15[18:47] Having counseled respectful distance up to now, does Piu recommend Sadako leave Garnet and Seiri be until they rejoin the others of their own accord? And either way, what does she do next? [18:48] 14She counsels tact, which is different from distance. If Sadako wishes to approach she should do so with clear eyes that her girlfriend and the possible Empress have just shared a moment. [18:49] 14Once she's left the girls to it, though, she needs to find Caedus. [18:49] 14He needs to know Garnet has the gift. 15[18:50] Caedus is near the ship, inspecting the rations the crew is taking on board the hold. Well, ostensibly taking - the question of what the Defiance is going to be loading up with seems as-yet unresolved. 15[18:50] And right now nothing's moving. [18:50] 14Piu: "Chief Petty Officer, a word?" 15[18:51] Several of the sailors turn their heads. 15[18:51] Chief Samperson: "Of course, Lady Piu." 15[18:51] They're almost entirely out of earshot before the crew shares snickers and backslaps. [18:53] 14Piu: "Na gabh freagairt." [18:53] "She can operate the old machines." 15[18:54] Caedus takes in and lets out a slow, controlled breath. "Everyone knows??" 15[18:54] *? [18:55] "The team that went. So our added damage is the two girls." [18:55] "And Ratel and Caxi if you count the jump from knowing her face to know her works." [18:56] "Since we're not gonna garrote her in her sleep, I need guidance on this as to what the House does want." 15[19:00] Caedus is silent for a moment, looking out over the still water and the starry sky. "The doctrine is maximum damage without exposure. Being the arm that guides the hand that holds the Sword... could end it. All of it." 15[19:01] "Of the people on the ship who know... who are the biggest liabilities? Where are our weak spots?" [19:03] 14Piu pauses. "We have significant pressure on Caxi and Ratel. The former is practically begging for the Immaculates to take her away and the latter is only alive because of, quite literally, my intervention. Seiri and Sadako have no station and are similarly compromised. Our biggest liabilites are my hearth." [19:04] "Which I won't be discussing our options are, per our previous conversation." [19:04] *options on 15[19:06] Caedus: "What about points of tension between your hearth and the people we can control? If we need to apply pressure from the outside, who do we work?" [19:08] "Well, our fastidious monk has wings and a taste for sorcery, and is getting quite close to Caxi, so the obvious clear answer is out. Zhangyu doesn't like anyone except the hearth and maybe the girls, but he's still Ratel's favorite for command when we're off the ship. The biggest point of tension is Dryas and Ratel clash from time to time. Frankly, everyone likes everyone else." [19:09] "Ratel has command authority and can probably feel this mission slipping out of her control, but I don't see how her desperate and flailing helps us." 15[19:10] Caedus: "It doesn't. In fact, I think it's either our first or second biggest liability." [19:10] 14Piu: "She's also the person we're most definitively stuck with." 15[19:12] "Most, but not fully. You're point on the Commodore, so measure her up. We have to bring her on side or get your hearth in position to replace her as command." 15[19:12] "She would be hard to bring down. But certainly not impossible." [19:13] 14Piu nods. "Will do. But I think it would be a mistake to take any drastic action while out of port." [19:13] "Changing captains is bad enough, but on the open sea? Perilous." 15[19:14] Caedus: "All the more reason to think ahead. Whether we need to move in a week, a month, or never... it's never too early to develop a plan." [19:15] "True." 14She sighs. "How do you think Lao will react?" 15[19:17] Caedus: "Suspiciously." A pause. "That is, with suspicion. Of the venture, of us, but most especially of Lady Garnet. He might take it up the ladder." 15[19:18] Piu knows there's only really one person higher than the likes of Lao and To on the Iselsi ladder. 15[19:19] "So we're going to need to make her a priority too. What's your best angle on her?" [19:21] 14Piu: "Huck the jar into the sea and you exile her from Creation in a fate worse than death." [19:21] "Controlling her? Well, as far as that goes I don't think she has any desire to be Empress." 