15[20:29] The cabin warms up quickly with four bodies inside it. Piu sits crosslegged on the bed as the other Three Fangs, Dryas flanked by Daizo and Zhangyu like a mobster by her goons, confront her. News of the chaos in Abalone hasn't filtered aboard among the crew yet. Outside, thunder rumbles, and the ship begins to list ever so slightly beneath them. Feels like rain. 15[20:29] How brief is the silence, and what crosses all parties' minds as they stare each other down? [20:30] 07Dryas pauses for a moment, soaking in the drama. [20:30] 14Piu isn't one to let a silence linger when not on the job. "I might as well answer the obvious question first. Yes: I killed Mnemon Hedrin." [20:31] "We specifically discussed the matter of Mnemon Hedrin." 07Brambles twist through the ship's planks and thread their way through Piu's bedsheets and laundry as Dryas' anima flux continues to manifest. [20:31] "We did." [20:31] "I told you I would not have Ted do it." [20:31] "And I didn't." [20:32] 10Daizo, flatly: "So you took matters into your own hands." [20:32] "Was he responsible for that horrible orb that tore through town?" 07Dryas asks. [20:32] "Was Ted responsible for that chaos in the street?" [20:32] 10Jinx. [20:32] 14Piu: "Yes. I told him not to kill any working people." [20:33] "I take it his interpretation of that was narrow." [20:33] "Three Guildsmen, a shopkeep, twenty or more members of the Governor's guard, an old physician, me, almost..." 07Dryas ticks off on her fingers. [20:34] 14Mildly: "You would have been missed. I'd have had to kill him over that." [20:34] "I'll trade a shopkeep and a retired physic for three Guildsmen and 20 members of the Governor's guard." [20:37] "Ragara Kou does not share your appraisal of the situation." 07Dryas replies drily. [20:37] 14Piu: "Ragara Kou is an impulsive fool and a political enemy that I have nonetheless just done a favor." [20:37] "Closing the Eye in this port, for however long, keeps us alive and helps our mission." [20:38] 10Daizo: "Guildsmen are Guildsmen, but those guards didn't even have a chance…" [20:38] 10The shock hasn't quite penetrated yet. [20:39] 14Piu: "Those guards represent Kou's potency as governor. We don't want them burning the Defiance in dock." [20:39] "Hedrin is a high official whose death will invite serious scrutiny. And another high-placed, dead Mnemon. It is a decision we should have all made together," 07Dryas states matter-of-factly. [20:40] 10Daizo echoes "Another dead Mnemon." [20:40] 14Piu: "How certain are all three of you in your liar's face, that you wouldn't have inadvertantly given up the game if I had brought you in on the plan itself?" [20:41] 14Piu: "Kou may be an idiot, but she's shown flashes of perception. And Hedrin being unaware of the plot was key to taking her alone and unaware." [20:41] "These are dark days. I can be a conspirator. An accessory. But I won't be a patsy," 07Dryas says in a level tone. [20:41] 14Piu: "Fair." [20:42] 10Daizo brushes that question aside. "Sister Dusk. Was that you too? Has Salim been your scapegoat this entire time?" [20:42] 14Matter of fact: "Yes, I killed Dusk. I regret that even less than I regret Hedrin." [20:42] "I do not know what Salim volunteered to take credit for it, and that bothers me. But it was useful." [20:42] *why Salim [20:43] 10Daizo: "I see. So this is how V'Neef is playing the game." [20:43] 14Piu: "I have...been conflicted on how to break that news. The killing after all was done before we swore as a hearth." [20:44] "Is it really V'Neef? Whose behalf are you acting on?" 07Dryas asks, guardedly. [20:44] 14Piu: "Absolutely. Do you think my house will survive solely on V'neef's virtue and personal strength of arms?" [20:44] "We are small. We need to have the will to do what needs must. That's what this whole venture is, after all. Can't you see it?" [20:45] 10Daizo: "We can never tell Seiri, you know that? Whether or not Dusk was a monster, there was love there." [20:45] "Houses Tepet, V'neef, and Cynis...that could be a powerful confederation, in the coming seasons." [20:45] 14To Daizo: "I have absolutely no intention of ever letting her know. Not telling you was key to that. I can't control what you tell her." [20:46] 6Zhangyu, guardedly: "It could." 