15[20:09] Four Fangs and one Garnet are tracking sludge and dust from the pit of the Maw towards the Defiance, coming into contact with its crew, formed up into a search party by its Chief Petty Officer and one of the Cathak Ito twins. The rumbling underground like the gurgling stomach of some vast beast hasn't gone quiet, but its spasms are fewer and farther now. A cheer goes up over about 15[20:09] half the crew when the hearth comes out of the dust. 15[20:09] Samperson, in particular, looks very relieved. 15[20:09] What's the play? [20:10] 4Well, we just act like we found her here. Which is true! [20:11] 4Piu, visibly bruised and scuffed from the encounter in the vault: "You know this place has spiders? Kinda sucks!" [20:12] 6Zhangyu: "They were awful." 6He's offering Dryas a shoulder to lean on, should she need it - he'd offer to literally carry her but she's not that wounded. 15[20:12] Samperson takes in the kinship as a whole before-- "Who's that?" [20:12] 10Daizo's armored form is covered in dust and ichor and ichorous dust (extra groady). "Emphasis on the past tense there." [20:13] 07Under other circumstances she might take him up on it. A shoulder is good. [20:13] 4Piu: "This is Garnet! We freed her, and then dealt with the spiders imprisoning people inside. Sadly she's the only one left." [20:14] 4No technical, actual lies in there. [20:14] 4Just some implications. 15[20:17] 'Garnet' crosses her arm over her chest. "I am so very grateful!" [20:17] 10Daizo: "Lady Garnet's grasp of High Realm is somewhat tenuous, but she was able to render us invaluably assistance in traversing the ruins." [20:17] *invaluable [20:18] 07Dryas nods. "We recovered some items we think could be valuable, and found evidence that Admiral Furia was here recently." [20:18] "...Well, not too recently. A few months." 15[20:19] Samperson gives Garnet a careful appraisal. [20:20] 4Piu keeps her eyes on him. If he does look to her for a signal, she'll give him whatever he'll understand as 'later.' 15[20:20] Then he turns to the crew behind him. "Stand down! To your posts! We're shipping out!" [20:20] 4Whew. [20:21] 10Whew indeed. 15[20:22] The crew, partly relieved, partly disappointed, begins to head back up the gangplank. It takes a while - the Defiance is not equipped to deploy a fast landing party - and while they file up Samperson takes the Fangs and Garnet aside. The Cathak twin doesn't follow, and doesn't go back, looking up at the mountain whose fits are still shaking loose ancient dust every several minutes. [20:23] 4To Samperson: "What happened to the other twin?" 15[20:24] Samperson: "We had an incident topside. Caxi and the Cathaks took a team to survey, and then were about to go inside to look for you all when the earthquakes started. It got bad." There does indeed seem to be more and chunkier stone debris littering the ground than there was when they went in. "Caxi almost got hit. Ito Pan was able to get her out of the way, but..." 15[20:25] "He's in surgery now." [20:25] 4Piu grimaces. [20:25] "I'd ask how bad but. I can guess." [20:27] 10Daizo's expression clouds over. "…when we return, I'll get cleaned up and render whatever help I can." [20:28] 4Piu nods. "I'll head in when we're done here." [20:30] 10We'll amend that to "Give me a minute to get this filthy stuff off of me and…" 15[20:30] Samperson: "I'll bring Garnet to the brig." [20:30] 14Piu: "Find her a cabin." [20:31] "Or at the very least, spruce up that brig." 15[20:31] Samperson: "...got it. Ma'am? If you'd come with me, please." 15[20:31] Garnet will glance between the two of them, hesitating. [20:32] 4To Garnet: "I'll be right behind ya, just need to take care of some stuff here." [20:34] 07Once Dryas is on the topdeck, she heaves the two enormous claws, and a few ichor-soaked, silk-wrapped eyeballs - all that remains of Graffias - to the ground, then loosens the tie on the glass box, which also clatters to the deck. "What a day." 15[20:35] Garnet gives Piu a lingering look before she nods and follows Samperson without another word. [20:35] 10Daizo gets changed, washes his face and hands, and heads to whatever space serves as the ship's surgery. The problem of the Empress who isn't quite the Empress can wait for a few minutes.  [20:36] 4Piu will actually be directly behind them after doing whatever check-ins are necessary; she wants to see Garnet squared away and get Caedus alone to explain things. 15[20:36] Daizo finds that what passes for surgery is the galley, and he finds Ratel standing a kind of watch outside the door, arms folded, expression dark. [20:37] 07Dryas is a few footsteps ahead of Daizo on her way belowdecks, to the galley. 