15[20:25] It's the day before Piu moves on Mnemon Hedrin. The fine little house is still intact, Ted yet lives - but there is work to be done. It's a lovely day, Hamoji's cerulean glow accenting rather than overwhelming an uncharacteristically clear sky for the West's rainy season. The mood of the people is up, even - the ali-ki have emerged from their seclusion and morning to announce that the 15[20:25] Feathered One lives, and his strength returns by the day. 15[20:26] So Abalone is, for just a moment, the stable and prosperous colonial holding House Ragara needs it to be. And that means the day is ripe with potential. 15[20:26] Where do our Three Fangs sink in? [20:26] 4Well, mornings are for workouts, in front of the crew. 15[20:26] The crew appreciates it. [20:26] 4But if hearthsister Dryas neeeeds her for something... [20:27] 07Dryas is in the stables, brushing out Diamond Weapon as Pale Moke takes a few notes in a curious shorthand. [20:28] 07She's already sent word for the others - save Daizo. When it is time - perhaps Daizo will be the one to hold the string. If there's time enough. [20:30] 4Well then. Piu will clean up with a refreshing long swim, then change and go see what Dryas wants. [20:30] 6The morning workouts shouldn't be interrupted. Zhangyu will seek out Dryas after he's finished. [20:33] "Good morning," 07she chirps as the others arrive. She's been out riding already, going through Abalone, feeling out the place. "It's time for me to begin moving on a play that will leave the gameboard overturned when it is done. We need to establish an.... intelligence network... here in Abalone. And we need pawns." [20:33] 4Piu's still twisting out her hips. "Ooooh. Crimes." [20:34] "Well, yes. I called you here, because who would think to find a Prince of Earth or their intrigues here? So it is auspicious by dint of humility," 07she suggests. [20:34] 4Piu, wide-eyed: "Oh yeah sure." [20:35] "So what's the scam, ma'am?" [20:35] "We also have some sort of responsibility to do something about the people who were going to be thrown to Hamoji. There could be mob justice. Or they could commit more crimes, that we don't want," 07she points out from a practical standpoint. [20:36] "Also true!" [20:37] "They literally owe us their lives. So we should go collect, I think," 07she nods to herself. [20:37] 4Piu's brow furrows. "Wait, so we're gonna kill them?" [20:38] 6Zhangyu: "Make it clear that we could, perhaps." [20:41] "We can throw them back into the volcano if they prefer, that seems fair," 07Dryas ponders. [20:45] "Regardless, we recruit them and it's the beginning of something much bigger." [20:47] 6Zhangyu: "I can take two of them. I already met one of the sacrifices, and I don't think he's stupid enough to fight me twice." [20:48] 4Idly: "Oh, he definitely is." [20:49] 6Zhangyu: "...do we even want him, then?" [20:50] 4Piu: "Directing a landslide isn't the same thing as controlling it. And sometimes you need to direct a landslide." [20:50] "Or. You know. Whatever 'disaster rolling downhill' analogy ya want." [20:53] 6Zhangyu: "I literally could have killed him. It was an effort trying not to. Disaster is right-- though maybe a second round would do him good." [20:57] 4Piu: "Not saying otherwise!" [20:57] "Just...very stupid man." [20:58] "Stupid men have their uses. Do you know where he might be?" [20:58] 6Zhangyu: "Found him at a bar the first time. Seems the type to go back." [21:00] "If he is that stupid, he might also be the type to talk about how he'd get me back in a rematch. People might talk to me about it." [21:00] "Let's go dig him up, then," 07Dryas suggests. 15[21:04] Zhangyu and Piu easily lead Dryas back to the bar where Zhangyu found him. He isn't in that one, but the proprietor (who hasn't even opened yet, and seems to be cleaning up a barfight from the night/morning before) can point you just a bit down the way, to a "fortified teahouse", where a huge man is bald-head-face-down in a cold bowl of ramen surrounded by empty wine jugs. 15[21:04] Breathing, though. [21:05] 6... [21:06] 6Zhangyu will make a complicated series of motions that seem to add up to "are you sure? This guy? For real?" [21:07] 4To be clear, 'fortified teahouse' as in 'serves fortified tea,' not 'a defensively-reinforced teahouse'? 15[21:07] Yes. [21:07] 4Pity; waste of a gimmick. 15[21:07] Places that can afford fortifications tend to serve classier drinks than fortified tea. [21:08] 4Rich people pay to feel like they're slumming all the time. [21:08] 4This guy wouldn't be there, though. [21:08] 4Alright, time to wake him up. [21:08] 6Zhangyu slaps him on the back of his head. [21:08] 07Dryas nod to Zhangyu as she sits down next to the increasingly unfortunate Chases-Waterfalls. "Rough night?" [21:10] 6Zhangyu will stay out of his line of sight. Dryas and Piu can handle him, and he's free to menace should that be necessary. 