15[19:21] Caedus: "What does she want, then?" 15[19:22] "I don't think she likes you very much. And she lost whatever taste she had for me." [19:23] 14Piu: "Wise of her. But if I had to guess she dislikes more what we represent than us ourselves. What she wants, I'd wager, is to not be here at all. But that's different from wishing you're dead." 15[19:26] Caedus: "That's another thing to do, then. Be sure enough of our bet that we're willing to wager our lives on it. Everyone's lives on it. If you can't do it directly, we need to figure out a proxy. Caxi hit it off with her, and the orphans stick to her like kelp to an oar. There's something in there." 15[19:26] "Maybe Daizo is nonthreatening enough." 15[19:27] "That brings me to my other concern. Dryas pulled me aside for an interrogation." 15[19:27] "She's up to something." [19:28] 14Piu: "She usually is. What was it about?" 15[19:30] Caedus: "Trying to get a rise out of me. Started with a confrontation over cargo, then when she started changing clothes in front of me, she moved on to probing about my sex life and family." 15[19:31] "I don't know what it's about, but it's the first time she's paid me more attention than a sneer." [19:31] 14Piu sighs. "So it was about me, then." 15[19:32] Caedus: "That would make sense. Did you cross her?" [19:33] "No, she's just perniciously curious, and more so when she likes or cares about somebody. I've put up a wall between hearth business and house business but I suspect I would not be the first to suggest that Lao should come up with some suitably armor-clad alibis regarding why he might have dealings with a young scion from House V'neef." 15[19:34] Caedus: "Should I stipulate that it be a clad alibi?" [19:34] "Should be easier with our merchant marine in port." [19:35] 14Piu smiles wanly. "Yes, please. I don't think the idea of me sleeping with the brooding merchant mountain king of Abalone would stand up to five minutes of Dryas alone with him, anyway." [19:36] "...We need to keep in mind that the situation is changing. The Realm is...falling apart." [19:36] "It's above my grade what that means for the house, but..." 15[19:36] Caedus: "Mine too." 15[19:37] "But I take your point. We need guidance, or a clear signal that none is coming." [19:38] 14She sighs. "If worst comes to worst, setting up a pretender empire out here with Garnet as the figure head and Dryas running operations could do significant political damage to the Realm." [19:38] "It would also invite the wrath of Heaven, but, if it weakens Mnemon..." 15[19:38] Caedus: "I bet you could sell it to her just that way, too. D'you think Garnet would pass the Immortal's Test?" 15[19:39] The Immortal's Test is the question every Chosen member of House Iselsi is posed upon formal initiation: A bheil d ’fhuath glan? [19:40] "Only technically." [19:41] "The test is quite vague about for what." [19:41] "But then, let House Mnemon cook in her kitchen for a little while, and maybe she'll get there." 15[19:43] Caedus: "If only we could get her in a room with some real Dynasts without blowing the whole thing up." 15[19:43] "Give her 20 minutes with any of her daughters, she'd invent Iselsi independently." [19:44] "...It could happen." [19:44] "Not with Mnemon." [19:44] "But that little rat they sent to run things? The new governor?" 15[19:44] Caedus: "Hah/ 15[19:44] *Hah." [19:44] "We'd just have to think through the setup." 15[19:46] Caedus: "We've got some time to think yet. Let me worry about options - you're our eyes and ears in every part of this operation that counts. Keep yourself, and me, informed." [19:46] 14Piu: "Will do." 15[19:46] "Anything else?" [19:46] "Oh, and for the crowd..." 14She'll pull him in for a kiss, before departing. 15[19:46] Mmm. 15[20:22] Work is continuing into the night... no one really seems to want to sleep. Maybe the hearth does? What's everyone up to? [20:23] 14It's probably best the hearth has a talk, somewhere alone in the empty city. About goals. 15[20:23] There's a lot of empty city. [20:25] 10It's really not empty. It might just be Daizo's overactive imagination, but he swears he can 10feel10 the weight of the accumulated Essence permeating everything. A spiritual pressure. [20:26] 14Empty of eavesdroppers, at least. 15[20:26] Speaking of both points, how does Daizo separate himself from Caxi? [20:33] 10To be honest, he's not sure he wants to. Now that the barrier he kept in place so long is down, he feels like he could talk with her forever.  [20:33] 10Unfortunately, time marches on. 15[20:34] Even here, at Old Mionzi. [20:36] 14Piu will be the one who chooses the small, out of the way bungalow they meet at, and the first there to secure it. [20:37] 6Zhangyu can follow shortly afterwards. He is, at present, unoccupied, and a discussion amongst the hearth is a good idea. [20:39] 10But when Piu makes it known she wants a chat, by whatever means she employs, Daizo will sigh and stand, the wine long gone. He'll lean in and kiss Caxi on the forehead—almost an absurdly delicate gesture.  [20:39] 14Then we're waiting on Dryas. 15[20:40] Caxi is actually blushing a bit when Daizo departs. Must be the drink. [20:41] "Won't be long. Don't get into any trouble." 10Oh gods above and below he's so bad at this— [20:43] 14Piu's smashed some furniture and is burning a modest fire in the hearth when everyone else arrives. [20:46] 07Dryas is a little late but has brought a glass case with her. [20:47] 10Daizo's looking a little flushed, although it could just be the firelight. He'll hunker down by a wall. "Any new developments?" [20:47] "We've got to hammer out what's going on with our hold. Samperson's told me there are some conflicts." [20:48] 6Zhangyu: "Conflicts?" [20:49] 14Piu will look at Dryas here. [20:49] 07Dryas: "Samperson, eh?" [20:50] 14Piu: "Yes, the man I've been openly fucking for the entire voyage." [20:50] 10Daizo snorts.  [20:53] "Well, he had one point of view and I another. Was that the conflict you were referring to?"07 she asks, coyly. [20:54] 14Piu smiles: "He's a grown-up and we're not exclusive, if that's what you're asking. But yes. We need to decide what goes in the hold. My point of view is: nothing." [20:54] "You'll want it empty if we're to loot Ashen Awu or try our hand at the Gyre." [20:55] 14Glancing at the glass box. "You want me to give that a look?" [20:55] 07Dryas, sliding it over: "It's not exclusive either, darling," [20:58] 10Daizo: "Why in Creation would you want to risk everyone's hide by sailing into the Gyre now in pursuit of treasure when we've just found enough loose jade to make a satrap salivate?" [20:58] 14The lockpicks just sort of appear in the palm of Piu's hand. [20:59] 14While picking: "That's true. We could approach the floating city, laden with lucre." [20:59] 6Zhangyu: "Seems better than jettisoning what we've got and hoping for better luck elsewhere." [20:59] "Approaching Danguro with wealth but no fleet to back it kind of makes us a target, though." [21:00] "Mmm." [21:00] 10Daizo: "Returning to Abalone now would just get it all confiscated. That limits our options." [21:01] "Ah. There." 15[21:01] It's a fiendishly tricky lock, and the refraction of the transparent hardened glass makes it all but impossible to judge by sight. But Piu's clever and patient, and after a few minutes the lock clicks open and the lid rises to a half-right angle with a gentle hiss. [21:01] 14She passes the box back to Dryas to do the honors. [21:02] 07Dryas gingerly lifts the lid - her eyes are hungry. "I thought this might give us some insights as to this island. Toto Rak, The Em-, well, Garnet, it all comes back to the Shogunate." [21:03] 14To Daizo: "Have you and Caxi discussed anything about what to do with the tides around this place? It'll take sorcery." 15[21:03] Dryas finds the papers within, half tightly-inked Old Realm script and half carefully arranged columns of figures. [21:04] 07Dryas, squinting at them: "Daizo, if we're to be doing this much longer you'll have to give us all instruction on the old language." [21:05] 10Daizo grimaces. "It depends on how long we're going to be able to stay in port here. If we had weeks to spare, the two of us working together— Hmm. If you think you're up for a challenge." [21:05] 6Zhangyu: "I was going to have to learn it sometime. Feels strange not knowing half of anything." [21:05] 07Dryas: "Do you think that odd fellow we met back in Abalone could do something about it? With the moustache." [21:06] "The man from Deguo?" [21:06] 6Actually, he is lying. He always feels like that. But this is half that again! [21:06] 10Daizo clears his throat and continues. "But as it is, there's no quick and easy way to bleed off the accumulated Essence… you mean Takoye, Dryas?" [21:08] 14Piu sighs. "At the very least we should find some way to get in and out of port efficiently. Honestly that might be better than fixing the tides." [21:08] 07Dryas: "Sure. Or any other sorcerers we know?" [21:08] 10Daizo: "But do we really want to hand him the location of an element of the Realm Defense… … … …there is one way to utilize the accumulated Essence here that's just come to mind." [21:09] 07Dryas: "Oh, that's a good point. He had a chip on his shoulder about the Scavenger Kingdoms, what a cluster that would be! Ha ha ha! Although - how calm the sea is - could we tow a raft or something out to the edge?" [21:09] 10Daizo: "I'm not sure Lady Garnet has the authority to destroy a hundred square malms of open ocean, though." [21:10] "Skullstone," 07Dryas shivers. [21:11] 