15[20:38] The Chief Petty Officer leads them into the officer's quarters, to the room that Piu knows is Caxi's. It's almost entirely empty now, but there are still luxurious piles of cushions and blankets. "Caxi was in the middle of giving up the room for Sadako and Seiri. We're going to need a longer-term arrangement for somebody." [20:39] 4Piu nods. "You have your own cabin?" 15[20:39] Caedus: "Down with the crew bunks." 15[20:39] "I'm enlisted, after all." 15[20:41] Garnet kneels down, running her fingers over a pillowcase. "A brig lined with satin?" 15[20:42] Caedus: "Welcome to the Scarlet Dynasty, ma'am." [20:43] "Commodore," 07Dryas reports in. 15[20:45] Ratel looks up. "That was fast. Did you meet the search party?" [20:45] 4Piu to Caedus: "How about this. We let Sadako and Seiri move in here, put Garnet in my quarters, and I bunk with you until this shuffle gets cleared up?" 15[20:45] Caedus: "People will talk. But people already talk." 15[20:46] "Technically the Commodore needs to approve any kind of personnel decision. It's her vessel. She might not like you being out of pocket. Guess you'll have to make it up to her." [20:47] 4Piu: "Haha...yep. Garnet? We've actually got slightly more...practical accomodations for you." 4One quick change of laundry and clearing out of certain sensitive items (including a seemingly-normal strip of leather) later, Garnet will be temporarily squared away. 15[20:48] Garnet: "Thank you. This is very kind. If you have other business I can wait here to be fetched." [20:48] 14When she and Caedus get a moment alone, possibly when Garnet is checking the room out: "Put men on these doors, preferably Lao's, and accomodate her however she wants within reason. We need to talk." 15[20:48] Caedus nods. "Are we comfortable leaving her with all that jade?" 15[20:49] "Lao's men won't hold back a daiklave." [20:49] 14Piu: "Like I said. We need to talk." [20:49] 14Brig should be empty? 15[20:49] It is. [20:49] 14After sealing the door and...is anyone listening? 15[20:51] The coast is clear. [20:51] 14Piu: "Tha aghaidh na h-Ìmpire oirre." 15[20:52] Ratel looks from Dryas to Daizo. "Where are Piu and Zhangyu?" [20:52] "Uime sin am masg agus am mealladh." [20:52] 6Zhangyu chooses that moment to arrive, having changed into cleaner clothes back in his room. "Here, Commodore." [20:53] 07Dryas: "I believe Zhangyu is abovedecks. We encountered some monsters and recovered some treasures. Furia was here three months ago. And we recovered a survivor - not from the armada, but an Outcaste, adventurer, claims her name is Garnet. Piu is with Samperson, seeing to her accommodations." 15[20:53] "Bhon Ghealach?" [20:53] 6Well, he's here. Piu isn't. [20:53] 07strike the first line! 15[20:54] Ratel: "A live outcaste adventurer? Did she encounter Furia?" [20:54] 14Piu: "Fuil. Talamh. Chunnaic sinn an anima aice." 15[20:55] "Dè fo Shealbh?" [20:56] 10Daizo: "We're not certain. Her grasp of High Realm is shaky. I was the one who saw Furia—although the site is hopelessly ruined, its font of knowledge still functions." [20:58] "Mi a 'smaoineachadh tha i cuid fallaid. Tha e mar gum b ’i an Ìmpire, ach air a gleidheadh sa mhionaid mus deach i na Ìmpire." [20:58] 6Zhangyu: "Ruined and containing all manner of beasts. Dead, now." 15[20:59] Caedus: "Cunnartach." [20:59] 14Piu: "Tha a bhith beò a ’comharrachadh i agus sinne airson bàs. Ach tha i na cothrom." 15[21:00] Caedus: "We can't go to Lao with this." [21:00] 10Daizo: "I asked who the last person to use it before me was, and it was unmistakably Furia. That was seventy days ago." [21:00] "A bharrachd air, is toil leam i. Tha i ag obair mar aon a bu chòir a bhith na Ìmpire." [21:00] 4Piu nods. "We can't." [21:00] 14Piu nods. "We can't." [21:01] "There's more, but this isn't the time—what's the Cathak boy's condition?" 15[21:02] Ratel: "Dire. Caxi's in with him now." 15[21:02] "Dryas, were you injured in the earthquake as well?" [21:02] 14She pauses. "We'll have to eventually, though." [21:02] "This isn't a secret that will keep." 15[21:03] Caedus: "Eventually. Like Lao himself says, you never open your mouth until you know what the shot is." [21:03] "We need to find some place to stash her. I'm going to try to push our itinerary towards Old Mionzi, see if that will work." [21:03] 07Dryas shakes her head ruefully. "Attacked by the monster's foul brood in its death-throes." 