6It's the first thing he's said, mostly watching the back and forth with rising eyebrows that threatened to escape from his forehead. [20:49] 10Daizo sighs. He can still feel the faint echo of the oath binding the four of them together. If it had broken, that would be one thing. But Piu…  must genuinely believe she's acted for everyone's benefit. Does he have the right to doubt her? [20:50] 14Piu: "In the future I will be...more forthright about life-taking. But I did this both for our mission and our fellowship, and I did tell you I wanted to do it, to the point of discussing precise plans." [20:50] "So, plainly-stated, I am asking forgiveness, after being denied permission." [20:51] 07Dryas stares right into Piu with her deep green eyes. [20:53] "So, you're destabilizing the situation with Mnemon in the name of House V'Neef?" 07she asks after a moment's quiet. [20:54] 14Piu: "The situation is already destabilized. We're questing for the Scarlet Empress without a single member of her favored daughter's House aboard. What do you think that means?" [20:57] 10Patriotism inverts and shows its soft underbelly in that moment. "Furia had designs on holding the Empress as a hostage, or slaying her, if she were found?" [21:00] 14Piu arches an eyebrow. "If the Empress were capable of being captured or constrained in her current state by either Furia's host or ours, that'd be cause for real concern." [21:01] "Hrmm." [21:01] 10Politics: not a strong point. [21:04] "You are right that we could forge a very strong alliance. I have a proposal for one such. But," 07Dryas leans onto her tiptoes for a moment to pluck a dangling, thrashing vine from the ceiling0 [21:05] 14Going to have to get this place cleaned. [21:06] "I need to know more about my partners. We all have our loyalties, our opinions, our ambitions. But if all four of us walk out of this room alive we are immediately complicit in crimes serious enough to send us to the pyre," 07she observes. 15[21:07] Even as they say it aloud, the reverse occurs to them. Who is it that stands to gain the most from the empty throne, and consequently lose the most if the Empress suddenly returns? They said it themselves: Mnemon. Daizo and Dryas can carry the logic a step further: a conscious decision to freeze Mnemon out suggests that, whatever they personally thought of Furia's madness, the 15[21:07] participating house elders wanted the best possible chance that, should the Empress be found, she could be returned alive. [21:07] 14Piu: "How did you know it was me?" [21:07] "How did I fuck up?" [21:09] 10Daizo: "We've been embroiled in a crime ever since we signed on to this voyage. We might as well be flying the black flag." [21:10] "The only way out now… is through." [21:10] 07Dryas grins, almost flirtatiously. She runs a finger along the bulkhead shelves until it comes to rest at a stopped-up bottle - Piu's eau de toilette. [21:10] "So you were able to discern it because you already knew what I smelled like. My dip in the water ended the trail, after all. I did it away from the Defiance and circled around by sea." [21:10] "Which means absent my hearth going above and beyond -- with their incredible skills -- I get away clean. I'm fine with that." [21:16] 14To Daizo: "Oh, chin up. Everything's forgiven in this sideways kingdom so long as you win." [21:16] "And we are winners." [21:20] *sideways empire [21:20] 10Daizo: "That's precisely what I mean." [21:20] "So what happens now?" [21:21] "Kou still wants Ted's head on a platter." [21:21] 14Piu: "Well, with Hedrin dead, Ted now has an opening to leave Abalone. And that sounds a lot easier than killing him." [21:22] "Specifically, she wants both 'the Anathema' and 'the assassin' or, we've all been assured, fire will rain from the skies." [21:23] 14Piu: "I'm not particularly concerned with what Kou wants. I'm concerned with