, that we're falling behind on and she's not helping. Your new bureaucracy wasn't built for these conditions and it shows. We need her putting in hours overseeing people, 
15[22:17] <VoxPVoxD> coordinating civilian aid. We need a line on the Dawn Sergeant that isn't one of his own kind, no offense, and while Keldar is no one's friend keeping the Dawn Guard onside was always Kratz's job. Now he's off planning gods-know-what, with the Emissary."
[22:17] <cbass> 10Jai: <He's not going to betray us to the raksha. Probably.>
[22:18] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "Ah."
[22:19] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim, bent over this patient, notices his fingers have curled into fists and have begun digging crescents into his palms. He takes a breath, not realizing he'd been holding it.
15[22:21] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun: "Okay, yeah, there's things I haven't been able to tell you, but guess what? That means you don't have any idea what I know. So how about you cool your heels until we're out of here, yeah?" His voice actually cracked, there, like a teenager under pressure.
[22:21] <Crion_> "Broadly speaking, I either sympathize or outright agree with all of your concerns, Udelph -- you might be surprised to hear we're most strenuously in alignment over the matter of the Dawn Sergeant, and it is unfortunate that the new holder of that office is...less interested in forging relationships with the other Councilors than his predecessor was. And while to a degree I share your 
[22:21] <Crion_> dim view of astrology, and to a degree I too have been frustrated the extent to which Kratz has to be managed rather than trusted with tasks, she has made substantial contributions to our efforts in the short time I've been here, and those contributions have come at real cost."
[22:22] <Crion_> 14Stranger pauses. How to... "How long were you and your wife together?"
[22:22] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <Jai? Ambassador? I've got an update.> 5The doctor's voice is at a hoarse, strained whisper.
15[22:22] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph's suddenly suspicious. "What are you getting at?"
[22:23] <Crion_> 14A slight but warm smile. "This is neither an accusation nor is it a trap, and the point I'm making will not be at your expense. How long?"
[22:23] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador: <We're listening!>
15[22:25] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "Twoscore years and three."
[22:25] <cbass> 10Jai: "All right. But this is my operation; you're not running me.10" He takes a deep breath. "But I will be grateful for your guidance."10 Even if he can't shake the man, there's no point pissing him off further right now. Then to Xu Sim: <Go ahead.>
[22:27] <Crion_> 14He nods. "I want you to remember the way that was on the best days, whether they were the days at the beginning or the days at the end, while I tell you something that is absolutely not to leave this room under any circumstance, especially not as a knife to twist in Kratz's gut. It is a matter of confidence both for a friend of mine, and of city security -- which she has diligently 
[22:27] <Crion_> served."
[22:27] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <I'm in Cethleann's larder. Probably less than two thousand people.> 5Xu Sim pauses. 5 <They're in bad shape, dehydrated and starving, only alive for now thanks to sorcery.>
[22:27] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <I'm in Cethleann's larder. Probably less than two thousand people.> 5Xu Sim pauses.  <They're in bad shape, dehydrated and starving, only alive for now thanks to sorcery.>
[22:29] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <If we remove the sorcerers, they Raksha will... run out of supplies... in a day or two.>
[22:31] <cbass> 10Jai: <They're dead already, aren't they? Just so many breathing husks.>
[22:31] <cbass> <It might be a mercy.>
[22:32] <Crion_> "A Chosen of the Stars, of Jupiter, the Maiden of Secrets, has taken our Astrologer as his lover. He has come to work with us -- primarily, work with me -- on behalf of Nexus, assisting us irreplacably in our investigations into both the Honeymaze plague and the 'death' of the Emissary. Even now he risks his life, in secret, in the war we wage for this city's very survival. In a time 
[22:32] <Crion_> of crisis when any and all allies were needed, Kratz brought into our fold one of Heaven's greatest spies.
[22:33] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <Not these people. They're just dehydrated, starving, and asleep. They could survive, they could recover.>
15[22:33] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph's expression changes. "So am I the only Councilor who's not Anathema now?"