15[21:11] The man sputters and coughs, spraying cold fishy broth everywhere as he whips his head up. "The fuck--" [21:12] 6How in Creation this man received a Hinokuni token is a mystery to Zhangyu. [21:12] 6Clearly they need higher standards. 15[21:13] He was pretty good! He's just no Zhangyu. Obviously you're catching him at a bit of a low point. [21:13] 4Piu slides in to gently but firmly take hold of his head as she slithers on to the bar next to him. It's either a grin or a smirk on her face, but whatever it is its sultry. "Hey big man. Sorry about that. We...I...need to talk to you and, hee hee, we needed to make sure you were still breathing. You put away so much...tea." 4She slips away. "Maybe you wanna clean up a bit." 15[21:15] The effect, Dryas may observe, is not unlike the effect of the mystical snake-charmers of the Far South. Chases-Waterfalls snaps to attention almost immediately, head drifting along an unseen access as Piu gets in close and then withdraws. He clears his throat roughly. "Gimme a minute." 15[21:15] He ducks into a back room. 15[21:16] Chases-Waterfalls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vedgTokXj04 - I know I can't stay here too long, 'cause I can't go a week without doing wrong... [21:16] 4Now Piu smirks at Dryas as she daintily pops off the bar, landing lightly. [21:16] "Take your time," 07Dryas purrs, shifting to find the comfortable spot in the cheap seat. 15[21:16] While he's gone, the bartender turns querulous. "He has to pay." [21:16] 6Zhangyu: "How much?" [21:17] 4Give him the bill, and then the bill again to go away. [21:17] 4It's a fortified teahouse, for V'neef's sake. 15[21:17] "Three quarters of a dinar." [21:17] 07Dryas gives this man an appraising look. [21:21] 07A moment later, a pair of heavy silver coins fly through the air in his direction. "We like our privacy." 15[21:21] The man's demeanor changes instantly. He bows three times and withdraws, going so far as to shut the place for business before going upstairs. 15[21:23] Chases-Waterfalls comes out clean...er and mostly alert. The fresh stains on his shirt make plain that he just dunked his whole head repeatedly in a basin of water. He notices for the first time that there are people in the room besides Piu. 15[21:23] "Oh shit. You killed Hamoji!" [21:23] 4Piu, brightly: "We were merely accessories!" [21:23] 6Zhangyu: "What she means is that no, we didn't." 15[21:27] Chases: "Sure, whatever. No offense meant. Guess I owe you one." [21:28] 4Piu: "You do!" [21:28] 6He just cracks his neck. [21:29] "You have had a rough night. More than a few, maybe. We're here to make you an offer," 07Dryas' voice is soft and level as she puts out tendrils. Roots. 15[21:30] Chases blows his lips out. "Shit, I don't have anything else going on. It's not stuff with kids, is it? I won't do stuff to kids." [21:32] 4Piu would ask who in town is doing stuff to kids, but that's pretty obvious. [21:32] 4Nn Tloc. [21:32] 07Or our dearly departed Sister [21:33] 4She's not doing anything to anyone anymore. [21:33] 6Zhangyu: "Never kids." [21:34] "No," 07she quips. "In fact, given enough time, perhaps we could do something for the orphans of this place."07 She pauses as she realizes how bad an idea that might be. "Or at least we can help the people who will really help them." 15[21:35] Chases: "That's all I need to hear. Do I have to sign something. I can write." [21:35] "Do you enjoy writing?" 07Dryas asks. 15[21:36] Chases: "I mean, like, signing my name. I'm not a poet. The Doctor's a poet. Maybe you could track him down. He owes you one too." [21:36] 4Piu: "Excellent!" 15[21:37] "And then the two babes- uh, ladies- I don't remember their names. But the Doctor would. He's real smart." [21:37] 4Piu: "Niiiiice." [21:37] "Oh. Your tab's been paid! And now you're a...what do they call it." [21:37] "A 'made man.'" 15[21:38] Chases: "Oh shit, you're with the Guild?" [21:38] "Not exactly. You will start at shinobi." [21:38] 4Piu's smile widens and darkens. "Absolutely not." 15[21:38] "You here to take down the brick guy?" [21:39] 6Zhangyu just sort of growls. [21:41] "In a word: yes." 07Dryas replies, with a bit of an exhale. This is a commitment. 15[21:42] Chases: "What do you need?" [21:43] 4Piu: "You're an enforcer now, babe. Get clean, stay out of jail, keep in fighting shape and wait for the word. You'll get a stipend, which we'll arrange shortly!" 15[21:44] Chases: "Sure thing. Uh, what should I... do you have codenames?" [21:44] 6Zhangyu: "Also, do you know anyone interested in formal training?" 15[21:44] "Training in..." [21:45] "From a student of Grandmaster Mushi," 07Dryas points out. [21:45] "Mantis style. Do you remember when I kicked your ass? That." 15[21:46] Chases: "Oh, well shit. I mean there's always people who want to be like the guys who win the fights. Brick guy has people after Bruiser every damn week for sponsorships and money to start a dojo." 15[21:46] "Bruiser's basically allergic to money though. Weird dude." [21:47] 4Piu: "Hits like a truck!" 