14Piu, coldly: "Can we actually bring this battlestation online?" [21:11] "Do we actually possess a superweapon?" [21:11] 10Daizo: "I wouldn't attack something unless we're actually certain we could kill it." [21:12] "I don't know. But I suspect we know who does: your girl in the tank down under the Manse." [21:12] 14Piu: "Then it might be worth spending weeks here." [21:12] "I'd prefer not to, though." [21:14] 07Dryas: "Daizo, what do these scrolls say?" [21:16] 10Daizo blinks. He was off free-associating for a minute there. "Er. Let me have a look." [21:16] 10What *do* the papers say? 15[21:18] Daizo gives them a look - the first thing he notices is the dates, which don't seem to follow the RY scheme *or* what they now know to be the Shogunate calendar. It's only the format of the page that convinces him they're dates at all, because what they seem to be is a huge string of digits. The one on the top here is 782093220. [21:21] 10Mmm. If that's a count of days… no, that's ridiculous. It couldn't be. [21:22] 07Dryas, after a-possibly-incriminating-pause: "We could report it, correctly, up the chain. I'm sure our Houses would all appreciate a find of this significance." 15[21:22] Anyway, reading deeper they seem to be mostly very dry correspondence between the person in charge of Toto Rak's vault - who is identified by the numeral '84' - and their direct superior, '86'. Intakes and removals of items and personnel. His eye is drawn to the characters he remembers from the vault where they fought the monstrous scorpion - AKAVADRA. A thorough report from 84 detailing 15[21:22] the number of lives lost and the immense material damage done in securing it, followed by a crisp reply from 86: New moon. Rice wine. Never draw it. [21:23] 6Zhangyu, diplomatically as he can manage: "That is an option." [21:24] 10Daizo repeats this last. "The hell does that mean?" [21:24] 07Dryas: "...Mnemon would be stretching themselves truly thin if they control Abalone and Mionxi- Never draw it?" [21:26] 14Piu: "I need to speak with Garnet and figure out how she feels about all of this. Or perhaps have the girls do it. Either way, she doesn't seem thrilled at the idea of having control over something like this." [21:27] "But if we pass it up the chain, this becomes Mnemon territory. And I don't think they'll be stretched particularly thin." [21:27] 10Daizo: "Perhaps if you draw it, the drawing becomes AKAVADRA. This is one of the more heretical interpretations of the ban on graven images—" [21:28] 10Someone stop him he's about to launch into theology. [21:28] "If Mnemon wanted the Sword of Creation, she can walk into the Imperial Manse any time she dares," 07Dryas observes. [21:29] 10And Dryas, thankfully, heads Daizo off at the pass. "Didn't Mionzi's minder say that there had already been numerous attempts to bypass its Lock?" [21:29] 07Dryas: "I wonder by whom. And was that lock across all Creation or merely here?" [21:29] "If she could do that, the Realm wouldn't be on the verge of civil war." [21:30] "We could ask." [21:35] 07Dryas: "So, a question to ask. We could also try asking about this AKAVADRA. But this place is now undefended. Is letting it fall to Mnemon really worse than Anathema?" [21:36] "That depends on how Mnemon feels about us running around with a woman who looks like her mother and has access to manses she doesn't." [21:36] "I suspect she won't like that." [21:36] 6Zhangyu: "It doesn't sound likely, no." [21:36] "I think the only play we have is to build around this, maybe put pressure on Abalone, and reach out to Danguro. Parallel it with the development of the Garden." [21:37] 14She sighs. "But again, we need to talk to Garnet about it." [21:38] 07Dryas: "I agree that we should cultivate this through the Garden. But the Garden doesn't have the kind of expertise that we absolutely have to have, if this place is still inaccessible to mortal sail." [21:40] 10Daizo: "Give me a day for an initial survey, and I ought to be able to make a more educated guess about how long rstoring the tides might take." [21:41] 14Piu: "Let's do that, then. Reconvene here tomorrow. Should let me gauge where Garnet is, too." [21:41] "Geomancy isn't my area of expertise—yet. But I'll do what I can." 15[21:50] The hearth breaks up to reconvene later. A couple of questions posed to various members: 15[21:51] -How does Zhangyu handle the assignment of keeping guard over the prisoners until their fate can be decided? Whose help does he enlist? 