15[21:04] From behind the galley door there's a gasp and a woman's strangled cry. [21:04] 10Daizo: "Excuse me. I'm going in." [21:06] 10Keep it together, Daizo. Keep it together. This isn't 10only10 your fault. 15[21:07] Daizo pushes the door open to find Ito Pan laid out on the table, surrounded by gauze and glittering steel. Caxi - billowy sleeves physically ripped away, bare arms covered in blood up to the elbow - is holding her hands on his chest, pierced from within in several spots by broken ribs. 15[21:09] She doesn't look up. The air is frigid. [21:09] 10Daizo suppresses a profanity. [21:11] 6Zhangyu peers through the door and regrets having done so. [21:11] 07Dryas, glancing over his shoulder, does not. [21:11] "Caxi! I'm no surgeon, but I know my anatomy. What can I do to help?" 15[21:13] Caxi exhales, and the icy air billows out of the galley and into the hall, causing Ratel to shudder. Chips of ice creep up her hands and wrists, before flaring white and falling away, littering Ito Pan's bare chest with tiny, glittering diamonds. 15[21:15] Her voice's usual hazy affect is gone, completely bled of emotion or energy. "Clean him up. He's stable. For now." 15[21:15] "He shouldn't be in any pain." [21:15] 10Daizo: "Mela's breath. What did you just do?" [21:16] 14If Caedus is clear on the plan and doesn't have any orders of his own in his capacity as mission lead, Piu will give him a quick kiss and head up to get out in front of this to the Commodore. 15[21:17] Caxi: "What I could. Suffusing the chakras with earth essence - a technique Umora developed." 15[21:17] "If you want better, you can go get her." 15[21:18] Caedus's parting orders are things Piu'd already thought of - keep her away from the crew, control the story with Ratel. [21:19] 07Dryas' face reddens at Caxi's remark. [21:19] 10Instead of waiting for an answer, though, he's already picking up a sponge, gauze, needle— "I'll cast no aspersions on your work here." [21:22] 4It'll be upbeat-ish Piu who shows up to report to Ratel. "Commodore! Guessing you've heard about the outcaste we found. Wanted to ask forgiveness for something I didn't ask permission to do." 15[21:24] Ratel's shoulders sag with relief when she sees Ito Pan is breathing, and actually smiles at the sight of Piu. "So I've heard. Garnet, was it?" [21:24] 10Daizo:  "…if you weren't here today, he would already be dead. All right, I'm going to get him sewn up." 15[21:24] Caxi: "If I weren't here today he'd never have been in danger." [21:26] 4Piu: "Yep! She's...an interesting one. Gotta be if you're poking around that place and surviving. The forgiveness part is I decided instead of putting her in the brig, I'd give her my quarters and bunk up with the Chief Petty Officer until we discharge her as a passenger. I'd say the crew would talk but...the crew's kinda aware of, you know, all that." [21:26] 10Daizo: "I could say the same. Cousin and I… we had to go all out against a spider-scorpion-whatever down there." 15[21:28] Ratel: "Really? You put her in the officers' quarters?" [21:29] 4Piu: "We'll put men on her door! I just thought it better than leaving her with the crew. And I don't have a marriage to ruin here." [21:30] 10Daizo: "And if Furia hadn't disappeared, none of us would need to be here. And if teh Empress hadn't vanished…" 10he sighs. "If might-have-beens were magical, we'd all be master sorcerers." 15[21:31] Caxi: "They are." [21:34] 07Dryas makes her way towards the threshold of the galley. "What are?" 15[21:34] Caxi doesn't look up. "Might-have-beens." [21:36] 10Daizo: "Let's table that discussion for another day. Dryas, would you please hand me that basin?" 15[21:36] As Daizo works, one of the things he's cleaning away is the remnants of Caxi's anima. There's frost, which you'd expect from the flaring anima of an Air Aspect like her, but the chips of ice that litter Pan's chest? Not actually ice. Ice suffused with earth essence, which as Daizo knows is a (wasteful, impious, economically niche) method for producing pure diamond. [21:37] 07Dryas does so with some reluctance. 15[21:38] Ratel gives Piu a long look, unusually focused on her face and eyes. She steps into the Galley, bringing Piu and Zhangyu with her, and shuts the door behind them all. 15[21:38] "Okay, what did you find?" [21:38] 14Piu's face switches slightly: "Do you know the parable of the bell?" [21:38] "You can flip a switch, you can apologize for a lie. You cannot unring a bell." 15[21:39] Ratel: "I'm familiar." [21:39] "Our passenger is a bell." 15[21:39] "A bell you've already rung." [21:39] 6Zhangyu: "Not... quite." [21:39] 14Piu: "Not for you." 15[21:40] Ratel: "Okay, understood. Now stop fucking around and tell me." [21:40] 14Piu: "You've got a woman onboard looks like the Empress." 