15[20:18] As Daana'd's Defiance settles into Abalone Harbor, the hour is late - well past midnight. But Hamoji's caldera shines so bright and so golden that some of the sailors joke that the sun has already risen, and from the western horizon. Others are unsettled by the Wyld-tainted volcano, and turn to their work with expressions the false sun can't brighten. [20:19] 4Piu's back in her flirty mood, mingling with the sailors for the most part, though the hearth will take note she's still in her work clothes, not the slinkier and more fashionable stuff she wears out to the clubs. 15[20:19] Officer Samperson is able to secure beds for the crew, and the news sees them trickle in threes and fours into the hostels that exist to serve sailors ashore. 15[20:21] All of them are grateful for real beds and the chance to rest. Many are late to breakfast, including the Commodore, and the enlisteds that are up early cluster away from the senior staff. How does the hearth greet the day? [20:22] 14Caedus undoubtedly made contact last night. Did any word come in from Lao? 15[20:24] Caedus doesn't get back from Lao's until the hour before dawn. Either then or when she awakes, Piu hears a report of Caedus's report, and she hears Caedus's frustration at the complete lack of insight or guidance their superior affords them. [20:24] 07Dryas takes some time grooming Diamond Weapon, in one of the few stables on the island suited for such a fine beast. It's important to keep a close bond with one's horse, and despite the excursion on the Guild trade-island, the sea isn't much of a place for the noble creature. [20:24] 14...Unsurprising. [20:25] 14Piu: "Do you want me to go see him." [20:26] 10Daizo wakes from an uneasy sleep in the hours before dawn with a weight on his chest. Then he sees a pair of golden eyes in the dark. He stifles a yell; it's just one of the ship's cats. "Mrow." 15[20:26] Caedus: "He might not be keeping secrets. He might just not know any more than we do." Quickly correcting: "No, he's definitely keeping secrets, whether or not he knows any more than we do." [20:27] 14Piu had her mouth open slightly already before he corrected himself. [20:30] 10Daizo: "Shoo, kitty, shoo." 10He knows from experience he won't be able to get to sleep again. There's time enough before breakfast to take some air, so he'll go and see how the people of Abalone greet the dawn.  [20:33] 14She'll refactor. "It's up to you if I go or if I don't. Both because you're the handler for the operation and because I don't go behind backs like that." [20:33] "That said, we need to get to work on this second name." [20:33] "And figuring out more about the Guild. But that's overlap with Dryas, which I can handle." 15[20:33] Caedus: "What would your play be?" [20:35] 14Simply: "He respects being bullied by women, but not by men. Gets more intensely effective or uneffective depending how young the women and men are." [20:35] "...Ah. You meant about the...right." [20:36] 14Piu: "Well. I'll need to put in some face-time with the hearth, but I should be able to contribute to the information gathering after that." [20:36] "It'll depend where Dryas's head is." 15[20:37] Daizo isn't taking the air for long before he begins to hear the sound of drums. A broad thoroughfare arcs from the market stalls just off the docks through the rich trading-houses of Guild princes and local privateers, running to the base of the mountain where it meets the first of hundreds of stone steps, carved who knows how long ago, running up the glowing gilded slopes of Hamoji. 15[20:40] Crowds are still thin and scattered given the early hour, but the drums are being played at steady pace by people in huge, vibrant feathered garbs, as a man nearly Daizo's height and breadth goes among them scattering drops of liquid from a large stone bowl. His feathers, shifting and flickering in hue, grow naturally from his shoulders and brow. [20:42] 14She heads for the door. "So I'll go check that." [20:42] 14What's the name, again? The next one on the list. [20:42] 10Oh? He'll move in for a closer look. This must be some kind of native observance that's received an official sanction, or perhaps…  15[20:45] The next name on the list writ in gant is Mnemon Hedrin. [20:46] 07Dryas meets Pale Moke outside the stables on her way back to the hostel; the two have a walk-and-talk meeting. If Moke has any news of great importance for Dryas, now would be the time to share it - otherwise, she will mostly pass on some correspondence she has drafted for her mother and aunts back on the Blessed Isle. Afterwards, she'll wash the smell of horse off of her and proceed to break her fast. [20:46] "And maybe check in with the Mnemons while I'm at it. See you at dinner?" 