15[21:47] "Shit yeah he does." [21:48] 6Zhangyu: "He doesn't want --? Huh. Was not expecting that." [21:49] "Of course, you can consider yourself sworn to loyalty, secrecy, blah blah blah, all the usual," 07Dryas recites, half from memories of what they taught in school and half bullshitting. 15[21:51] Chases: "Yeah, sure, of course. You don't need to tell me what you'll do to me if I cross you - I got a real good imagination. So do I just call you 'Boss'?" [21:53] "I hadn't considered." 07She purses her lips and turns to the other Fangs. "Is kumichō too presumptuous?" [21:54] 4Piu: "Call me whatever you please, babe, as long as it's with respect." [21:55] "Yes, let us keep things 'informal' for now. Very wise." 07 she concludes. [21:55] "How are you on cash?" 4She's higher on this guy than she was when they dropped by, but he's got sleep in an actual bed to get to, and they have other appointments. [21:56] 6No, he's already slept. Even if it was in a bowl of soup. 15[21:56] "Sure thing, boss. I mean, I was probably gonna have to knock the bartender out to get out of paying for breakfast, so anything you can front me--" [21:56] 6Now there are duties. [21:56] 4There are not yet in fact duties, unless Zhangyu has thought some up off the top of his head. We still have the other sacrifices to interview! [21:57] 6Does 'getting the hell out of here and also gathering trainees' count? [21:57] 4He's gotta have some place to stay while he's doing that. Or else he'll be, e.g., attacking bartenders. [21:58] 6You're making good points and I don't like it. [22:00] 4She reaches into her top and withdraws two more dinars. "This represents your next week, babe. This is also a test. If you spend it fucking and fighting and drinking until pass out, and you're broke in three days' time, we made a mistake." [22:00] "And we'll act accordingly." [22:01] 6Zhangyu cracks his neck again. [22:01] 07Dryas smiles warmly. "We look forward to seeing you again very soon." 15[22:02] Chases clenches the coins in his hammy fist and nods firmly. "I won't let you down." [22:03] 4Piu: "Then we're off! And you'll wait ten minutes before you leave." 15[22:06] "The Doctor stays in that Guild hotel across from the temple garden. Far as I know he's still there." [22:07] 07Dryas just winks on the way out. [22:08] 6Zhangyu turns toward Chases-Waterfalls on his way out, nods seriously, and leaves. 15[22:11] The day is warming up, and a breeze blows the fish-soup-and-bad-liquor smell of the teahouse away quickly. [22:11] 4Ahhhh. [22:11] 4Piu: "You know, I think that went well." [22:12] "...We're going to have to discuss how this organization brings in revenue, eventually." [22:12] "I have a few ideas about that, actually," 07Dryas replies. [22:12] 6Zhangyu: "...beating people up until money falls out?" [22:12] 4Her face is more seriously. "'No kids' is easy. What if the next one says 'no slaves?'" [22:12] *4serious [22:15] "Then we need a plan to get out from under Nn Tloc." 07Dryas says, somberly. [22:17] 4Brightly: "We could always kill him." [22:17] 6Zhangyu: "That would solve plenty of issues." [22:19] "That would escalate things, I think. He's the front for Skullstone. The state of this place, they'd roll over it." 07Dryas shakes her head, grimly. [22:20] "He has a whole system of enslaving - you know whats - and bringing them back to Skullstone for something horrible. Just killing him doesn't..." [22:20] 4Piu: "Well that's the issue, isn't it. Because it seems to me that his solution to everything is to either enslave or kill it." [22:21] "He thinks he bought us off," 07Dryas retors. [22:21] 07*retorssts [22:21] 07*you get it [22:21] 6Try again. [22:21] 07*retorts [22:23] 4Piu: "That was when he didn't think we were founding a crime syndicate." [22:23] "If I recall right, you just sold him on the import-export business!" 15[22:23] The temple garden is quite crowded as the Fangs approach - it seems like the ali-ki are out in force leading some kind of ceremony that Zhangyu judges to be praying for the return of Hamoji. 15[22:24] They draw silent as Dryas comes into view, staring. [22:24] 6Well, that's probably not happening. He'll step protectively in front of Dryas. [22:25] 4Do we really want to rub it in? [22:25] 07Dryas spends a moment calculating, before electing to completely ignore them and glide past in silence. [22:26] 6Zhangyu will still place himself in between Dryas and anyone who looks like they might start a fight. 15[22:26] The ritual continues when her back is turned. The girl at the counter looks bored, but sits up alert when she sees how finely dressed the people walking up to the desk are. [22:26] 6Don't you dare. 15[22:27] "Ma'am? Ma'am? Sir?" [22:28] "We're here to see the Doctor, darling." 07Dryas replies. [22:28] 6Zhangyu raises an eyebrow. [22:28] 4Piu thumbs another dinar. 15[22:29] "Oh! Oh, wow. Okay. When you get upstairs, just follow the music. 