15[21:52] -Does Piu crash or spend an all-nighter with Caedus working the docks and prepping the ship? 15[21:52] -What argument is Dryas preparing to make for the disposition of the hold? [21:53] 14All-nighter. Where we're going, it's best to build up goodwill with the crew. 15[21:53] -A fun bit of trivia from Caxi: did Daizo know that getting into and out of jade plate is traditionally a two-person job? [21:54] 10Is that an offer to help? 15[21:54] Seems to be. [21:56] 10Well then. [21:56] 4Aside from how helpful this is to overall goals, this whole thing is incredibly adoreable, and frankly, Piu approves. [21:56] 07Dryas will call in the experts: the Cathak twin wizards of logistics! Whether some kind of offload-in-transit makes sense, any strange naval solutions like burying them at buoys at sea, throwing together a raft to tow behind the Defiance - all options are on the table. 15[21:59] Ito Jun suggests that loot is principally a weight problem, while these Shogunate stable rations are principally a volume problem. In theory, you could lash a lot of rations to the deck, if you could be assured of stable weather. 15[21:59] Ito Pan suggests: zzzzzZZZZZZZZ [21:59] 10Although if Caxi was expecting a cherry boy, she might be a bit surprised. Those who haven't taken the razor at the Cloister have some leeway. And you have to blow off the steam from all that studying and martial arts training 10somehow10. [21:59] 4Hee hee. 15[22:01] It's not the first time Daizo has so exceeded her expectations. [22:01] 07Dryas' proposal takes shape: a compromise that takes a risk. Dryas will improvise on the plan to some degree - bring a lining of food into the hold to conceal the best of the scraps of Mionxi, for instance. In some places, it could be described as 07smuggling07. What scraps can't be left behind can be moved and buried in a hidden place on the island itself. [22:02] 4Anyway, it's the Piu the crew is more used to that shows up to help them with the work, not the one who looks maybe a bit too ready for a fight. [22:04] 6For guarding: is Sadako free? He'd like to discuss the finer points of the moves she used during the battle. Specifically hurling the guy out of the vehicle immediately. [22:04] 6That's rad. 15[22:05] Sadako is free, and in what seems to be a spectacularly bad mood, so fighting or looming around all night are right up her alley. [22:05] 4Ah! So that conversation with Garnet is gonna go great. [22:06] 6Zhangyu and Sadako can guard, then. And that's fine. Zhangyu has been in spectacularly bad moods before. Not sure how that helps in this situation, but he can at least recognize it as such. 15[22:08] Sadako's not very good at articulating what she's doing that isn't the things that were taught to her, but she's able to demonstrate by walking straight through one of Mionzi's solid jade walls. [22:10] 6Is this something new since she began training, or something she could do all along? Or had she not tried? 15[22:14] It goes back to that day everyone tripped balls on the mountain. Sadako relaxed and felt herself moving through the floor like someone might let themselves sink gently in standing water. 15[22:15] Since then, if she concentrates, pretty much any solid thing is like water for her. 15[22:15] Except salt. [22:15] 6Huh. Neat. [22:23] 10The next morning, in the galley: Daizo just stares at Dryas in disbelief. "You want to what?" [22:26] 07Dryas, as if it was the most natural thing in the world: "Yes, that's right. Exactly. I will assist you." [22:29] 10Daizo: "By riding around and looking for something to shoot. On this depopulated island." 15[22:31] Caxi glides out of the cooking area. "Good morning, cousin." Sounds like her throat's doing better, though not 100%. [22:32] 07Dryas: "Oh, that's just a side benefit. You never know what's lurking in places like this, after all! Mostly it's a chance to get out and ride after weeks at sea, and before weeks more to come. Ah, cousin! Good morning to you, too." [22:32] 10Daizo: "…on further thought, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. There might still be automated defenses that haven't accepted the stand-down order yet." [22:35] "We'll have a grand old time. Perhaps you'll do your bird trick again?" 07Dryas, continuing, to Caxi - "And you are sounding much better. Looking fabulous, as always." [22:37] 4The night working is long and hard, and the men she's working with similarly so. Don't think she doesn't notice, fellas! But she's also strong, efficient, preternaturally able to see workplace accidents before they occur and bump sailors out of the way and -- most importantly -- she knows all the words to all their favorite songs, and has the lungs to sing them while hauling in unison [22:37] 4on the line. 15[22:37] The sailors are often given to stop and admire Piu's lungs. 