what she'll accept. And you can forget about feeding her Salim." [21:24] "Not sure what he is, but he's not Mnemon and he's not going to be packaged nicely for the governor with a bow." [21:26] "Of course. The man is a mystery unto himself." [21:27] 14Piu: "I can make contact with Ted, but I'm not going to walk him into an ambush. At least, not off this contact." [21:27] 07Dryas: 0"I saw what Ted unleashed in the market. He's a figure of incredibly destructive and dangerous power. And not in a good way. But we have only a little time more before we have to get moving. I propose we institutionalize our decision and establish for ourselves a criminal syndicate." [21:27] 14Piu: "...Difficult to argue with that." [21:29] 10Daizo: "You've been meaning to unveil that plan for a while, haven't you." [21:30] 07Dryas ignores the question. 0"We'll need a few reliable agents to start with, to serve as Bushi. They can recruit the shinobi we'll need. Once it grows large enough we can give ourselves more appropriate titles. We'll also need a source of funding separate from the Houses or from Nn Tloc to ensure independence." [21:30] 14Piu: "In fairness, 'finding out your hearth-sister is an assassin' is a good time to pull that particular trigger." [21:31] "And I have skills to contribute to such a venture. [21:31] " [21:32] 14Has anyone actually mentioned to Piu that the docks are closed yet? [21:32] 10Daizo: "Like I said. We're all basically in a syndicate at this point." [21:33] "You just want it to be our syndicate instead of Ratel's. And… I'm not sure I can fault you there." [21:34] "Anyways, Ted. Kou's closed the port until he's found. And the Commodore and the twins are waiting to confront him," 07Dryas points out. [21:34] 14Piu: "Such a useful figurehead, though, that Ratel." [21:35] 14Piu: "Again, I can meet with Ted. Possibly with all of us present. So we can discuss his exit from Abalone, possibly with some gesture towards Kou to satisfy her. But it won't be an ambush." [21:35] "If there's no friction there and we have to go to war, fine." [21:36] "I wouldn't want him to have the chance to give you up. He has you - and by extension, us - by the hearthstones." [21:37] 14Piu: "Should I set up a meeting, then?" [21:38] "Let's meet with the Commodore and see what she thinks. If she believes she is the one to invent a cunning plan to deal with him then so much the better for tying off that loose end." [21:38] 14Piu: "Fair." [21:41] 10Daizo: "Go for it. I'm not sure I'd be much use selling her our plan as hers, but if you want me for backup…" [21:41] 14Piu: "You guys are both moral support. The kind of moral support that makes it clear we can really hurt people." [21:42] "A solid point." [21:42] 07Dryas stands aside, to give Piu room to exit with them. [21:45] 14Well if we're doing this now, she'll need to change. And frankly she'd like a bit more sleep...but I guess the cover story demands action now. [21:45] 4Soon she'll emerge dressed for success! [21:47] 07Dryas slinks off to her room and emerges moments later, shrugging a loose tunic over her breastplate and then slinging her bow over her shoulder. 15[21:47] The four of them emerge on deck to find the rain has begun in earnest. Ships bob uneasily in the harbor, as the Water Fleet detachment is just visible in the gloom, out at the edge of the harbor, enforcing the self-inflicted blockade. 15[21:49] The wreck of the hostel offers little shelter from the elements, but Ratel doesn't seem to mind getting rained on. Certainly not as much as the twins, who were either forbidden or unwilling to seek shelter, do. [21:49] 4Piu: "Hi! Wow, holy shit. Are you guys okay?" [21:50] 10Daizo: "Talk about a late riser." [21:50] 4>:p 15[21:50] Ratel: "For now. The Governor's escalating her threats. She's sent word that she's impounding the Defiance. 15[21:50] " 15[21:51] To Piu: "You're briefed?" [21:53] 4She doesn't salute, which would be a bit too irreverent, but she does straighten. "Yes ma'am!" 15[21:55] Ratel: "Good. Where is he?" [21:56] 4Piu shrugs. "Either at the Hinokuni or his place. Or what he said was his place." [21:56] "Or maybe he's already running!" 