15[22:29] " 15[22:29] "Thank you so much!" [22:29] 14Best thing about this is dynasts going around giving the proles short-term life changing amounts of money cluelessly is all part of the game. [22:30] 4Piu smiles and puts the dinar down on the desk before twirling towards the stairs. [22:30] 6Can you please try not to sound like a menace for at least one session? [22:30] 14No. [22:30] 6Fair enough. [22:30] 4>:p 15[22:31] The music is indeed audible as soon as they get upstairs, which is surprisingly airy for how dense with rooms it seems to be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnA7zqR2aIU 15[22:32] The rooms are marked not by numbers or individual characters, as is the custom in the Realm, but by individual pictograms. The music is passing through the door marked with a strange bird. 15[22:34] Of course Dryas, the eminent hunter, recognizes it - this is one of the thunderous keese of the Northern Threshold, huge, brutal, honking birds that fight fiercely and make for excellent eating. Zhangyu's campaigned in the North, and has unpleasant firsthand experience with them. [22:36] 6The bastards. [22:36] 4Adorable! [22:36] 6Wh- no!! [22:36] "Long have I desired to hunt this fierce and cruel creature, the keese," 07she points out. [22:37] "So cuuute~" [22:37] 6Zhangyu: "Absolutely not." 15[22:38] The music stops. [22:38] 4Loudly, to whoever's inside: "We'd like to enter!" [22:38] 07Dryas clears her throat. 15[22:38] A moment later, the sound of a lock coming undone. And then another. And a third. [22:38] 6Sensible. 15[22:41] Then the door swings open to reveal a middle-aged man with a wispy, upsetting moustache and a near Eastern complexion. He's well, if oddly-dressed and he stands a touch shorter than any of the Three Fangs opposite. "Ah! Say no more. Come in, I'll put the tea on." [22:41] 4Piu will flounce inside. [22:42] 6He grew that on purpose. [22:42] 6It takes an effort not to stomp inside. [22:43] 07What compels some men to grow such unfortunate mustaches? Vain creatures. 15[22:44] Soon a lovely, if down-at-heel foreign-looking tea service is laid out and the man settles back down at his zither. "Prizefighters, god-botherers, beauties head to toe..." He begins to play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRGmEAiUsEk 15[22:44] "Tell me: have you come to offer me a job or finish one?" [22:48] 4Piu is variably ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the tea service, and probably fucking it up. But in an adorable way. Probably? [22:49] "Your playing is exquisite, sir. I would not dream of silencing such a performance. Much less permanently," 07Dryas replies. 15[22:49] "Oh! Dear lady, you flatter me. By all means, continue." 15[22:50] Doctor Rorf van Hrolfus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JiGx7IfXVo - Take him up to the top, where the mountains stop; let him tell his book of lies. [22:51] 6Zhangyu: "You -- we aren't here to fight." 6He's still angry. [22:51] "I am Cynis Dryas. This is Tepet Zhangyu, and that is V'Neef Piu," 07she introduces the others. [22:52] "Hi!" [22:52] "Hello." 15[22:53] Here he stops playing to stand and bow. "And I am Rorf, of the House van Hrolfus, of the distant land of Deguo. A master of many arts and sciences; a student of all others. To what do I owe this extraordinary pleasure?" [22:54] 6This is someone else's problem. [22:54] "I am curious: Why were you to be thrown into the volcano?" [22:54] 6I mean look at him. 15[22:54] Lightly: "Treason!" [22:55] 6Yeah, see? Exactly. [22:55] 4Piu: "Excellent!" 15[22:55] "Purely political, of course. How can I betray that to which I am not loyal?" [22:55] 6Oh no [22:56] 4You can only commit treason against a government, not a private enterprise! We're in the clear! [22:57] 6No, wait, that means maybe he'll betray us [22:58] 4Then we'll just kill him. 15[22:59] "Still. I can't guess how long my clemency will last - perhaps only as long as the present chaos does. I feel like a drunk at the proverbial last call. I can neither go home nor stay here. But I do so like it here." [22:59] 6Oh yeah we can totally do that. [23:00] 4Piu: "What if you could, though." [23:01] 07Dryas leans forward at Piu's question. 15[23:01] Rorf's moustache twitches. "Then I would count myself very fortunate indeed. I might wonder if I had earned Plentimon's favor." [23:02] 6...he chose to use that name on purpose? [23:03] 6Zhangyu: "The actor?" [23:04] 4Piu: "The clown?" [23:05] "Ah, the famous courtesan," 07Dryas oozes confidence. 15[23:07] Rorf chuckles. "Plentimon of the Dice, the mighty god who presides over randomness itself! Patron and mortal foe of every gambler, whose Chosen roams the seas on a golden saucer, offering the greatest games for the highest stakes to the chosen few." 15[23:07] "What do they teach you in the Imperial Core. I hope you'll share the knowledge, as our educations must not have overlapped at all." [23:07] 6Cautiously: "...not the actor?" 