15[21:41] Ratel: "How exactly?" [21:41] "Exactly, exactly." [21:41] 6Zhangyu: "Exactly like." 15[21:41] Ratel: "Lunar?" [21:41] 14 "Blooded. Earth." [21:41] 6He shakes his head. "Earth aspect. We saw her anima." [21:41] 14Piu: "Blooded. Earth." [21:41] 14Piu: "Blooded. Earth." 15[21:41] Ratel: "What the fuck?" [21:41] 6Zhangyu: "Hence the bell." [21:42] 14Piu: "Ding." 15[21:42] Ratel: "So, what, a... a lost daughter?" [21:42] 07Dryas: "Explain the jar, Daizo." [21:43] 14Piu: "That's the one thing she almost certainly isn't. Either it's her with some memory loss and caveats...or she's some kind of, I dunno." [21:43] "Sorcery thing." 15[21:43] "Memory loss?" [21:44] 14Piu: "She thinks she's still in the Shogunate. Before she became the Empress." 15[21:44] Caxi has washed the blood from her hands and is shadowing Daizo, though not interfering. [21:44] "As you might imagine, this has made her a bit easier to manage." 15[21:44] Ratel: "Where did you find her? What was she doing?" [21:45] 14Piu: "Trapped in a jar-like device, to which she is currently attached. Thus the 'sorcery thing' explanation." 15[21:46] "So the jar is in... your cabin?" [21:46] 14Piu: "She needs to remain near it at all times." [21:46] "So yeah." 15[21:47] Ratel: "How near?" [21:47] 14Piu looks at Dryas and Zhangyu: "Some twenty fulms in any direction?" [21:47] 10Daizo: "Mm. Just a second." 10Even while he's admiring Caxi's work—creating diamond, on the spot, to reinforce Ito Pan's flesh and bones?—there are a few basics here and there she was forced to overlook in her haste to stabilize the boy. Daizo won't make a point of them, not today. But he can set a bone and close/cauterize tlesser wounds. There's an unpleasant snapping sound as he undislocates Pan's left shoulder.  [21:48] 6Zhangyu: "Something like that." [21:48] "Might be a bit more. She goes beyond that, she disappears." [21:48] "According to her, the world just turns white and featureless." [21:49] "She's not some kind of spirit or projection though. She fights and hits like a woman who might become Empress." 15[21:49] When Daizo's done, Caxi touches his arm. "Thank you," she murmurs. 15[21:50] Then she sidles over to the larger conversation. "Definitely more than a projection, then. You've tested her?" [21:50] 14Piu laughs. "She tested us." [21:51] "First thing she did was toss us a cold iron bar and tell us to pick it up." 15[21:51] Ratel: "Hah." 15[21:51] Caxi: "And it was real? Solid, heavy metal?" [21:51] 14Piu glances at the others. "Seemed so to me. We all handled it." [21:51] 6Zhangyu: "Yep." [21:52] 10By the time Daizo's finished, he's sopping with fresh sweat and feels like he's run a marathon. "Think nothing of it. The lad's a pain in the ass but I went through something like that myself. He has a good heart." [21:52] 10Daizo: "Solid as anything" [21:53] 10Daizo: "Notably, she also checked us to see if we were carriers of the Contagion." 15[21:53] Caxi: "Checking your throats for buboes, I assume?" [21:54] "Precisely." 15[21:54] Caxi: "Well. If I had to be marked for death by mere knowledge of a secret, I'm glad it's this one. Very interesting." 15[21:54] Ratel: "Don't be so dramatic." [21:55] 14Piu: "I think she's right. If House Mnemon gets wind of this we'll have worse than Salim crawling up our asses." 15[21:56] Caxi: "Octavian, maybe." [21:56] 14Piu: "Now, Furia is presumably still chasing who she thinks is the true Empress, and she left our guest -- let's just keep with Garnet for now -- behind. We dunno why. Maybe Furia still thinks the real deal is out there? Or maybe she missed a beat and this is the real Empress." 15[21:57] Caxi: "What name did she give you?" [21:57] 10Daizo: "Lords of Hell. That'd be all we need." 10He'll give a brief description of the vessel. "It appears to be some kind of jade, but someone had managed to make an inscription with it. With a finger." [21:58] "Xia Lan." 15[21:58] Ratel: "Daizo mentioned something about a font of knowledge. Did you trace Furia's movements? Maybe she missed the jar." 15[21:58] Caxi gapes. "You're joking." 15[21:58] "Does she have a six-string?" [21:58] 14Piu: "I wish. If we had that Xia Lan we'd be setting pretty." [21:58] 10Daizo: "Pardon?" [21:58] *sitting [21:59] 6Zhangyu: "Not that I saw?" 6Why is this relevant? [22:00] 10Daizo: "We asked the font where Furia went after conferring with it, and it directed us to the Meditation Chamber, which is where we found the jar. But I find it hard to believe that if she had seen it, she would have passed by." [22:00] "It called out to us, stirred up the blood." [22:01] 14Piu, darkly: "The only reason she'd have left without it is if she found something else there more important." 