15[20:47] Caedus nods, kissing her goodbye before dashing off to do ship's work. [20:49] 14She'll give him a few minutes, 4then head down in more casual wear. [20:49] 4With her exercises and bathing done, she's ready for breakfast! [20:50] 4Is anyone else from the hearth around? 15[20:50] In the comissary, Caxi and the Commodore are nowhere to be seen; neither are the Cathak twins nor Salim. Sadako is having breakfast with Seiri, and the enlisteds are avoiding them. 15[20:52] Moke has no news to report. Everything's going smoothly so far. [20:53] 4We've already a reputation for fraternizing too much with our direct reports; why let it go to waste. Piu will get some food -- heavy on protein, light on carbs -- and join Sadako and Seiri. 15[20:53] Daizo gets closer - is he making any effort not to be seen? - and hears a voice far higher than the great feathered man's frame implies. It's some Seatongue dialect he can't quite parse, but the man sounds chipper enough. [20:55] 4Piu: "Morning!" 4How's her favorite nerd and creepy immortal teen? 15[20:56] The two of them are eating in silence, Seiri with a bowl of porridge and a chagrined expression, Sadako with a plate that looks like Piu's and single-minded focus. 15[20:56] Seiri looks up; Sadako does not. "Mistress Piu!" 15[20:56] "Did you sleep alright?" [20:57] 4Cheerily: "We got in late, but I made it count!" [20:57] "How are you taking to life with the crew, Sadako? Little bit different from living in dorms!" [20:57] 10Stealth is generally not in Daizo's wheelhouse. [20:58] 07Dryas pokes her head into the commissary and circles once around Piu, Sadako, and Seiri's table like a shark. She then makes her way to the porcelain plates of fruit and skewers of roasted meat. She selects a variety of rather sumptuous items and pours a glass of wine, which she makes no pretense of watering down.  15[20:58] Seiri: "Master Daizo was already gone when I woke up. I'm not sure he slept at all." 15[20:58] Sadako grunts with her mouth full, but she does move the little bowl of fish bones and scraps so Piu has a place to set her food down. 15[20:59] Seiri: "Sadako was just telling me about the training she's been receiving in etiquette!" 15[20:59] Sadako grunts again. [20:59] 4Piu half-giggles, half-cackles. 15[21:01] The feathered man steps back from the drummers, smearing fluid in the bowl across his own brow as he casts his eyes skyward... and then immediately on Daizo. He calls down the thoroughfare, clear and piercing, to the only man actually in the street rather than milling alongside it. It sounds jovial. 15[21:02] Sadako actually looks up when Dryas enters, following her movements without blinking. 15[21:02] Seiri: "Is it true that the woman you saved from that horrible monster is the Commodore's daughter? The sailors were talking about it." [21:04] 4Piu: "Indeedy! Was kinda tense there, but it all worked out." [21:05] "Hi Dryas!" 4she exclaims as the Cynis sits down, almost like she didn't notice that whole performance. [21:05] 10Daizo, on the spot, decides that he needs to seek the services of an expert. He bows to the feathered man. "My apologies—I was just fascinated by the drums," 10he says, feeling like… a tourist. Which, technically, he is. [21:05] 07Dryas ignores Sadako for a moment, but returns the gaze steadily when she has secured her plate. She'll join the trio. "Good morning, V'Neef Piu, Sadako, Seiri." [21:06] 4Piu's already munching away on some bacon. [21:07] 10Erm. Is donation expected? A payment? There are bowls, but no cash in them.  [21:11] 4To Seiki: "Has the Commodore released the crew to full shore leave?" 15[21:12] Seiri: "Far as I know. Everyone but Officer Samperson, anyway. He never seems to get a break." [21:14] "He's quite the diligent sailor," 07Dryas observes.  [21:15] 4Dreamily: "And how." 15[21:15] The feathered man laughs - a tinkling sound, like silver bells - before bowing deeply in turn. He offers a few words of High Realm: "No apologies... necessary." [21:17] 4Presumably he's catching a nap then slipping out around lunch time to begin his next bit of work. Such boundless energy! [21:17] 07Dryas chops a banana in half, then peels it delicately. "I'm certain. Piu, what are your plans for leave?" [21:18] 4Piu: "Oh! You know. Sightseeing. Old architecture." 4She munches down some more bacon. [21:18] 14Piu: "Certain old mansions I'd love to see." [21:20] 07Dryas: "There's a particularly unusual piece of architecture up in the hills. I think you might find it fascinating. It's the residence of the local Guild factor. Sadako had the chance to see it up close. And what was your impression of the house, my dear?" 15[21:22] Sadako drops another handful of cracked bones into the scrap bowl and then wipes her fingers delicately on a napkin like any Cynis princess. "It's haunted." [21:23] 10And that's Daizo's early morning. He'll return to the hostelry, and arrives last to the breakfast table. Today he feels like bread and fruit and some scrambled eggs—and an entire iron teapot. 15[21:24] Seiri's eyes widen. [21:24] "Ooooooh," 4Piu squeals. [21:24] "Absolutely brilliant girl," 07Dryas says, observing her manners as well as her perspicacity with some measure of pride. 15[21:24] "Did you say haunted?!" is the first thing Daizo hears on entering. 15[21:25] "How do you know??" Seiri follows up. 15[21:25] "The walls breathe," Sadako answers. [21:26] "She's quite right about that," 07Dryas agrees. [21:27] 10Oh, now this bears investigation. "What's this that's haunted now?" 10Daizo squeezes in at the table. [21:27] 4Piu: "A mansion!" [21:27] "In the hills!" [21:29] 10Daizo nods, pouring some tea. "Go on, tell me more." [21:30] 4Piu does! [21:31] 4Presumably with help. 15[21:31] Seiri fills in the gaps. 15[21:31] Then she says, "What about you, Master Daizo?" [21:31] 10Daizo: "And the Guild factor's chosen to live there? He must be a very unusual fellow." [21:31] 4Piu: "That's the impression I've gotten!" [21:32] "Nn Tloc is his name," 07Dryas states. "He is an unusual fellow, as it happens. I intend to speak with him today." [21:33] 10Daizo: "Oh, a cat tried to steal my breath this morning. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I went for a walk..." 10Here he'll recount his experience on the boulevard.  [21:35] "That sounds like an even more unusual man," 07Dryas can only agree. [21:36] "…So I thought that if anyone would know about this, it'd be you, Seiri. Is it some kind of a religious observance, or just a local custom?" 15[21:38] Seiri's face has lost some of its color, and she hasn't touched her food since Daizo's story began. "If the ali-ki are out it must be a feast day. That means you met the Feathered One." [21:41] 4Piu: "The who now?" [21:42] 10Daizo: "This sounds serious. Who is this Feathered One? And … this isn't exactly a normal feast, is it." 15[21:45] Seiri: "The Feathered One, first of the ali-ki. People say he fell into Hamoji and climbed back out with her blessing. He rules the island. Or, no, the Governor rules the island. Sister Dusk never really explained how it works. But everyone respects the ali-ki, and they get their own rituals and feast days that aren't even on the calendar. We weren't supposed to go near them, Sister 15[21:45] Dusk said we'd end up in their cookpots." 15[21:45] "But I think that's just a story. The ali-ki don't eat people. Hamoji does." [21:46] 4And she never will. Oh well! 15[21:47] Sadako: "How does a volcano eat people?" [21:48] 4Piu: "Gravity!" 15[21:49] Seiri: "People just go into the caldera. Some people volunteer. It's an honor, and it guarantees a good afterlife, to go into the mountain. But when there's not volunteers, there's still prisoners, vagrants, stowaways." [21:49] 10Daizo: "Curious. The more I find out about the history of these islands, the more I realize I don't know." 15[21:49] "One time I heard the Feathered One flies over the mountaintop and drops people in one by one. Another time I heard someone who says they saw a huge arm come out of the mountain and grab people." [21:51] 4Piu: "Both could be true." 15[21:55] Sadako: "Why do they let them do that?" 15[21:56] "I guess the Immaculates really are corrupt." 