15[23:08] Gently: "Not the actor." [23:08] 6Zhangyu: "Oh." [23:08] "...you're sure?" [23:09] 4Piu: "He sounds sure!" 15[23:09] Doctor Rorf: "I may be wrong; any of us may be at any time. But you'll agree it's very difficult to operate on that assumption." [23:09] 07Dryas stomps her foot at Zhangyu. "Certainly. Well, we are recruiting individuals for a long-term, high-stakes operation of our own. You would be sworn to loyalty and secrecy, on pain of death I am afraid to say." [23:09] 6Zhangyu: "So did Dryas!" [23:09] "Anyway in the Imperial Core we generally play with House money. Bad form to propritiate gambling gods on top of that!" [23:10] "...Propitiate?" [23:10] "Yeah that." 15[23:10] Rorf: "What manner of operation? And why me?" [23:10] "This girl said propritiate," 07Dryas mumbles, an old school-girl habit. [23:12] "Imagine crime, but, and this is key, organized. An eventual goal of displacing and removing a certain, currently-existing criminal enterprise. With compensation for our time, of course," 07she explains. 15[23:13] Rorf begins to pluck away at the zither again after Dryas speaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ6ky_ZG-Pc 15[23:15] "And you're reaching outside your existing connections as well as outside your future enemy's. Does he yet know he has an enemy in you, I wonder? Am I imperiled just by having met you? Have the seamstresses of fate snared me in their threads already...?" [23:15] 4Piu: "Sounds romantic!" [23:15] 6Zhangyu: "Does it? I would suggest 'bad.'" 15[23:16] "It does, doesn't it? Sounds like a novel. The Roseblack of Crime." [23:17] 07Dryas puffs up a bit at this comparison. "Now it's your turn to flatter," 07she observes. 15[23:20] "How could I be of service? And what would my payment be upon rendering such services?" The song ends and he picks up a new one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjPbmg-VWvA [23:21] 4Piu: "Everything's negotiable~" [23:21] "By your own words, you've got many talents, besides the zither, I expect. And talking your way off of a crucifix. As for payment?" 07She looks at what kind of person he really is. [23:22] 4In a more serious voice: "Except no kids." [23:23] 6Zhangyu: "Non-negotiable." [23:27] 07Dryas changes tack. "Tell me about Deguo. I have not heard of that country." 15[23:29] Rorf frowns. "The world is so small and so vast all at once. Has word reached this far West of the Second Crusade?" [23:30] "You mean that... affair, out in the Scavenger Lands?" 07Dryas asks. [23:30] 4Piu: "Nope!" [23:32] 6Another grunt. 15[23:33] "Yes. A Direction-spanning war of all against all against one. Passion, madness, glory, sacrifice... my nation, one among the Hundred Kingdoms, lay directly in the path of an all-destroying raksha horde. But when the final victory was won - as Lookshy, Nexus, and Thorns linked arms with the survivors of the River Province to repel the invaders... my homeland was slow to heal." 15[23:33] "Too slow. And like any wounded thing, it was easy prey for a beast." 15[23:34] Again the song ends and a new one begins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ys0oGXkLwo [23:36] 07Dryas nods. The Lunar Anathema. Terrible. [23:38] 4Piu, innocently: "Just the one?" [23:39] "Your land - your birthright - must be liberated...? From a Lunar Anathema...?" 07she posits a guess. 15[23:39] "My family fell to the mad king of the Golden Dome, and now our lands are his lands. I cannot bear to return without aid. But I have seen up close the beauty and terror of the Golden Anathema. If their heart is true, you have no greater friend. If it is black with greed or wrath, not even death will save you." 15[23:39] His hands fall off the zither, and his face tightens with anger. [23:41] "Golden Anathema.... but a beast nonetheless, you say?" 07Dryas is intrigued. 15[23:43] "Beast is an epithet he earned as a boy, well in advance of whatever caprice bound the Sun to his soul. My cousin was Chosen just the same, and even now leads the resistance back home. I ranged outward to beg for aid. But I ranged farther, and farther, and no doors opened to me." 15[23:44] "But no, he is fully man, and fully demon. No true beast of sea or field he - not even a dolphin could devise such cruelty." [23:44] "The Realm's assistance in the Scavenger Lands was not welcome in the past. I have heard the situation has deteriorated since," 07Dryas points out. 15[23:45] "In the Province itself, I believe the appetite for aid is far stronger. But Lookshy is the bulwark of the entire Threshold, and Lookshy is, if anything, enriched and steeled in its resolve. They have judged that even the Anathema more tolerable than those who follow Philosophy over Faith." [23:47] "A Wyld Hunt, without sanction?" 07Dryas is on unsure footing. 