15[22:01] Ratel: "Alright. Bring her and her jar to my ready room." [22:02] 14Piu: "One way or another I think we've all gotta come to terms with the idea that Furia might be onto something." 15[22:02] "We have her under guard?" [22:02] 14Piu: "Yep, but we're letting her keep her gear." [22:02] "She's not a threat and I want her able to defend herself from those who are." 15[22:02] Caxi: "How's she fight?" [22:03] 6Zhangyu: "She held her own with us against the beast in the vaults." [22:03] "Daiklave and supportive earth aspect essence-bending." 15[22:03] Ratel: "Earth, huh? That'd settle some bets." [22:03] 14Yeah. Mnemon might even feel a little smug before ordering Garnet's execution. 15[22:04] "Go get her and meet me in the ready room." [22:04] 14Piu: "On it." [22:06] 14Piu will do so, but she's also going to brief Garnet on the circumstances so she's not meeting Ratel flatfooted. 15[22:06] Garnet, the jar, and the Fangs file into Ratel's ready room a short while later. The room is thickly carpeted and lined with bookshelves and maps. The only impractical decoration is the portait that hangs behind her huge teak desk of the Scarlet Empress in profile. [22:06] 14After all, absent other pretenders...she is the Empress. 15[22:08] Who's carrying the jar? [22:09] 6Zhangyu can. [22:11] 07Dryas follows along, stopping off in her room for a bit of a nightcap (nevermind what time of day it actually is). 15[22:11] Then the hearth files in, and Garnet's briefly stunned in the doorway by the portrait. Ratel walks through the group to shut it herself. 15[22:11] Caxi is standing behind the desk, arms folded. 15[22:11] "Take it off," says the Commodore coolly. [22:12] 4Mmmmmm. [22:12] 14But I suppose we're being serious right now. 15[22:13] Xia Lan unwinds the hood and veil, baring her face. Her hair's still up, though the hood messed it up a bit. 15[22:13] Ratel gasps. [22:13] 07Dryas drinks. 15[22:13] She has to look away. [22:13] 14Piu crosses her arms and leans against the wall. [22:13] 14We're well and truly in it now. 15[22:14] There's an awkward moment where Ratel reflexively starts to kneel as Xia Lan reflexively gives a Shogunate military salute. [22:14] 10Daizo: "You understand, Commodore, why we were all caught out." [22:15] 14To no one in particular: "We've been handling it by still calling Her Highness, Her Highness. But not doing all the bows and rituals." [22:15] "It seems to me to strike a good mix." [22:15] 10There's also some irony in that Ratel keeps a portrait in her cabin but can't look upon the genuine (?) article.  15[22:16] Once she's back at her full height, a bit taller than Xia Lan: "Your Imperial Majesty... do you know where you are right now?" [22:16] 10Perhaps even the Commodore has a modicum of shame after all.  15[22:16] Being dirty's no fun if you have *no* shame. [22:16] 4Hee. 15[22:17] Xia Lan: "I am aboard a vessel called Daana'd's Defiance, in the far Western sea near the Maw of Toto-Rak. It is Realm Year 768." 15[22:18] Ratel: "Alright. Good. That's good. That helps a lot. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?" 15[22:19] Xia Lan: "Who is Daana'd?" [22:19] 10Um. 15[22:20] Ratel: "...Majesty?" 15[22:20] Xia Lan: "All I know of the Realm Years is which one it is." 15[22:20] Ratel glances at Daizo. [22:21] 10Okay, wait. The Immaculate Philosophy was certainly known in the era of the Shogunate.  [22:21] 10Wasn't it? [22:29] 10Daizo: "Highness… were you not brought up with the Immaculate Philosophy? Or even the Immaculate Faith?" 15[22:29] The room falls into a brief, tense silence. 15[22:29] Xia Lan: "Of course. Everyone must cultivate the Immaculate Idea, from the meanest slave to the daimyos themselves." [22:30] 10Hmm. Hmmmmmmmm. [22:30] 14Piu looks to Ratel with the 'I told you about this Shogunate stuff' look. [22:30] 6Different names? 15[22:31] Ratel: "Who is the Immaculate Dragon of Water?" 15[22:32] Xia Lan: "Augustin the Arbiter, of course." [22:32] 10Daizo: "And how know you the others?" 15[22:34] Xia Lan ticks off: "Augustin the Arbiter, Hesiesh the Vehement, Azor the Petitioner, Jylis the Sower, and Pasiap the Beacon." [22:34] 14Piu makes a face. "Close enough to pass grade at the Stair." [22:36] 10Daizo: "And far enough to get you whipped for your incompetence as a child." [22:37] "Three out of five is where you're really livin'." 