[22:34] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <Cethleann's victims aren't left souleaten like other Raksha do. She does something to their dreams.>
[22:34] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <But it's not terminal,> 
[22:35] <Crion_> "But he will never be hers, of course. Not the way she is his. When he warms her bed at all, he is gone soon after; her memories of him fade as mine do over time, a consequence of his powerful mien and the nature of his benefactor. He might have any number of lovers in any number of cities, and he might be lying to her about his affections every night they snatch away together. The 
[22:35] <Crion_> last she saw him was weeks ago. She may never see him again. So, before we pivot back to a discussion of expediency or honesty or pragmatism I want you to think about how you'd handle making breakfast in your kitchen one morning and suddenly realizing, with a start, that you could no longer precisely remember your wife's face.
[22:36] <cbass> 10Jai: <Do you know some trick to spirit away two thousand starving refugees?>
[22:36] <Crion_> "I'm not going to tell you that Kratz is secretly on the ball or put-together or even sober. But I am going to tell you that her failings are not failings of laziness, inadequacy, or spite."
[22:36] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <Aren't you the expert at espionage and theft?>
[22:37] <Crion_> 14As a slightly-annoyed afterthought: "And the Chosen of the Stars aren't Anathema."
15[22:38] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph is silent for a long moment. Stranger hears only the conversation on the Codex.
[22:38] <cbass> 10Jai: <Hold that thought.>
15[22:38] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun mouths, "Who are you talking to?"
[22:40] <cbass> 10Jai gestures, makes a round shape with his hands. 10My Circle.
15[22:41] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun's hooded head recoils slightly, but he doesn't respond.
[22:41] <Crion_> 14Stranger is monitoring the chatter, but needs to seal this before he jumps in. One doesn't invoke a man's dead wife and then flit off to another conversation.
15[22:41] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph, finally: "...who's looking after her?"
[22:41] <cbass> 10And it's true, he actually does feel something for them now. A sense of belonging. Of rightness.
[22:42] <Crion_> 14Stranger: "I am, when I can. Xia Lan or my mate, the Ambassador, when I cannot and they are free. But we're all sorely taxed and I think, at the moment, she needs some support that we're spread too thin to give."
[22:42] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim exhales, a little shakily, glancing this way and that. How exhausted are the Raksha stores after this many months of war? How much larger were they to start?
[22:42] <Crion_> "Which might have led to...well, to the conversation you had."
15[22:45] <VoxPVoxD> Udelph: "I owe her an apology, then. Maybe you could put in an encouraging word yourself. You're better with them than I am."
[22:50] <Crion_> 14Stranger nods. "I will speak to her on the matter, though I won't presume to speak on her behalf. I think, with understanding and a delicate touch, she can be made whole. And that's a worthy goal for reasons beyond cementing the city's own relationship with Heaven." 14He pauses. "If you get a chance, please reassure Hayle that no one -- none of the Emissaries, certainly -- blame 
[22:50] <Crion_> him for our lack of medical supplies, even if he did underestimate demand and reserves. This is an impossible logistical task to workshop beforehand.
[22:50] <Crion_> "I would do it myself, but...I suspect I'm already gaining too much of a reputation for trying to be everyone's confidant or therapist." 14Another slight smile.
[22:52] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <There's too many empty beds here, though. But no graves. Can either of you see any of these wretches being carted off? Turned to zombies?>
15[22:56] <VoxPVoxD> "Hnnh. Alright. I've got my own work to do, then," says Udelph, who doesn't wait for a farewell.
[22:57] <Crion_> 14He'll get one anyway.
[22:57] <Crion_> 14When he's gone, however: <What's this about zombies?>
[22:58] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador: <Not the literal sort, love. It's something about Cethleann's victims.>
15[23:00] <VoxPVoxD> The Ambassador has a broad view of the terrain, and past the auroras is able to see that some of the watch-fires are white instead of yellow. She knows this to be a hallmark of the sort of hedge-necromancy popular in the northeastern Threshold.
[23:01] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador: <...But perhaps leading to the literal sort. There's white watch-fires here. Hedge-necromancy from the northeast of the Threshold uses that sort of 'empty flame' for spiritual guideposts and beacons."
[23:01] <Crion_> *>
[23:02] <cbass> 10Jai: <Well spotted. Master Xu Sim, we'll be closing on your position before much longer.> 10He peers out from behind the weapon rack. It's long past time to move. "You coming, Oyabun?"