15[22:38] A glowing Caxi: "Oh, flatterer. I just rolled out of bed. When are we leaving?" [22:40] 07On the inside: No, it's a huge improvement - you aren't coughing up black blood like some kind of demon, today. On the outside: "We're going to survey the place before we leave. Make sure we didn't miss anything. And if return under less than ideal circumstances, it could be good to have a careful map." [22:41] 10Daizo: "Nothing wrong with the natural look, if you ask me." 15[22:42] Caxi: "Stop, you're going to make me blush. I'll join you on the survey." [22:44] 10Daizo grins. "I was hoping you would. Essentially, I'm looking to map the major dragon lines in this vicinity. I doubt it will be easy." [22:45] "I've a theory that the unnatural stillness of the sea is due to the overaccumulation of earth Essence. Even if we can't bleed it out, it may be possible to redirect the flow." 15[22:47] Caxi: "A sound theory... the question is *where*. The energy sufficient to poison this place and deaden the sea for hundreds of malms around... it would wreak havoc anywhere. Likely far worse, since despite its cup running over, Mionzi is *designed* to hold great quantities of earth essence, in a way few places are." [22:48] 4After a full night on the line, it's time to...bathe, change, and find Garnet. 15[22:51] Garnet is shawled up and in the city. Sadako is perched gloomily on a curb beside the jar while Garnet stands in the center of the street with Seiri. Between the two of them, stabbed at least ten ilms into the ground, is Garnet's daiklave. 15[22:51] Did she pick up Zhangyu on the way, or is he already there? [22:52] "How would you explain such an accumulation of Essence to a lay person?" 07Dryas asks, in no way suggesting that she herself doesn't know the answer. [22:52] 6Already there. He would've gone with Sadako. [22:53] 10Daizo: "That is the problem. But we do know that Mionzi is connected in some way to other installations. Perhaps Mionzi's keeper has a means to transfer some of thos location's supply elsewhere. If we can convince her." [22:54] 4Piu: "Ship's close to loaded! We can be out of here soon." 15[22:55] Caxi: "It depends on what I wanted the lay person to think, or do. The crudest analogy would be to a blister or a boil, one in dire need of lancing and draining. But that suggests the principal risk and pain will be felt here, which it will not." [22:56] 4She eyes the sword. "If that's what we want." 15[22:58] Seiri: "Lady Piu! Lady Garnet has offered to teach me her language, and let me try my hand at swordplay. She was about to demonstrate something." 15[22:58] She seems fully recovered from last night's events - she alone, in fact, as both Garnet and Sadako seem deeply weary. [22:58] 10Daizo taps his chin thoughtfully. "Let's put it another way: This entire island is a storehouse, a treasury. But instead of being mere talents of jade or gold ingots, we have enormous diamond boulders stacked in a pile." [22:59] "You can't move them. You can't spend them. You can't eat them or drink them." [22:59] 4Piu smiles at Seiri. "Excellent! Let's see it!" 15[22:59] Zhangyu might be fully rested, too - his face is always like that. [22:59] "About all you can do is excavate and hope you don't get crushed." [22:59] 4She'll step over with the others. 15[23:00] Garnet: "Seiri misspoke. In fact, it is she who is about to make a demonstration." 15[23:00] To Seiri: "Draw the sword." [23:00] 6Hm? [23:00] "And if you want to get rid of them, you have to do it with a catapult." [23:00] 07Dryas taps her chin and nods, thoughtfully. Even a peasant could understand that. "Where would the pain be felt, then?" [23:00] "Wherever they land." 15[23:01] Seiri blinks. "Lady Garnet... that's a daiklave. It's solid jade! That's much too heavy for me." 15[23:02] Garnet: "That's right. Now pull it from the earth." [23:04] "We can discuss it some more along the way. I just have to get a few instruments…" [23:05] 4Piu: "Go Seiri!!" [23:05] 07Dryas: "I'll be waiting on dry land, then!" [23:06] 10And so it is the surveyors come across this puzzling scene. [23:06] 6Zhangyu nods, stoically. 15[23:09] Seiri squares up, gets a firm grip on the hilt with both hands, and pulls with all her might. For a moment it seems like it's not going to be enough, despite the focus and the strain, but then the blue blade wriggles free a quarter-ilm at a time until it comes out all at once and Seiri is holding a sword longer than she is tall, quavering in her grip, bringing her whole body down almost 15[23:09] to a kneeling position... but she holds on. She's got it. [23:09] 4Piu: "YES!" [23:09] 10Asking Seiri to befriend Lady Garnet certainly is having some unexpected knock-on effects. Daizo silently roots for her as she grasps the daiklave. 