15[22:37] Xia Lan look hesitantly around the room, making eye contact with Caxi, who glides forward now. She gives the could-be Empress an appraising look. "I swear,by my recollection the Empress's jaw isn't quite so mannish. Perhaps she had work done." 15[22:38] Ratel seizes up. [22:38] 6...Pardon? 15[22:39] Xia Lan looks nervous as the sorceress closes in, but after Caxi speaks, she bursts out laughing. [22:39] 10Daizo: "We know them as Daana’d the Arbiter, Hesiesh the Reciter, Mela the Petitioner, Sextes Jylis the Sower, and Pasiap the Illuminator. Their epithets differ in time and place, but…" 15[22:39] The laugh lasts a good minute. All the tension in her seems to uncoil. [22:41] 10Daizo rubs his temples. "I take it by your reaction that you believe we've been taken for a ride." [22:47] 14Piu smothers a grin. Never picked Caxi for a people person. [22:47] 14But then, she does seem to turn it on for powerful women. 15[22:47] Xia Lan wipes a tear from her. "I'm sorry. That was most improper. But I needed that." 15[22:48] Caxi: "She's going to need a tutor. She's going to need a team of tutors." [22:48] 14Piu: "Sounds like you're nominating yourself." [22:48] 10Instead of Daizo's previous line, he rubs his temples and says "This must be quite stressful." 15[22:48] Caxi: "I can't teach her theology." [22:49] "Nope. Thankfully, I'm nominating Daizo." 15[22:49] "Daizo'll have to help. Or Sadako's friend." 15[22:50] Caxi: "Nearly 800 years of history, culture, etiquette, politics." [22:50] 10Daizo: "I had already prepared myself for working up a primer on several hundred years of history. But it seems I have a few new things to stody, myself." 15[22:51] "It's not a one-woman job, educating an Empress." [22:51] 14She pushes off the wall and heads toward the map table, which is probably still Ratel's desk. "If I have the Commodore's leave...?" 14Is the spot assessment portion of this meeting over or does Ratel have more questions for Xia Lan? [22:51] 10Daizo points to Piu and Dryas. "Quite. So I'm going to request that my hearth-sisters share the burden." [22:51] 14Piu: "Oh, I've nothing fit to teach an Empress." 15[22:52] Caxi looks Xia Lan in the eye: "Moments of rest will be few and far between. We're being hunted, now, by the very fact of your existence, and we must take every opportunity to prepare. Do you understand?" 15[22:52] Xia Lan: "...I am beginning to." 15[22:52] Caxi: "And at some point I'm going to need to give her a medical examination." [22:53] 14Oh, for sure. 15[22:53] Ratel: "Is there anything we can do for you, Your Imperial Majesty? Anything you require? Please, at no time hesitate to tell us. We are here to serve." [22:54] 10Daizo: "A longer-term project will be to see if we can increase the distance from the jar that the world continues to exist." 15[22:54] "Oh yes," agrees Caxi, nodding to the jar in Zhangyu's arms. Is the writing visible? [22:55] 6He's making no attempt to hide it. Just picked it up to bring it here. [22:55] 10And Daizo already said there was an inscription, so no point in hiding it after all that. 15[22:56] Caxi: "Hear." 15[22:56] To Xia Lan: "Does that word mean anything to you?" 15[22:57] Xia Lan: "No. Or. Only... it is earth jade, and my deed name is 'She Who the Earth Talks To'. But I didn't write that. I don't have tools that can do that."" 15[22:58] Caxi: "That wasn't done by tools. Press your finger into it." 15[22:58] Xia Lan: "Why?" 15[22:58] Caxi: "Indulge me." 15[23:00] Xia Lan does as directed, looking just a bit abashed. Her finger fits exactly in the groove. 15[23:00] Caxi: "If you didn't write it, then someone whose hand is the exact size and shape as yours did. I intend no sarcasm; we cannot discount the possibility." [23:01] 10Daizo: "Ahh. I had theorized that perhaps it had been one of the Jadeborn, but I see no flaws in Caxi's reasoning." [23:02] 14If one was to theorize that someone passed through there before Furia, and activated the jar, and her finger also fit those grooves...well. Complications. 15[23:02] Caxi: "Well. I'm satisfied, for now. I think we all need a bit of rest. Commodore?" [23:03] 14Piu is still lingering near the mapboard. [23:03] "The crew's rested, right?" 15[23:03] Ratel, again: "If there's anything you require, Your Imperial Majesty." 15[23:03] Xia Lan: "I am very hungry and tired." 