15[20:15] Dryas is being made to wait. Lena's majordomo, who is supposed to be entrusting her effects and obligations to Dryas as proximate next-of-kin, is not where she said she'd be, and where Dryas now is — the small receiving-room at the front of Lady Lena's residence in the Inner City, which Piu entered and exited from the balcony the night before. 15[20:18] Zhangyu, meanwhile, has the sense of being waited on; he's taking solitary initiative on what amounts to espionage work, which is well outside his wheelhouse. Luckily, he's got a partner with a bit more experience in the field. The challenge: influence the rowdy and riotous laborers of outer Brightwork, to win your battles and their war. What do he and Piu have in mind? [20:19] 4Easiest way in is see if they have a fight club. [20:19] 6Do they? That would be incredibly convenient. [20:20] 14V'neef Piu is probably getting a bit more well-known around here now that she's had a local drug dealer taken out in connection with Lena's murder. Unclear how that rep is going to affect their play here, or what that rep even is. [20:21] 07Dryas paces through the antechamber, and as he does so, gets a feel for her kin's sensibilities and the space in general. 15[20:22] Daizo helped bring a man back from the brink of death, and now stands on the brink of pushing that man to the death of others. Peleps Deled is waiting for word from a messenger with a specific phrase. But for the moment he's free of immediate obligation. What preoccupies him? Where does his attention lead? 15[20:24] Zhangyu and Piu have both seen posters for the evening fights — it doesn't seem particularly well-organized, certainly not like the big federations you can find in the Northern and Southern Threshold, or the storied Hinokuni, or even those freaks in Wu-Jian, but anywhere people with big muscly arms and shitty jobs drink a lot, there's going to be someone beating the shit out of 15[20:24] someone else. [20:26] 4Well, that seems where we need to go, as long as we're careful not to cripple or kill anyone. [20:26] 6Call that a backup strategy. Zhangyu likely has a reputation among the local sailors -- he'd know where they drink, and be a known friend of theirs. 15[20:28] Zhangyu knows full well where the sailors hang out, and after a rocky start was able to bond with them in their tea houses turned soup kitchen. It's midday, and hot, and there's no work to do, so anyone who's not milling out in the streets looking for trouble with the Watch is probably going to be in one of those dockside watering holes. [20:29] 4Piu will be in her least salacious, least ostentatious leisure outfit. She's not going to fool anyone into thinking she's poor, but it doesn't do to flaunt during a famine. 15[20:30] There *are* a lot of people milling on the streets looking for trouble with the watch, men visibly but crudely armed traveling in packs just large enough that the better-trained, better-equipped, but smaller patrols and checkpoint crews of the Watch mostly, uh, look on from a respectful distance. They haven't seen any proper violence yet today... it's just sort of swimming in the air. [20:31] 6Look on and cry. [20:34] 10Daizo's still a little shocked at how easy it was to pull the wool over Deled's eyes—and a little scandalized at himself for enjoying it so much. But there's some ramifications of that which need to be dealt with first—for instance, Ratel needs to know that her mad dog cousin is in the city and has agreed to perform some heinous murders for them. [20:35] 4It's probably best to just...appear in the crowd a couple blocks into the docks section, rather than go through the checkpoints. At least it would be for Piu. Deference from the watch might not be a great thing. So she'll sneak in and join Zhangyu when he's cleared the spears. [20:35] 6He has no idea how she does that. It's uncanny. [20:37] 10But when he arrives at the guest suites, Ratel's nowhere to be found. Well, so much for that idea.  15[20:38] Dryas picks around the residence as best she can without the keys, which it turns out is pretty well, because aside from guards (who give the ranking Cynis the run of the place) Lena did not seem to give much thought to her security. The doors to her private chambers are unlocked, letting Dryas see a space Lena used both infrequently and carelessly, including a pile of unsorted 15[20:38] correspondence, a snufflike box of