15[21:56] Seiri: "What? No! They just - there's agreements. Politics." 15[21:56] Sadako grunts again and eats some more. [21:56] 10Daizo's eggs are getting a little cold, but it'd be a shame to let them go to waste. He devotes himself to eating for a couple of minutes. "And today is the day for Hamoji to get its share—What?" 15[21:58] Sadako waits until her mouth isn't full before responding "What?" in kind. [21:58] "Hamoji was certainly burning brightly last night," 07Dryas observes. [21:59] 07Totally glossing over Sadako's remark. It might not work. [22:00] 4Piu: "Everyone's gotta eat!" [22:01] 10Daizo: "Hmmph. There are hundreds of years of doctrine on the best ways to spread the Immaculate Faith. It's long been accepted that in outlying regions, far from the Isle, the best tack to take is to incorporate native worship. The process must be carefully supervised to ensure that no improper conduct arises, but as long as the local gods accept the ultimate authority of the Order—"10 Is Sadako even listening? 15[22:03] Sadako is certainly *pretending* to listen. [22:07] 4Smoothly, before any further lectures can break out: "So what should we do?" [22:07] 10Daizo takes a deep breath. "If you're actually interested in duscussing this with me, you can ask me anytime." 15[22:08] Seiri seems totally cowed by the tension at the table. [22:09] 10Daizo: "Sorry, yes. Changing the subject." [22:11] 4Brightly: "So Daizo...how would you feel about a...trip?" [22:11] "To a mansion." [22:14] 10Daizo: "I'd certainly be interested in seeing this Nn Tloc's place. I'd also like to take a look at the ali-ki's 'feast' ceremony, but that should probably wait until we're all much, much more familiar with Hamoji. If it's open to outsiders at all, that is." 15[22:14] Seiri: "People go. It's a long way up the mountain, so not a *lot* of people go, but there are pilgrims. Most people stay at the feasts in town." [22:15] "Ah," 07Dryas breaks in. "I have business with Nn Tloc. Although, perhaps, you two could be of assistance in one or two small regards." [22:15] 4Piu: "I don't want to turn down a party but...so...people die there, right?" [22:15] 4To Dryas: "Listening." 15[22:16] Seiri: "I suppose I don't know for sure what happens to people who fall into Hamoji. It's a very strange volcano." [22:19] 10Daizo: "I've wondered about it since I've first seen it. But Hamoji also isn't going anywhere, and the business with Nn Tloc is probably more important than my selfish curiosity." [22:20] 4Piu: "Feast only happens once every so often...and the mansion's always gonna be there..." [22:21] 4She finishes her breakfast. "I'm gonna change into something sporty, then I'll be right back down. Nice seeing you two again!" 4That's to Sadako and Seiri. 15[22:21] Seiri smiles weakly, while Sadako says, "You too!" [22:24] 07Dryas digs back in to her breakfast, taking liberally of the wine. 15[22:26] Questions to answer, then: where does the hearth go first? Is Daizo bringing Seiri? Is Dryas bringing Sadako? [22:28] 10Daizo's definitely bringing Seiri. [22:31] 07Sadako should team along, maybe getting a glimpse at things will give her a bit of persepective. And she might be helpful if there are more ghosts around. [22:32] 4Piu will go solo, in a tasteful but fashionable outfit that highlights her hips. 15[22:36] So it is that the hearth and its attendants joins the thronging - not revelry, exactly, but there is an air of conviviality and the smell of good things in the air as the gold light of Hamoji defies the noonday sun and a mercilessly clear sky. There are more drums, now, some being played by children and buskers in the streets, and in the distance the great and steady beats Daizo 15[22:36] remembers from the morning. [22:38] 4Piu finds herself wiggling around to the beat almost unconsciously. [22:38] 4Picked the right outfit. 15[22:39] The hearth keeps moving along the thoroughfare as other people in the street break off to join side celebrations or sit and rest. By the time they arrive at the foot of the mountain, where a pair of feather-headdressed drummers flank the passage upward, they walk among a knot of fairly serious-looking older people - these must be the true pilgrims Seiri mentioned. 