15[21:57] Ratel: "We'll check his home first, and then question fighters if that comes up empty." [22:00] 4Piu will volunteer the address, knowing that the neighborhood will -- or should, at least -- cause some sort of pause. [22:00] %C07A moment latter, a farrier arrives with Diamond Weapon in tow. Dryas takes the reins but refrains from mounting just yet, out of respect for the Commodore's judgment. [22:00] 4But then, if Ratel's dander is really up... [22:01] 10Daizo surveys the scene. Hmm, a couple of poles, a charred awning…  Hm. Maybe he can rig something up real quick. [22:03] 4Piu: "He, uh. Well. We know each other, that seems pretty much...out there. I think I can at least convince him to talk -- keep him from moving -- if I go to his house, but showing up with you, Commodore, and the twins, and the whole militia..." [22:03] "And then we can send someone to get you, and you can creep in?" [22:03] 10Somehow, there is a literal rake in the ruins of the hostel, and Daizo manages to step on it. [22:04] 4Piu pauses and blinks, as they all stop to consider this. [22:04] "Forget it. Bad idea." [22:04] "I mean maybe the hearth isn't cut out for a sneaking mission!" [22:05] 6Zhangyu just nods. 15[22:06] Ratel: "You're asking me to bet your hearth's lives on your ability to hold a man's attention." [22:06] 4Piu: "That's...kinda what I do." [22:07] "Even a man should be perceptive enough to notice, you know, the many wonderful attributes of darling Piu," 07Dryas points out. [22:09] 4She grins suggestively. "I mean, I prefer to hold a woman's...but the job's the job!" 15[22:11] Ratel chews her lip, let's say thoughtfully. "As long as we understand each other." She turns back to the twins. "Come on, boys. We're going wrestling." 15[22:13] The Cathaks, who have had quite a rough day, are grateful to be moving again. The Commodore and the Fangs part ways. [22:14] 4When Ratel and the boys are gone, Piu slumps a bit. "Whew." [22:14] "Well, we got our meeting." [22:14] "Assuming he's there." [22:15] 10Daizo: "I think my best chance in a meeting with Ted is to shut up and not make any sudden movements." [22:16] "I'll focus on keeping watch. Sound good?" [22:16] 4Piu: "Let me go in first and clear it with him, then I'll bring you all in. Again: please no ambushing." [22:16] "Sounds good." [22:16] 6Zhangyu: "No ambushing. Got it." [22:16] "I have no intention of picking a fight." [22:16] 07Dryas is very calm and still. Focused. She slings herself onto Diamond Weapon. [22:18] 07In fact, the others may realize she's entered into almost exactly the same body language and posturing as she did whilst stalking the two-headed fang-cat the night before. [22:18] 14Sigh. 15[22:19] The rain's picking up; the wind off the sea is sharp with spray and the water grows dour. It's a wide road they follow, curling around the edge of the city - the edge of the island - like one pincer of a great crab. Dryas remembers hunting the dog she came to know as Makita, and how this part of town, with its low red rooftops and vibrant flowers, he took a big detour to avoid. [22:20] "This is a nice neighborhood," 07she observes. It's almost a threat - although she doesn't make clear to whom. 0"We're certain to be watched, here. What does that mean about Ted?" 15[22:22] That's the place Ted is staying up ahead, palm trees curled over the roof like arms raised in prayer, violet light peeking through the shuttered windows. [22:22] 10Daizo: "The same thing as it does everyone else in a neighborhood like this—security, and for no one to ask any questions." [22:27] 14Piu: "I'll head in first." [22:28] 14Best to be predictable here. She'll approach the exact same way as before, and knock on the same window-shutter. 