15[23:48] "From what I hear, a prospective Wyld Hunter wants not for sanction but for boots." [23:49] 6...weirdos. [23:51] "If you help us, I at least will ride on Deguo to bring death to the Beast, as soon as I can. He sounds horrible," 07Dryas replies. As likely as not she'll have to get out of the West in a hurry, anyway. 15[23:52] Doctor Rorf: "Then I am at your service, my Lady." [23:52] 4Piu: "House V'neef is new and looking for glory. Worse places to send questors than a Hunt against a true blackheart!" [23:54] "What do you require to be effective?" 07Dryas asks. 15[23:56] "Lodgings of my own, I think, as Nn Tloc owns this place, and may as well have ears in the walls for all that is secret from him here. And an entertainment budget. I can't draw secrets from the lips of the underworld with house wine." [23:58] 4Piu grins. "We can get that together." [23:58] 07Dryas nods. "It can be done." 15[23:59] "I gather you're making this offer to everyone whose life you saved on that fateful day? Have you spoken already to the brute or the sisters?" [23:59] 4Piu: "Just the brute!" [23:59] "He was cheaper, but so's his overhead." [00:00] 4Guys like this like to know they're making the most. 15[00:00] "Still, our mandate is the same. We will prove ourselves valuable or we won't." [00:00] 4Piu: "That's right!" 15[00:01] "Well! This has been a most productive tea. I will leave you to your business, and await further instructions. A true pleasure." [00:01] "Stay in touch. And where are the sisters?" 15[00:03] "They worked at the Immaculate temple, as I recall. One a groundskeeper, and one a caretaker of the children." [00:03] 4Piu: "Interesting!" 4Probably time to put on a shawl or something, too. 15[00:04] "I shall burn an offering to Plentimon for your venture." [00:04] "They were going to throw Immaculates into the volcano?" 07Dryas is horrified. 15[00:05] "It's not like they took vows. Lay sisters. Disciplinary problems, I gather." [00:06] 07Dryas humms to herself and gives a brief bow on her way out. [00:06] 4Piu's smile broadens, like before. And darkens, like before. "We'll gather more." 15[00:08] The day's grown quite hot, and the sun's slant is heavy, throwing tall shadows. Zhangyu has other business. Piu and Dryas have only a short walk to the temple. Any detours? [00:09] 07Still feeling refreshed after the tea, so - no? [00:09] 4Piu wants to go back to the ship. She'll change into something more modest...and a new necklace. [00:09] 4Pretty jagged. [00:09] 4Pretty; jagged. [00:10] 07In that case Dryas will fetch a parasol from somewhere. Can you believe people fight with these things? Not with this one, it's too nice. 15[00:15] The temple is open. Since last Piu was here, a lovely memorial stone is placed along the walk, and layered with wreaths, candles, and prayer strips. [00:15] 07Dryas will make a moment's deference to the marker. That Salim, striking down a holy woman, terribly bad luck. [00:15] 14The only unhappy look that passes from her face is the cold in her eyes when she sees that piece of shit. 15[00:16] No iconography, of course - just Mnemon Dusk's name in the finest styled calligraphy. 15[00:18] How well does Dryas remember the faces of the women she's looking for? What's her angle of approach here? [00:20] I think we want to keep it low-key, don't know who's watching this [00:20] 07oh sorry [00:20] 07Makes sense to keep it low key in the search for staff. If one's a cleaner it shouldn't be hard, cleaners leave a trail of cleanliness behind them. Like the opposite of a slug. [00:21] 4Piu's posture has changed a bit, oddly. She seems waiting for someone to step to her. [00:21] 4Still smiling, of course. [00:22] 4Less relaxed. 15[00:25] Dryas doesn't need to range far before she catches sight of an argument. A thoroughly-quailed novice is exchanging words with a much taller woman with large, bare arms, holding a gleaming bronze axe. Getting closer, it seems to be about whether or not the well's been cleaned yet today, claims to the positive and evidence to the contrary. 15[00:27] By the time the two fo them are close enough to get the arguers' attention, the novice has scurried off. [00:28] 4Guessing the axe lady is our not-quite-penitent. [00:29] 07Dryas approaches, plants her feet and sizes up the woman. "That's a real nice axe,"07 she observes. 15[00:31] "Bit early in the day for a pickup line, isn't it?" The woman turns her head to spit. 15[00:31] Querulous Snipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_tHgTgMn7w - Who's going to stop me? You? Him? [00:36] 4Piu: "Absolutely not." [00:36] "We get up early," 07Dryas adds. 15[00:37] The groundskeeper: "New Abbot's still two weeks away, last I heard. Are you looking for authority or trouble?" [00:37] 4Piu: "Yes." [00:38] "Cynis Dryas. V'Neef Piu. We're putting a crew together," 07she explains. 15[00:38] "Cute," she replies, in a way that suggests the trait is value-neutral. "Is it true what they say? That you killed Hamoji to plunge the island into the sea?" [00:38] 4Piu: "Not the boat kind." [00:39] 4To the question: "No. But it's convenient." 