15[23:05] Ratel: "See that she's fed and left to rest." 15[23:05] Caxi: "You're going to have to--" She twirls her finger around her head. [23:05] 14Piu: "Yes, ma'am. The Chief Petty Officer knows as much as he needs to know. He'll be on top of it." 15[23:06] Caxi: "Will he, now?" [23:06] 14Piu shrugs. "Well. That's Her Imperial Majesty's call. Far be it from me to intercede." [23:06] "Of course, it nearly goes without saying but: we mustn't allow any information about her identity to leave this boat," 07Dryas points out. [23:07] 14Piu: "Agreed. The bell can't ring again." [23:07] "And we should get the crew's mind off of it by setting a new course." [23:07] "We need to get the hell away from this place regardless, in case we're being shadowed by Mnemon corsairs." [23:08] "Or anyone else," 07Dryas hastens to point out. [23:08] 10Daizo: "I'm going to return to the galley and keep watch on Ito Pan's condition. We may be able to move him by the morning if all goes well. If anyone else has lingering wounds from Graffias, you know where to find me." [23:08] 07Dryas: "Even the meanest barbarians, if they thought they had a chance..." [23:09] 14Piu: "I suggest we set course at pace for Old Mionzi, now." 15[23:09] Ratel: "We can't go back to Abalone with an unprepared Empress. But the ship was only stocked for a week's journey." [23:10] "It might help Her Imperial Majesty's memory, it might have supplies, it's within reasonable travel if we're skilled enough against the currents." [23:11] "It was on our list anyway, and we could use an unwatched port, even if it's not necessarily a friendly one." 15[23:12] Ratel: "But the whole point is that no currents run to Old Mionzi. It will take days to get there. If there's no food there the crew won't survive the trip to a port." [23:12] 6Does Xia Lan seem to have any opinions on our next heading, or is she just covering back up and ready to go? Zhangyu can escort her back to her room, if she's ready to leave. [23:13] 14Piu grimaces. "Well we can't go home, and under no circumstances can we stay here." [23:13] "We have an expert sorcerer aboard, an expert huntress, and at least a few ways to recover food and supplies while underway," 07Dryas suggests. 15[23:13] Xia Lan doesn't give the impression she thinks she has the right to an opinion. [23:14] 14Piu: "Surely some of us know how to fish." 15[23:16] Ratel: "Yes, but the sea isn't just a bottomless basket you can stick your hand in and food comes out. Suppose the water is barren or poisoned, just for a start. The risk to the crew is immense." 15[23:17] "You're asking me to put my crew's life in your hands, when we have only the vaguest idea what we're sailing towards." [23:17] 10Daizo: "What about Jiewei? Ragara Takoye's expedition likely has supplies to spare. And it also has ruins dating to the Shogunate period." [23:18] 14Piu to Daizo: "Can't trust them, and we'd have to sail back through the patrol channels around Abalone and risk a courtesy boarding." [23:24] 14Piu turns to Ratel. "Commodore, we're in a hard place and it's only going to get harder. All we can trust now are the people in this room and the people on this ship. We've got a hurt Dynast, but we've saved him. We've got an unsteady Empress, but we'll teach her. We hit barricades and this crew, with this command crew, we break through them. Under no circumstances are the people [23:24] in this room going to permit the Daanad's Defiance to, of all unseemly things, starve to death." [23:24] "Dryas, I've heard you talking about some stuff you wanted to do before on your own ship? Deck gardens, something like that?" [23:25] "It's a possibility," 07she concedes, unsteadily. [23:26] "Well, you tell me plants don't grow quick, I tell you we are the inheritors of Creation who command fire and air and earth and wood and water. We will fish and we will grow in accordance with the stuff of the world that we control." [23:27] 14Piu: "To the extent our reputation precedes us, it makes the other sharks in these waters think we're bait and that's fine. But we fuck around; we don't fuck up." 15[23:28] Ratel: "...fine. I'll put in a heading for Mionzi. Let's all continue not fucking up." [23:29] 14Piu: "Yes, ma'am. Let's all get some damn food." [23:29] 10Daizo: "Faram to that." [23:29] 14Really need to stop doing the inspirational speeches. They're conspicuous. 15[23:31] Everyone has their orders. 15[23:31] Now what? [23:31] 14Well, now we try to get to Old Mionzi without completely eating shit. [23:32] 14How are the twins doing? [23:33] 10If we're in the immediate now after that meeting, Daizo's heading back to the galley to check on Pan. If Jun's there, he's going to leave the kid alone.  