15[22:35] No one comes to Piu's call, though there is the sound of movement and objects falling within. The violet light that bleeds through the shutters seems to strobe lightly, flickering like the light off a wavy pool of water. The rhythm of it is hypnotic. [22:36] 14Probably dangerous to go inside. [22:36] 14She'll repeat the knock one more time as a courtesy. [22:37] 14If it's not answered again, she'll return to the hearth. [22:37] 10Daizo closes his eyes and concentrates for a moment. His senses diffuse and expand—where Dryas has an aptitude with scents, he's practiced with sound.  15[22:37] From a distance, Dryas takes a wider view of the area. She is certain, first, that neither of the houses on either side of Ted's are presently occupied. And then doubly certain, with a shock, that she has seen a shimmering light of that deep a violet before. Once before. On another rainy night... 15[22:38] No one answers Piu's call. [22:38] 07Diamond Weapon paws at the ground. Dryas tugs back gently on the reins for an instant, before her face freezes in a snarl. "It's that blasted star-blessed killer!" [22:39] 14Piu returns in time to hear that. "Well, if we find Ted dead inside, that will solve some problems and create others. But no one's answering." [22:40] "Let's get him!" 07she growls, nocking an arrow. [22:41] 10Daizo: "Don't rush in—is he in there himself, or is it a trap of some kind?" [22:41] 14Piu: "No idea. Haven't looked. Wanted to recon in force." [22:42] 14Piu: "Yo, Zhangyu." [22:42] "Ambushing is back on the menu." [22:42] 6Zhangyu: "So noted." 6He resists cracking his knuckles, but he's already prepared for just about anything. [22:43] "Let me try something first—" 10He'll go up and place his hand on the wall of the house.  15[22:50] Daizo hears muttering - a man's voice, not Ted's - barely audible between the clattering of objects. He can only catch snatches of Old Realm. Then a grunt of surprise and consternation, the sound someone might make at a sudden pain. <Forty-nine.> 15[22:53] Then, sharper, in Imperial City High Realm: "Where is she?" 15[22:53] Daizo hears only thin rasping in reply. [22:55] 10Sounds like very bad news for Ted indeed. He'll creep back to the others and make a report. [22:56] 14Piu, upon that report: "We need to crash in there now." [22:57] Daizo looks to Zhangyu. "You want to do it or shall I?" [22:57] 10Daizo looks to Zhangyu. "You want to do it or shall I?" [22:58] 6Zhangyu's already moving. [22:58] 14Piu's heading back for that upstairs window. [22:59] 14Well, to the uh, upper part of it. [23:04] 6He'll wait just briefly for people to take up their positions and then whip open the shutters hard enough to break them. His arms immediately go up to cover his eyes as he leaps in through the window afterwards! [23:07] 07With a resounding crash, Cynis Dryas and Diamond Weapon are through the glass window. Fragments of the stuff shatter everywhere, slicing open her cheek and the horse's flank and forelegs - but it's a shallow cut. [23:07] 14Horsey... [23:07] 14Piu's through after, and flanks off to the side. [23:08] 10Clearly Daizo and Zhangyu weren't on the same wavelength. But that's fine—the door shatters just as splendidly when met with a kick that could split a boulder. [23:09] Anything in Ted's front hall is probably also reduced to so many broken shards. 15[23:10] The house is very open - it always was, Piu will recall, being dominated by a large foyer and common area that the bedroom, study, and partially detached kitchen branched off of. But it's even moreso now, as the building's inner walls have been knocked clean through. The circle pincers the house from opposite sides and still see one another across the distance, with Saturn's killer 15[23:10] and Ted between them. [23:10] 10That must've been a hell of a fight. 15[23:11] Saturn's killer is on his feet, shining from head to toe, the Maiden's mark on his brow and the irisless globes of his eyes pulsing even brighter with a starfield pattern. The light throws shadow on his facial features, making them surprisingly difficult to make out given the light. 