unpoisoned cocaine (with a hidden compartment holding a silver key within), and working spaces that are meticulously organized and arranged for the convenient use of someone much, much shorter than Cynis Lena. [20:42] 4To Zhangyu: "So who do you want me to be?" [20:42] "Hype-girl? Floozy? Aide du camp? Bystander who jumps in to fight you and sandbags to put you over?" [20:43] "I could do the silent bodyguard thing but I don't think anyone would buy it." [20:43] 6Zhangyu: "You wouldn't need to sandbag. But-- lawyer-type? I'm not exactly good at that kind of thing." [20:44] 10Nor, at least for the moment, is Caxi—but they'll touch base soon enough. He's about to retire to his rooms and bury himself in some of the antiquated engineering texts they found in the Mionzi cache when the thought strikes him—he has got some unfinished business after all. Shortly after, he's knocking on Lady Garnet's door.  [20:45] 07Did Cerise ever make it out West, Dryas wonders as she sifts through the correspondence. Anything to give context to Falen's letter would be of interest. She seemed nervous about her mother finding out about her latest fuckup or something... wonder what the damage is... [20:45] 4Piu: "You sandbag so that the moves go off properly and no one gets for-real hurt; it wasn't a challenge, sailor. And sure, that works. As long as it's not like, ring-lawyer. I can play dumb but 'didn't read the contract' dumb." [20:46] *but not [20:46] 6Zhangyu: "Think I've got 'read-the-ring' contract down." [20:46] "Sounds good. I'll follow your lead!" 15[20:49] It's hard to make out the words being sung through the heavy door, but Daizo's knock cuts it short anyway. Sadako opens the door, dully meeting Daizo eye-to-chest and slowly looking upward. "It's Daizo," she calls, before pushing the door open to let him in. There's a nice sea breeze going through, blowing the smells of tea and sweet bread throughout the sunny apartment. Garnet's 15[20:49] sitting at a table in the sun, her face veiled but her shoulders bare, soaking up as much of the light as she can manage. Seiri, across from her, is seeing to the tea. Between them is a wide book thrown open and flat on the table. [20:52] 10The patented Sadako Stare bounces right off of him, and Daizo sweeps in grandly. "Good morning, ladies. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." 15[20:54] Dryas finds a few things of interest there, including a series of letters of Lena variously promising funding to and demanding funding from various other luminaries — resources pledged to the expeditions and research of Ragara Takoye, for instance, and half a draft of a very nasty letter to the Governor of Putu-on-Neck demanding to know why the jade mine still hasn't re-opened. In 15[20:54] addition she finds the manifest of the Omeror, a yacht she knows from the pirate who gave her the cage has also trafficked in Anathema. 15[20:54] Seiri: "Oh, no, Master Daizo. We're just looking through this songbook. How is Lady Piu doing?" 15[20:56] Zhangyu and Piu are able to walk through the checkpoints pretty easily to get into the watering holes. People look up when they enter, and few recognize them, but the few that do raise a tin cup and a cheer. Whatever Zhangyu did last night it made a pretty good impression. [20:56] 6He has no idea, frankly. Must've been cool, though. [20:56] 10Daizo: "She hasn't quite made a full recovery, but she's up and about. Cousin Zhangyu is accompanying her on an errand at the moment." 15[20:57] Overproof rum on an empty stomach tends to lead to nights like that, as any sailor knows. 15[20:57] Seiri: "Would you like some tea? Or... is this private business? With Lady Garnet." 15[20:57] Garnet, for her part, is simply watching Daizo quietly. [20:58] 4Piu won't wave back -- bit unmeet and presumptuous to do that -- but she will smile a lot and make eye contact. [21:00] 10Daizo: "A private matter, I'm afraid. I'll try not to keep her too long." 15[21:01] Sadako: "Come on. You can show me that shrine you went to." 15[21:01] Seiri: "Wwwwhy don't we see what Lady Caxi is up to? Maybe she needs some help." 15[21:01] Sadako: "Whatever." 15[21:01] The two depart. [21:02] "They're cleaning that shrine today,"10 Daizo calls after them. [21:02] 10Technically true! 15[21:03] When they're alone, Garnet asks, "How may I be of service?" [21:03] 07Takoye - him again! What is that sly old goat up to? Dryas will sort the letters by recipient and date as she waits. She'll also idly look around for whatever the silver key happens to unlock. [21:06] 10Daizo: "Well. I never properly apologized to you for punching a hole in your cabin." 