15[23:34] He is. [23:35] 14If everything seems fine as the ship makes preparations for its new heading, Piu is going to get some much needed rest and recharging in, to prepare for some long shifts on the rigging and the quarterdeck during the drive to Old Mionzi. [23:36] 6Xia Lan is presumably eating in her quarters, what with the whole "can't show her face" thing, right? And also the jar thing? Zhangyu can get her set up there and then -- probably just. Let her be alone for a bit. [23:36] 14In Caedus's bunk, of course. She's probably small enough to fit snugly if he's in there too. [23:36] 10Then Daizo's just going to stick his head in and say "He's going to be all right." [23:37] 6After that... get some rest, try and figure out how to teach better than he was taught, be muscle for anyone who needs some, figure out what they've got in the way of fishing equipment... [23:40] 10Daizo's still a mess—cave gunk and blood, little of it his, all over. Even washing up again can only do so much; he knocks on the door of Caxi's cabin looking thoroughly scuffed.  15[23:42] Seiri answers the door. "Master Daizo!!" [23:45] 10Daizo: "None other. Sorry, am I interrupting anything?" 15[23:45] "Are you hurt??! What are you covered in?" 15[23:46] Piu naps alone at first, though at some point she'll feel Caedus sink into bed with her. It's *very* close quarters. [23:46] 4Mmmmm. [23:47] 07Dryas makes her way back to her cabin to rest. She remains awake for some time, pondering one other thing her cousin had mentioned. 07Might-have-beens? 15[23:48] Seiri throws the door open. Sadako is also in there, looks like she's reading something. [23:48] 10Daizo: "Nothing to be concerned about, merely a scratch— I was helping Caxi tend to Ito Pan's injuries, and I wanted to follow up on something… wait, where did all of her things go?" 15[23:49] Seiri: "Caxi moved in with the Commodore so Sadako could have a room to herself. She's invited me to stay with her." 15[23:49] "Lady Caxi, excuse my impertinence. I think she's on deck?" 15[23:51] Sadako: "She's in a bad mood. Be careful." [23:51] 4Piu didn't know that her moving in with Caedus was timed to coincide with Caxi moving in with Ratel, but she'd certainly take credit for planning it if asked. [23:51] 10Daizo: "It's fine, we've all had a trying day. She probably needs her space. May I sit? I promise I won't get spider guts all over anything." 15[23:52] "Of course!" Seiri clears a space for Daizo. "How are you? How is everyone else?" [23:55] 10Daizo: "Winded. Pan's going to be all right. Dryas has some minor injuries. Zhangyu's Zhangyu. Piu just got finished wrapping the Commodore around her little finger again. Ah, I think I should be the one to tell you this— we have a guest aboard. We found a person in the ruins." 15[23:55] Sadako: "Yeah I saw her. She's weird." 15[23:56] Seiri: "A guest? From the Maw? Were they a prisoner?" [23:57] 10Daizo: "Something like that. She's very far away from home and doesn't know who she can trust just yet, I think." 15[23:58] Seiri: "What can I do to help?" [23:59] 10Daizo: "Don't feel like you're obligated or anything, but I'd like to ask you to keep her company from time to time while we're on the ship. She's a Blooded, like us, but she wasn't raised in the Dynasty." 15[23:59] Seiri: "Does she have the Philosophy? What language does she speak?" 15[23:59] "What's her name?" [00:00] 14Piu will have made arrangements for Seiri and Sadako to call on Garnet, if that's what Her Imperial Highness wishes. [00:00] 10Daizo: "She speaks High Realm, a little different from how we do. It's a long shot, but maybe she'llr ecognize some words in Seatongue. And she has the Philosophy, but not quite as we learned it." 15[00:01] Seiri: "A heretic? Gosh!" 15[00:01] "What's she like?" [00:02] 10Daizo: "Not a heretic by choice. If you want to talk to her about the Philosophy and she's open to it, please do." [00:03] 10Daizo: "That's what I'd like to find out. What kind of person Xia Lan is." [00:04] 10Daizo: "That's what I'd like to find out. What kind of person Lady Garnet is." [00:05] 10Daizo: "That's what I'd like to find out. What kind of person Xia Lan—uh, Lady Garnet is. Crap. Please don't tell Piu I said that name, she'll cut my head off." 15[00:06] Seiri: "What a pretty name. Alright, I'll visit her tomorrow." 15[00:06] She acts as if the slipup never happened. [00:07] 14Piu would never cut Daizo's head off. Decapitation is only employed as a method in client-facing explicitly specified ritual assassination. 15[00:08] NEXT TIME: Falling, fading, losing it all [00:09] 10Daizo: "Thank you… I think she could really use a friend right now."