15[23:13] Ted's burned and dessicated body hangs in midair, suspended in position by thousands of wires so thin the light doesn't catch them. You wouldn't be able to see them at all if not for the heavy rivulets of Ted's blood running along them, appearing quite black against Saturn's reflected light. [23:18] 14She'd tell Ted to hang tight, but, well. More ghoulish than she appreciates. Instead she straightens and wraps the Chain around a fist. [23:19] 10A puzzle piece snaps into place. What's the other thing the victims of Saturn's killer have in common? Right. The outside world would classify them both as Anathema on sight. [23:20] 10So why not linger? We've been bringing him a fresh buffet of Anathema. 15[23:31] "None of you need to die here," says the man whose voice only Daizo had heard before now. "All of you matter to someone else." [23:33] 14Piu: "I'm betting you run first. It'd be the smart thing. No shame in it for a killer. ...Prove me wrong." [23:34] 10Daizo: "Do you really mean that, or are you just being nice to us because we've been so useful? I wonder." [23:34] "Death may come from any quarter at any time," 07Dryas replies. 15[23:35] "So be it." [23:35] 6Zhangyu just cracks his knuckles and stays in his stance. [23:57] 07Dryas draws on everything she has and lets the first arrow fly as Diamond Weapon canters and skids across the glass-strewn floor of the mansion. 15[00:00] The wires, the wind now blowing from end to end of the shattered bungalow, the arc of the arrow itself... everything seems to inveigh against the shot, but Dryas's focus is absolute, and the stellar assassin has to snatch the arrow from midair to keep it from striking his heart, throwing off his kata. But a violet afterimage remains in that position, and a heartbeat later, a second 15[00:00] joins it, until when the main lunges at the Tepet scions, he seems to have six independently acting arms. [00:02] 14Hhhhhh. [00:03] 10What in the— [00:05] 6!! 15[00:11] The sheer speed and complexity of his movements mean that not only are the two of them driven almost to stumbling, but he himself is behind them. "One more chance! Surrender now or mark your names in gant!" [00:14] 10Daizo: "Like you're gonna let us— hff— walk away?" [00:15] 14Piu ignores him and darts in through the wire, using The Chain to cover one hand against it and flow off it with the other, flipping and turning until she reaches Ted. 15[00:15] "I had planned to walk with you to the end. Now, I see that is impossible. The question is this: do you want to live to meet me there?" [00:16] 14Then -- PING PING PING PING PING. The secret is that she strikes with the Chain-covered hand. The wires cut away. 15[00:17] Ted slumps into her, gasping and bleeding. If he's not dead, he's hanging on by a wire about as thin as the ones she just cut. [00:17] 14Over her shoulder: "Somehow you're worse at making friends than me." 15[00:18] "It's not what we're here to do." [00:18] 14She'll lower him down. Quietly, to him: "If you've got anything left in the tank, time to use it and get the hell out, babe." 15[00:20] Ted reaches out his right hand for hers. It's very badly burned, and he can't quite close it, but she can still see the mark beneath the blistered skin. [00:20] 14She'll take it. Came this far. Did this much risky shit. [00:21] 14And frankly? He's an honorable man. 15[00:22] Piu's anima ignites, rising to full intensity without any exertion, as if someone stuck a bellows into her soul. But it doesn't come clean. She can feel the fire on every inch of her skin, and it burns a sickly green-white. Is this what it feels like to burn? [00:23] 14Ahhhhhhhhhh. 15[00:24] The fingertips on her right hand begin to smoke. But she can't release her grip. [00:24] 14She's not trying to. She tilts her head and stares into his dying eyes. [00:24] 14Feels the burn. 15[00:25] Ted mouths words, but hasn't the strength to speak. The last thing she sees before the fire takes him, leaving only ashy residue and the burning symbol on the back of her hand, is a look of placid confidence. A look that To at her most magisterial and Caedus at his most supportive never managed to give her. It says, I trust you. 15[00:26] NEXT TIME: One For Two [00:26] 14Tapadh leat. [00:26] 14