15[21:08] Unfortunately for Dryas, the Omeror's manifest doesn't have any clearly labeled HIDDEN ANATHEMA SLAVE line items. Nothing seems to have a keyhole even the rough size of the teeth of the key in Dryas's hand. Sorting the correspondence reveals a worrying trend coming to a head: in the absence of a steady flow of exports to stay afloat, Lena's had to resort to some very inventive and 15[21:08] desperate accounting, dithering, and pressuring other connections to keep even the semblance of an operation going. The pieces for a successful business are all here, it's just "Oh oh oh! I'm so sorry. Excuse me, my Lady. A thousand — no, ten thousand — no, a million apologies." 15[21:09] Zhangyu and Piu get waved over to the bar by Tomi, that guy Zhangyu's pretty sure he remembers from last night. "Foreign man! With a foreign friend." 15[21:09] "Too early for working foreigners to take a drink?" 15[21:11] Garnet: "It was swiftly repaired, and these have been... very stressful times for you, I'm sure." 15[21:11] "I feel as if I owe you an apology as well." [21:12] 4Piu: "Absolutely not, big man." 15[21:13] Dryas's investigation and train of thought has been interrupted by a small, round woman, close to Cerise's proportions but appearing, for her bizarre size, to be in perfect health. She waves her fat little arms so frantically in emphasis that her floppy pink beret keeps slipping down over her eyes, forcing her to readjust. [21:15] 10A quick laugh from Daizo "I have it easy, by comparison." 10He resumes a more serious tone with Garnet offers an apology. "But if we're going to have a good working relationship going forward, we should probably clear the air." [21:15] with/when 15[21:16] Do Piu and Zhangyu both take rum, and do they take it with water? "Ordinarily we'd have sugar and lime with the water, but not a drop of proper grog has passed an honest sailor's lips in here in twice a moon or more." [21:17] 4Just rum. [21:17] 4Well, actually. [21:17] 4She'll follow Zhangyu's lead. He knows the customs. 15[21:17] Garnet pours herself some tea, taking care not to spill it on the open book, which has sheet music paired to a beautiful illumination of a man's face hidden in a stormcloud. 15[21:18] "Can I? Is it even possible?" [21:22] 10Daizo: "Do you mean this snarl with the girls, or something else?" 15[21:24] Garnet: "I don't think it was my seizing Seiri's time that made you so angry. Perhaps you don't even think of yourself as being angry with me. But when I look at you, when I listen to you speak... you are." 15[21:28] Tomi glowers into his mug. "We'll see an end of that and soon. One way or the other. It can't go on like this." [21:29] 07Dryas regards the majordomo. "Good morning," 07she intones with measured beneficence. "Do not be troubled, I was able to get straight into things." 15[21:29] Dryas sizes the little woman up. Her general mania belies the extent to which she carries herself with, if not control, then certanily care. That floppy beret has been mended by hand with tiny, exacting stitches. Her matching jacket, her little boots... Dryas judges that this is a woman who's held a lot of jobs, which she has taken very seriously, but none for very long. 15[21:30] Tataru Taru: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvdHi0smyp8 - As long as I can dream, it's hard to slow this swinger down. [21:30] 10Daizo: "…It's difficult to put into words. There are… a lot of things to be angry about, once you start paying attention." [21:31] 4Piu: "That it cannot. But times might be a-changing." 15[21:33] Tomi: "That they might... what say you, Zhangyu?" 15[21:33] Garnet: "I know the feeling." 15[21:33] "What would you like to say to her?" 15[21:38] The little woman: "Oh, that's such a relief. I got caught up in a higgledy-piggledy mess with the Customs Office, trying to maintain continuity until someone could step in here, while everyone's swamped with that new mess in from Skullstone. But! My name is Tataru, and I'm Lady Lena's right-hand woman. Er... forgive me. But you of course must be Lady Dryas!" [21:39] 10Daizo: "How much of this were you kept in the dark about, and how much did you know about but tolerated anyway? How long have the temples been selling foundlings to slavers while the governors turn blind eyes?" [21:39] "…that sort of thing." 