15[00:40] "What kind of crew? How'd you get my name?" [00:40] "We have already spoken to the Doctor," 07she explains. 15[00:41] "And you're here before dark? You've got skills, then." 15[00:41] "Man wouldn't stop running his mouth six fulms from fire." [00:41] 4Piu: "We didn't really get your name so much as we went looking for groundskeeper and caregiver who the Immaculates would hate the most and you had an axe talking about wells." [00:41] *for a 15[00:43] "Yeah, well I never got my name either. But I grew up getting called Querulous Snipe, and Snipe's what I go by now. Did you know the old Abbess?" [00:44] 4Piu: "We met. Once." [00:44] 07Dryas thinks this is odd, for a moment, but forgets why almost immediately. [00:47] 4Piu: "I'll go speak to your sister. They wanted to kill you as a pair, yeah?" 15[00:48] Snipe: "They'd have settled for just me if they could have. But she made that hard for them." 15[00:48] "You be gentle, hear? Or I'll know." [00:48] "Is this a safe place to talk?" 07Dryas asks. [00:49] 4Piu curtsies, and doesn't say: 'No, you'll find out.' [00:50] 4After giving Dryas a nod, Piu roams the grounds with only a slight gesture to the idea she doesn't know them. 15[00:51] Snipe: "You'd know better than I would. What puts you at ease? We'll settle for that." 15[00:52] Piu marks the same spyglass-user Dryas does, and the children around her. She can see the familiar resemblance almost immediately - violet isn't a terribly common hair color, especially on islanders. [00:52] 4She doesn't particularly care who sees her. They were already at one of Nn Tloc's little houses; he knows what they're up to. 15[00:53] As she gets closer, it becomes perhaps relievingly apparent that the children are all sleeping soundly on straw mats. [00:53] 4She's glad she changed. She doesn't care about offending monks, but interrupting creche-school in the va va voom...well. [00:54] 4One assumes Piu was sort of able to mark the moment she stopped using the spyglass to look at the approaching babe. [00:55] 4Unless she still is? 15[00:56] She keeps looking at Piu through it until Piu's almost close enough to start having to step between the children. Then she hangs it from her belt and carefully tiptoes past the children herself. "Ma'am?" she whispers. [00:57] 07Dryas snorts. "Well there's an old gardener... and your novice is watching us-" 07she gives a friendly wave back at her- "but I wanted to talk about a new 'gig' for you. Full time or side 'hustle', your choice." 07She uses words like "hustle" with a bit of thrilling unfamiliarity. [00:58] 4Piu: "They tried to kill you a couple days back?" 4She obliges with sotto voce. 15[01:00] Snipe: "Fuck 'em, then. I'm not scared. What's the job?" 15[01:00] The children's caretaker: "...yes. You don't look like you're with them." [01:01] 4Piu: "I'm not. Let's step away and let them sleep. And keep them in sight." [01:01] "You'd be sworn to secrecy, and loyalty. But we are putting together an organization to make a move on one of the other... big... institutions on this island. And a few other islands, I think. We need people we can trust. You seem to fit with that." 15[01:02] There are a few palm trees at this end of the grounds with ample shade and no dozing monks beneath them. The children are well within easy reach. Snipe's sister: "Is this about the killing? I don't know anything about it, sorry." [01:03] 4Piu: "That's fine; I do." 4With only a scant pause to let her process that: "You're their caretaker? How long have you been doing it?" 15[01:04] "About three years now," Snipe's sister replies. "Long as we've been back. I used to have help but she ran off. Not long before the Abbess died. You can't count on anyone these days..." [01:05] 4Piu: "Seiri didn't run off. And she's fine." [01:05] 4Piu turns to look at her in full: "What's your name?" [01:06] 07Dryas pauses for a moment as she sees Piu speaking to the caretaker. 15[01:06] The woman: "Blackbird. What's yours?" [01:06] 4Piu: "V'neef Piu." 15[01:07] Snipe: "Cracking Guild skulls, do you mean? Maybe big, stupid, dead-eyed baby-headed Guild skulls?" [01:07] 4Piu: "Why did they want to throw you in the volcano?" 15[01:08] Blackbird: "V'Neef is another of the Realm houses. Like Mnemon." She seems hesitant. [01:09] 07Dryas: "Yes. But the slightest mistake and it will likely have been better we did nothing at all. We need to build something that can contest the Guild organizationally. But I think you have a part in that." [01:09] 4Piu: "House Mnemon is very far away." 15[01:09] Blackbird: "The smell of blood carries very far." [01:10] 4Her smile widens. [01:10] 4Again: "Why did they want to throw you in the volcano?" 15[01:11] Blackbird purses her lips and says nothing. 15[01:12] Snipe: "What's the pay? I make shit. Can you beat that?" [01:12] 4Piu looks at the sleeping babes, and the smile fades. "I'll rephrase." [01:12] "How many children disappear each season?" 