[23:03] <Crion_> 14Stranger: <Fantastic. Jai, Xu Sim, I want to stress that you both getting out of there intact is of the utmost importance. We can deal with this later, if need be. But...if there are targets of opportunity on the way out...>
15[23:03] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun: "Yeah, yeah... I'll get out of your way." Then he's gone, in a gentle silver flash.
[23:07] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: <If we won't burn their stores, then maybe I can poison them...> 5He is without his most advanced sorcerous implements, but perhaps that needn't be a handicap in a place like this. He spits on the ground and, with the tip of a finger, begins carving a circle into the dirt floor of the tent.
[23:09] <cbass> 10Jai: <Also, and I know this is going to sound weird, but my previous employer waltzed into the middle of this camp behind me. As you can guess, that's no mean feat. He might be able to help.>
[23:09] <cbass> <When we all get back to the city, there's going to be a hell of an argument. Just warning you ahead of time.>
[23:10] <Crion_> 14Ambassador: <Your-->
[23:10] <Crion_> 14Stranger: <--here?>
[23:10] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar, listening in but heretofore adding little: <You gonna need backup? Where'll you be?>
[23:11] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim thinks back to his own afflication with the honey-maze, and the strange waking-dream it brought. <It'll have to get in line. But that is an inspiration...> 5Cethleann's dreams brought strange coordination to their victims - the dance troupe at the amphitheatre, the honey-maze zombies, his own strange dreams.
[23:13] <cbass> 10Jai: <I'm on it, Sarge. This won't be the first shouting match for either of us.>
[23:13] <Crion_> 14Stranger: <Well, let him know that any help is welcome help.>
[23:14] <Crion_> 14He switches to a direct line with the Ambassador: <Do you know who this 'employer' is?>
[23:14] <mattbaby> 5Hearing Keldar's voice takes it back around. <Discord has been our greatest weakness. Nogare, Zuniga, Balor, even ourselves... Maybe we can inject some of that into Cethleann's dream-food...>
[23:14] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador: <Not specifically, no, darling. Just that he's some sort of servant of Heaven.>
[23:15] <Crion_> 14Stranger: <And to think I was about to pop in on Kratz. I wonder if he knows Bubo.>
[23:16] <Crion_> 14To Xu Sim: <Giving Cethleann a nightmare sounds like fitting fair play, if you can pull it off.>
[23:17] <cbass> 10Jai: <If it throws the camp into enough disarray, maybe we could even save some of them. Two thousand is still a lot of people, though.>
[23:18] <Crion_> 14Stranger: <Do we have any idea if those two thousand can be saved, or indeed if they're in any condition to move? They'd still need to make it back to our lines.>
[23:18] <Crion_> <And there's always the possibility of infiltrators moving with them.>
[23:19] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim focuses himself and begins filling the circle with signs of disunity, disagreement, discord, dismay. New perspectives, different information, differing values. Disrespect. Arrogance. <They're not physically capable of escape, unless Jai can steal a dozen yeddim and some barges. But they are capable of recovery.>
[23:20] <Crion_> 14Stranger: <Keldar, are we in any way capable of sortieing out to rescue them?>
[23:20] <Crion_> 14As far as he's aware the answer is a hard no.
[23:20] <cbass> 10Jai: <I can pole a barge. But there's just the one of me.>
[23:21] <Crion_> <...Also, is this camp beyond the Emissary's limit?>
[23:23] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: <Two thousand people? Might as well just go out and win the war first.>
[23:24] <Crion_> 14Stranger: <That would be ideal.>
[23:26] <cbass> 10Jai: <We're several malms out from the city walls. You know who to ask if you want to know the distance as the crow flies, though.> 10Jai's quiet snort-laugh may or may not transmit over the Codex.
[23:27] <Ferrinus> 12Keldar: <They still outnumber us, which doesn't seal the deal, but I'm in no shape to try. I'd as soon get Xu Sim and Jai back in here and plan.>
[23:27] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador: <Charming.>
[23:31] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim signs into the dirt every victim of the city-defenders' cowardice, of its treachery, of its plotting and scheming. Pellicia. Zuniga. Even Brueghel.He hesitates. Xu Sim. These sour dreams will suffice for Cethleann's supper.