15[22:41] People are moving in knots and clusters up sinuous carved staircase. Up above, a little more than halfway, you can see the great glowing man Daizo met at the head of a procession of feathered headdresses and a handful of people walking in slow lockstep. [22:42] 4Oh, wow. [22:49] 10Daizo: "Rather an impressive fellow, isn't he?" 10He leans over to Seiri and whispers "Has the Feathered One always appeared as this same man?" 10It could be that he's the god of Hamoji itself, or a God-Blooded, or something stranger yet.  15[22:49] Dryas feels eyes on them as they move - more than the eyes expected from their stature, standing, and beauty. Weaving in among the crowd she spots someone she recalls is one of Nn Tloc's runners, keeping pace off the main thoroughfare. But more than that, there's a subtler sense of being watched - the gaze of a thin old man at a cookfire follows them a little too sharply, a little too 15[22:49] knowingly; the women conversing in front of a drum circle look at them in unison, as does the infant in one's arms; an animal walks among the pilgrims, acknowledged by none of them - a scrawny, filthy, sand-colored dog. 15[22:50] Seiri: "I don't know. He's old, at least. He was around when Sister Dusk came to Abalone." 15[22:50] She looks briefly chagrined. [22:52] 4Piu will poke around a bit, but always remaining close to the group 14and maintaining vigilence. [22:54] 10Poor kid. She must still be hurting when she thinks about Dusk. Awful as she was, she was family. [22:56] "It's glorious," 07Dryas observes, "to come forth, to see and be seen by the people of the Threshold." 15[22:56] "Is it like this everywhere?" asks Seiri. [23:00] 10Daizo: "It is said that there are women and men in all parts of Creation, until you reach the Poles themselves where the elements are too fierce for anyone to stand." [23:01] 10Daizo: "As for myself… this is my first long visit away from the Blessed Isle. But I'm sure Piu and Dryas have their own stories." [23:05] "Yes," 07Dryas notes. "I have many stories of the South I would love to share when we are next at sea for a week with little else to do..." 07Dryas takes note of each of their watchers and in turn is puzzled by them. [23:08] 10Daizo: "I'd be glad to hear them as well. Oh—does anyone need to take a break? I think there's a water station ahead." [23:08] 4Piu: "Ugh." [23:08] "Whew. These are...not. My walking clothes." 15[23:10] Daizo's right, people are stopped all along the route to rest and drink water. The comparatively young and healthy hearth end up lapping several cadres of pilgrims, at least until about the fourth rest stop where Seiri faints. [23:13] 10Daizo: "Seiri, what's— Seiri!" 10He'll catch her before she hits the ground, if he can, and carry her into some shade.  [23:16] "Oh, dear," 07responds Dryas, presenting Daizo a flask to hand to his charge. "Perhaps I should have brought a parasol," 07she realizes belatedly. 15[23:18] Sadako seems fine, but she is permanently squinting and scowling in the dazzling light. [23:20] 10Daizo uses some of the water to wet a cloth and applies it as a cool compress. "I hope she wasn't pushing herself too hard to keep up with us." [23:21] 4Piu: "I was pushing me too hard to keep up with us!" 15[23:21] Seiri awakens after a few minutes. "...what happened?" [23:22] 10Daizo: "Here, drink this. It looks like the sun got to you." 15[23:24] Seiri takes a drink, coughs, and takes another drink. [23:25] 10Daizo: "It's all right. We probably should have been taking more frequent breaks. After all, this is a festival, not military maneuvers." [23:25] 4Piu: "Same thing." 15[23:27] Sadako looks down the mountain, over the entirety of the city and the glittering harbor beyond. "It's pretty here, anyway." [23:27] 10Daizo: "Let's wait here for a while and gather our strength. If you feel like you can't go on, we'll go back down the mountain." 