15[23:09] Then the surveyors ride up, and Seiri looks up, and sees Daizo looking on, and Caxi hanging off of him, and she immediately loses her grip, and then her balance, and falls flat on her ass. [23:09] 10And then, when she's pulled it forth: "Amazing!" [23:10] 10And then: "Oh no!" [23:10] 6Still, damn, Seiri. [23:10] 07Dryas notes the furrow in the tightly packed earth, the huge daiklave, the bookish young woman - and gasps in surprise. 15[23:10] Caxi chews her lip thoughtfully, though Daizo can feel her shuddering with repressed laughter at the sight. [23:11] 10C'mon, you got this. Stand back up again. [23:11] 4Well. Thank you to the interlopers. 15[23:13] She got knocked down, but she gets up again. Seiri lifts the sword from the ground once more. She's clearly way out of her depth - even a mortal as strong as Daizo or Zhangyu would struggle to *wield* a jade weapon without the gift of essence, and the point of the sword wavers so widely that it's more metronome than weapon. [23:14] 10Daizo, quietly: "Dragons bless her. In her next life she'll be one of us." 15[23:15] Caxi whispers back: "Don't tell her that if you want her to live through the night." [23:16] 10Mm. [23:16] 07Dryas gives Zhangyu a look - 07I'm impressed too, but what are you07 thinking? [23:18] 6I'm thinking I can up her workouts. [23:18] 10It's Garnet's sword. What is she getting at with this? [23:19] 07This realization - it's Garnet's sword, it's probably Garnet's idea - hits the Cynis like a ton of bricks. Is this what the Empress was like? 15[23:20] Garnet: "Good. Good. Hold it as long as you can. Feel the weight of it. This is Ainm na Gaoithe, and it was handed to me alongside my deed name. Not a mortal's weapon, but whatever weapon you hold in your hand should feel this heavy. Whatever art you practice. Do not draw your blade unless you intend to kill. That's its purpose, to kill, and that's how you must use it. I want you to 15[23:20] think about that every time you raise your arm in anger." 15[23:21] Then Garnet grasps the blade and lifts it gingerly from Seiri's grip one-handed. 15[23:22] Seiri seems a bit stunned. [23:24] 10Damn. That's a good first lesson. 15[23:25] "There are moments," observes Caxi quietly, "Where you can almost see it." [23:26] 07Dryas nods along with her cousin. [23:26] 10Daizo: "...like looking at a sapling and knowing the shape of the tree it grows into." [23:29] "Or could grow into," 07Dryas whispers without realizing it, in the least patriotic moment of her life to date. [23:30] 10Daizo raises his voice and calls out to Seiri. "Is Lady Garnet to be your sifu from this day forward? Then I acknowledge her gladly." [23:30] 4Piu is practically hopping up and down. But it's a controlled cheerleading. [23:32] 6Zhangyu was training her... but perhaps not as well as he could have. That's something to be concerned with for future students. 15[23:32] Seiri looks up at Daizo, Dryas, and Caxi, and looks as if she's suddenly very aware of all the eyes on her. "I don't know," she finally manages. To Garnet: "I don't know if I have the strength of heart to kill anybody." She glances for just a moment at Piu, before playing it like her eyes were just pausing on their way to Sadako. [23:33] 4Since Piu doesn't actually regret killing Dusk, there's not even the slightest chance of that bothering her, let alone her acknowledging it. 15[23:34] It didn't really seem like an insult, anyway. 15[23:34] Seiri: "What, uh, what brings you all out here? Dragons know it wasn't me." 15[23:35] She kind of scurries out of the middle of the street to sit by Sadako, who immediately puts an arm around her, to Seiri's visible surprise. [23:37] "We're surveying the island," 07Dryas explains. 15[23:38] Garnet: "For what?" [23:38] 4Piu: "Ways to get this place up and running again. Power points. Inflection points." [23:38] 10Aww. Well, Daizo's already put his foot right in it. "We're investigating the dragon lines, to see if we can do something about the Essence stagnation." [23:38] "I get the sense you don't approve!" 15[23:39] Garnet: "Need I?" [23:41] 10Daizo: "I care less about 'up and running' than I do just getting a grip on what's happening here. I doubt this is the last ruin we'll be visiting, and understanding this one while it's quiescent may make all the difference someday." 