15[01:13] Blackbird blinks rapidly, looking away. [01:13] 07Dryas: "If it works, we'll be rich. In the meantime we can give you walking-around money. How much do you need?" 15[01:13] "When it was my sister and me, no more than three. It's been more since we found our way back." [01:15] "Why did they want you dead? It blows my mind that Immaculates - even just lay sisters - would end up being thrown to a heathen god." 07Dryas asks. [01:15] 4Piu: "And how did you stop them?" 15[01:18] Snipe: "Who knows what goes through their heads? Anyway, your problem isn't my price, it's hers. I'm not leaving without my sister. That's the girl your girl is working. But if you can see your way to... fifteen dinars a month...? you'll have no problems from me." 15[01:19] Blackbird can't meet Piu's eyes. Her arms are folded up. "Monkshood and hemlock." [01:21] 4Piu: "But that doesn't work too well on those with the dragon's blood, does it." 15[01:21] She continues: "The Guild doesn't take Blooded. It barely takes humans." 15[01:24] "Dusk wouldn't wipe her feet with a Guildsman 83 days a season. But that other one--" [01:24] 07Dryas pauses. "Alright. Well you'll get it. You'll be hearing from one of my men soon. And, hey, did you know the Doctor, or Chases-Waterfalls, before they were about to throw you into Hamoji?" 15[01:25] Snipe: "Blackbird did. Blackbird makes friends. I just make trouble." [01:26] 4Piu looks out to the kids again, significantly. "And you just had to take it." [01:26] "You'll be making trouble for a good cause, then," 07Dryas states with some quiet confidence. [01:26] "For the reward of eventually almost getting thrown into a volcano." 15[01:27] Blackbird: "You ever seen what happens to a Guild ship when pirates close in?" 15[01:27] "They burn it." 15[01:27] "Cargo they can't sell is already ash to them." [01:28] 4Piu: "I've seen a lot of things happen to Guild ships." [01:28] "And I've seen a lot of things happen to pirates." 15[01:28] Snipe: "Like I said. I'm the easy one." 15[01:29] "I hope your friend is slick." [01:29] "You got this far...built this unstable little home...by being nice. Because you had no other recourse." [01:29] "Few slicker," 07she replies. [01:30] "Because otherwise they'd burn you at sea." 15[01:31] Blackbird: "They don't have anyone else. The Guild is closing in. Stopping by every day." [01:31] 4Piu: "So I've got two questions and a truth, if you'll have them." 15[01:31] Blackbird sniffs, but doesn't stop Piu. [01:32] 14And when she finally looks away from the children, her face is hard, and her hair and skin sizzle as she limns herself with fire. "Are you tired of being nice?" [01:33] 14She steps forward: "Don't you want to go apeshit?" [01:33] 14She leans close. "I killed Mnemon Dusk." 15[01:34] Blackbird's face is up immediately; red-rimmed eyes meet Piu's. "Did it hurt?" [01:35] 14She reaches up and snatches the Chain off her neck, and puts her will into it. "When I don't want it to hurt, it's thin. When I do..." 14The Chain sprouts moonsilver spikes. [01:35] 14Piu: "Dusk drowned." [01:35] "In blood." 15[01:36] Blackbird: "How can I help?" [01:37] 14Piu: "Get with your sister, put together a plan to secure the children. Identify and dossier whatever informants the Guild has on campus. Our organization does not deal in children, and our first bit of leverage will be ensuring this orphanage remains an orphanage." [01:37] "It's important that people know they can be hurt." [01:38] "The Guild only teaches this lesson." [01:38] "Time they learned it." 15[01:39] Blackbird: "Who's that with her? She looks Haltan." [01:40] 14Piu: "Cynis Dryas. A hearth-sister. Nn Tloc has manuevered her into moving his slaves. He won't like how that ends." 15[01:40] Blackbird wipes her eyes. "I have to wake the children soon. But first let's go see her." [01:41] 4Piu: "Yeah." 15[01:41] A moment later, Piu and Blackbird return to meet Dryas and Snipe. [01:41] 4Gradually, she slips back into this part of herself. 15[01:41] "Is what Piu says true?" is the first thing Blackbird asks of Dryas. "Are you here to make war on the Guild?" [01:42] 4Piu smirks. 15[01:43] Blackbird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaub8gyz6qc - We're just the weathermen; you make the wind blow. [01:46] "I came here to make money. But now... yes. A secret war. The brick house must never see the knife until it's too late," 07she replies. 15[01:47] Blackbird: "Then we'll help however we can." 15[01:47] Snipe lets out a triumphant whoop and hurls the axe away, where it buries itself handle-deep in one of the palm trees dotting the periphery of the compound. [01:49] "Secret. Yes. Great. Did they explain what they need, darling?" 07she asks of Piu. [01:49] 4Piu: "We're gonna stop the Guild from taking kids." [01:49] "Feel like that synergizes with our other outings." 15[01:50] Snipe puts an arm around her sister and squeezes tight. 15[01:52] NEXT TIME: Ways and Means