15[23:28] Seiri shakes her head. "No, I've come this far. I've got to see what's up there now." 15[23:28] Her shoulders sag. "Maybe a few more minutes, though." [23:28] 07Dryas sidles up next to Piu. "We're being watched, you know," 07she murmurs deviously. [23:30] 4Piu stretches, if a bit wearily. "I should hope so. [23:30] " [23:32] 10Daizo: "That's the spirit. Press on, but be realistic." [23:35] 07Dryas, continuing: "The filthy, half-starved cur. The baby. The old man and the gaggle of women we passed at the base." 15[23:36] Dryas and Piu seem to be successfully deflecting whatever scrutiny comes to two babes whispering on a clifftop. [23:38] 4Hopefully not all of it! [23:39] 4Piu: "Motley crew." [23:39] "Whaddya wanna do about it?" [23:41] 07Dryas: "Not sure. More puppetry? You think it's Hamoji's doing?" [23:42] 4Piu: "Not my area of expertise, really. Ask the big guy?" [23:43] 07Dryas nods: "Talk to him about it. I'll talk to the girl." [23:45] 07Dryas breaks from Piu's side and kneels next to Seiri. "You know, my mother is one of the greatest doctors on the Blessed Isle?" 15[23:45] Seiri looks up. "Really?" 15[23:45] She sounds surprised. [23:46] 4She sidles up to Daizo. "We're being watched, you know. But by weird things. Babies and groups of women and the like. Dryas thought you might have insight? She mentioned the big volcano guy." [23:49] 10With the situation more or less stable, it won't be much of a problem tor Piu to peel Daizo away. And with a warning like that, easier still. "Troubling. There's certainly a few things I can try, although in a spiritually rich place such as this it may be hard to discern any influences." [23:57] 10Daizo: "Going to stretch my legs a bit. Call me if anything happens, Dryas." [23:57] 07Dryas: "Yeah, actually. They say she can re-attach severed souls, which I've never seen, but they say it. She's absolutely brilliant. Anyway. There was this one time, when I had seen no more than ten or so summers, I managed to slip away from all the servants. Ran through the gardens, they had no idea where I was. Anyway, I slipped off an embankment, twisted my ankle pretty badly. And you know who was there?" 15[23:57] Seiri shakes her head. [00:00] 07Dryas deadpans: "Well, it was my headmistress, actually, who had finally found me. She sent me to bed without champagne for my impertinence, and my mother didn't come back for another week." [00:00] 14... 15[00:00] Seiri laughs, and then looks scandalized at her own laughter. "Oh, no, I'm sorry--" [00:02] 10There's always the one universal excuse for stepping away from a crowd that a man can use. So Daizo goes to look for a suitably out-of-the-way spot. Instead of nature's call, though, he's peeking into the supernatural with his trusty silver mirror. [00:04] 07Dryas laughs, too.  15[00:05] Daizo looks through the mirror, and finds it difficult to make out much of anything. He was right, the conjugation of spiritual and wyld energy at play this far up the mountain makes it very difficult to see anything. Sweeping the mirror around he catches a few clots of revelers that seem a man or two bigger in the reflection than to the naked eye, but features are hazy and hard to 15[00:05] make out. There are two things that stand out beyond that: one is a ways behind them, a huge hulking shadow whose rough shape Daizo last saw in the bowels of the Leaden Queen. An erymanthus is travelling up the mountain immaterially, behind a throng of pilgrims. [00:05] 10That's bad. 15[00:07] The other is far above, dancing in and out of the light spilling straight into the sky from the caldera, either quite small or quite large and *very* high up, a bird with broad swingspan and what looks from this distance to be two necks. [00:09] 10Birds. There's too many birds lately. [00:13] 10Then he recalls it. 10One head heralds the birth of nations; the other grieves the death of gods. [00:13] 10Could the god of Hamoji actually be the fabled Thousand-Year Shrike? 15[00:14] Seiri struggles to her feet. "I'm ready to go now." [00:17] 10Daizo returns to the group, looking pensive. He pulls Piu and Dryas aside and gives them the bad news first. [00:17] 07Dryas helps her to her feet. "We've got you. Tepet Daizo will carry you the rest of the way up, isn't that right Daizo?" 15[00:19] NEXT TIME: One Silver Arrow [00:20] 10Daizo: "Of course, if that's what you'd like. And if you'd rather go up on your own two feet… then we'll follow your pace."