15[23:42] Caxi: "You don't need to approve... but we do need you. Make of that what you will." [23:42] 4Piu: "Well, that is the question, isn't it." [23:43] "Good news is, it's up to you! We can't make you do anything you don't want to do and frankly, we'd get little utility out of it even if we could, because the endgame would be making you the most powerful person in Creation, and if you hated us by the time you got there, well." [23:44] 6Zhangyu: "Less than ideal." [23:44] 10And Daizo thought he was the one with the specialty in blunt force.  15[23:44] Garnet: "Why take the risk, then? What's in it for you?" [23:47] 4Piu: "Every house in the Realm sees my house as illegitimate and weak, when they think of it at all, and want it destroyed when they do. My house will not survive the great game without the game substantially changing. And it's good to know incredibly powerful people and demonstrate your utility to them, even if they don't like it, or you." [23:47] "And all that aside, despite my cynicism, I like you." 15[23:49] Garnet: "Does she speak for all of you? Do you all have weak houses in need of patronage?" [23:49] "No. I speak for myself: There is too much to lose," 07Dryas replies. "For example: Suppose you are the true Empress playing a sorcerous trick on the world. But even if you were not: there are much darker forces mobilizing in the world now. The Realm's weakness invites disaster." 15[23:49] Garnet: "What could be darker than this?" [23:50] 4Piu: "We should tell her about Skullstone." [23:54] 6Zhangyu: "I'd prefer to know how this operates, what points of failure are, who has access to what, that sort of thing. Whether it needed to be used or broken." [23:54] 07Dryas: "On the other side of the world - in the Scavenger Lands, the Realm satrapy of Thorns was overthrown and destroyed by an enormous army of the dead after a single cataclysmic battle. I tell you that merely to explain the stakes. Here, in the West, another kingdom of necromancers rules the Skullstone Archipelago, to the northwest." [23:55] 4Piu: "And they've got killers!" [23:55] "And slavers." 15[23:55] Garnet, coldly: "Don't we all?" [23:56] 4Piu: "See, if you said that with a smile, you'd sound just like Nn Tloc." [23:56] 07Dryas, wounded by Piu's remark: "And they are collecting Anathema to their banner. But not as equals." [23:57] 4Piu's made it clear what she thinks of the slave trade. Sorry babe! [23:57] 6Zhangyu isn't exactly a fan of slavers either. [23:58] 07Dryas: "I've had visions of torture, mutilation, a black snake with shining teeth. Something that changes, that doesn't quite kill but brings something else. I don't know what. But it doesn't bode well for anyone. They are gathering power to do something unspeakable." [00:05] 10Daizo: "For my part, I can corroborate some of what Dryas is saying. There have been rumors swirling about ever since the fall of Thorns—Anathema marked with blood. Beyond that I know little." 15[00:07] Garnet: "More unspeakable than taking in orphans and making chattel? More unspeakable than cracking the bones of the earth between our teeth and sucking the marrow? More unspeakable than drawing all that is foul and ruinous into your hand not for virtue, or even ambition, but to wield as succor against the sins of our fathers?" 15[00:08] "I want more than your word. Show me." [00:09] "That can be arranged," 07Dryas replies distantly. [00:09] 14...How far is a trip to Skullstone? [00:10] 07We don't have to go that far. 15[00:11] Skullstone would be about a week's voyage, except that you'd have to sail through the Neck, which is impassable in the rainy season. An alternate course could be plotted, but it would take at least twice as long. [00:11] 07We only need to catch up to the 07Falling Leaf07. 15[00:12] Garnet: "Arrange it, then. Where are the castellans you captured?" [00:13] 4They should be in bed somewhere. Piu would have seen to both medical attention and proper lodging as befits elders, and she wouldn't have been alone. [00:16] 10Daizo: "In the barracks where we found the first supply cache. We know the path is clear, and there were intact beds." [00:17] 4Piu: "They're being taken care of. I replaced the sailors doing so on the line." 15[00:17] Garnet: "Seiri. How are your arms?" 15[00:17] Seiri: "Strong enough to carry the jar, Lady Garnet." 15[00:17] Garnet: "Lean mise." 15[00:18] Seiri stands up, shrugging off Sadako's arm, and then squats to get the jar. 15[00:18] Sadako, glowering, stands up too. "I'll come." [00:22] 10Daizo: "Are you going to try to speak to them?" 15[00:23] Garnet: "I think I know what they want most right now. I intend to offer it to them." 15[00:23] NEXT TIME: The soul yearns for honor