[23:31] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim signs into the dirt every victim of the city-defenders' cowardice, of its treachery, of its plotting and scheming. Pellicia. Zuniga. Even Brueghel.He hesitates. These sour dreams will suffice for Cethleann's supper.
15[23:38] <VoxPVoxD> As Xu Sim completes his ritual, the change is almost immediate. Murmurs of discontent ripple throughout the camp. Hobgoblins grow quarrelsome with one another, and strike their riding-dogs. Above, dragonfly-knights circle each other in the skies.
[23:39] <Crion_> 14The Ambassador: <Oh my.>
[23:40] <cbass> 10There are significantly more sentries and watchposts as Jai nears the camp "supply depot", as you might expect.  He sprints, then creeps, then finally crawls past the final checkpoint—although it seems like the raksha have bigger things to worry about. It looks like the world's biggest bar fight is about to break out.
[23:41] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim dusts off his hands. "Good luck talking this one out without your own Stranger-Visits-Heaven, you morons," 5he mutters to himself just as Jai approaches.
[23:41] <cbass> 10Jai: <Stay clear of it. I see Xu Sim now. Making contact.> 10And he pushes open the tent flap and nods to the proud sorcerer. "Did you do that? Nice. We could probably walk out of here once that starts popping off."
[23:42] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim snaps around. "You didn't hear me say that just now, did you?"
15[23:43] <VoxPVoxD> The flap opens again, as a short hooded figure appears behind Jai. "How's your stomachs?"
[23:44] <mattbaby> 5It gurgles audibly, but Xu Sim is confrontational: "Who wants to know?"
[23:45] <cbass> 10Jai: "No, nothing. Um, allow me to introduce you to Master…"  10Shit! I forgot to ask him what cover he's using!
15[23:45] <VoxPVoxD> "Someone who can Travel Without Distance. I'm taking you two back to Nexus so we don't have to wade through a war zone."
15[23:46] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun drops his hood, revealing the face and hair of a fastidious 13-year-old boy. "There'll be more time to explain when we're out of here."
[23:46] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim glances at Jai. Does he trust this boy?
[23:47] <cbass> 10Jai: "Seas damn you, I thought you were a dwarf!"
15[23:47] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun: "I wish."
[23:49] <cbass> 10Jai: "He can do what he says. This is just how he like sto operate. Sweep in and make you an offer you'd be stupid to refuse. 'Swhy I call him Oyabun."
[23:51] <cbass> "And right now, a free trip back to beautiful Nexus doesn't sound half bad. I'm not sure I can actually pack any more mud into this breastplate."
15[23:51] <VoxPVoxD> Outside, the clash of weapon on weapon is heard. A dog howls.
[23:51] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: "Then let's go."
15[23:52] <VoxPVoxD> Oyabun: "I don't know how much time we've got before the ishvara reasserts control. That was good work though."
15[23:52] <VoxPVoxD> The three of them link arms, and then vanish in another silver flash.
15[23:53] <VoxPVoxD> The three of them reappear a moment later, dizzy and nauseous, on a street that Xu Sim and Jai will eventually recognize either by reputation or by trappings as the heart of the Harlotry, the city's premiere blue-light district.
15[23:53] <VoxPVoxD> "Where's your-- 14shit --where's your headquarters?"
[23:56] <cbass> 10Jai: "Hrnnngh…" 10He lifts a finger and points the way. "You can't miss it. Do I even want to know why we appeared here?" 
[23:56] <cbass> "Then, you go to the nearest Undercity entrance next to it."
[23:57] <mattbaby> "It's in the Undercity. Come on, lad." 5Xu Sim starts walking in one direction the opposite direction from Jai before spinning on his heel to face the correct direction, passing both of the others in the correct direction.
15[23:59] <VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: Beans, teens, and Emerald Dream
[23:59] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: "And that spell can only take a place you you've seen before. At least we're not inside one of these buildings."
[00:00] <mattbaby> 5Xu Sim: "And that spell can only take you to a place you've seen before. At least we're not inside one of these buildings."