15[21:40] Garnet blinks rapidly behind her shawl. "And what would you be hoping to hear?" [21:42] 10Daizo: "I don't know. But… at least you would know that the obol stopped there, and you could choose how much of it you could live with, or throw it away and live an outcaste's life." [21:42] 07Dryas gives an incline of her head. "The very same. I'm very sorry about what happened to Lena, but I am sure you will be just as effective in my service as you were in hers. So you need not worry. I've already taken the liberty of going through her correspondence. The situation with the pirates has really made a mess of things, it seems." 15[21:45] Tataru: "Oh yes, terribly. We've got perishable goods sitting in holds with no one foolhardy enough to take them to sea! And it's not like that stops the bills piling up... Lady Lena was very confident in her plan... but I'm afraid she didn't share it. Perhaps she confided in you before she passed?" 15[21:47] Tomi chews on Zhangyu's assured wisdom. "Changing how's the question." [21:48] 4Piu: "Things are changing in the administration." [21:48] "Not...at the very top. Not yet." [21:48] "But you know how it is. The slave in charge of the day-to-day might have more room to move now." 15[21:49] Garnet: "Your cohort is of many minds on that. Speaking to you, Piu, Dryas, Caxi... four Dragons, six opinions." 15[21:50] "And who knows what secrets lurk in your cousin's mind. Still waters run deep." [21:50] 07Dryas frowns. "Not quite. But there's the bones of something salvageable here." 07Wait a second, why would Lena have had a manifest from the Omeror...? 15[21:51] According to the manifest, because she owns it and it's in dock here. [21:52] 07Dryas: "Is this line accurate? Lena owns the Omeror? It's here now?" 15[21:53] Tomi: "What's spurring the change? Don't tell me it's that royal wedding." 15[21:56] Tataru stands on tiptoe to look at the paper Dryas is gesturing to. "Yes, ma'am. Berth Dalet, it says so here. A perfect example. Molasses will keep a while, but not forever, and certainly not as the weather turns hot." [21:57] 10Daizo: "Essentially, I look at it as, we came out here in a long-shot attempt to restore peace to the Realm. To stop the incipient civil war. And, I think, people like me would assume that a cause like that is automatically righteous. I was able to sell it to one of my old colleagues like that, and even though he's in a bad way right now, he has—had—one of the sharpest minds I knew. And he just ate it right up." [21:58] "But I'm far from certain that's the case now. And the idea of using you as a pawn in the Realm Civil War doesn't sit quite right with me anymore, either." [21:58] 4Piu: "Not for any of the reasons you'd think...but something like that. At the very least, it's a pressure point. You've seen how many of those things are in town for it." [22:01] 10Daizo: "Can we start again, and rebuild a Realm from first principles? No work of man is perfect, and the pursuit of perfection leads to madness—that's the lesson of the Golden Anathema. But can we do better?" 15[22:02] Garnet: "Perhaps it's less about stupid or smart and more about what one wishes to belief. I very much wish to believe that I, or anyone like me, could not have done the things attributed to your Empress. So it is my hope that something far grander and more nefarious than one woman and one weapon built the world you live in." 15[22:02] *wishes to believe 15[22:02] Tomi: "Oh, did I. Did you catch the parade this morning? Monsters and ponces throwing silver and fresh fruit like scraps to the dog. Mocking us." [22:03]  [22:03] 07Dryas: "Did Lena ever have meetings with any of the Skullstone, euh, people?" [22:03] 4Her mouth tightens. "We're no friends of the Moray." [22:03] "But we'd love to meet him." [22:04] 10Daizo nods slowly. "I should save the feverish flights of fancy. There's still so much we don't know." [22:04] "Might not sound like it matters to what's going on down here...but it's all connected." 15[22:04] Tataru: "From time to time. Once she let her magician go, I understand there was no faster messenger in the area than that Abbot." [22:05] 07Dryas: "What happened to the magician?" 15[22:06] Tataru: "Sent back to Wu Jian with the rest of her householders. Lady Lena wanted to go in a different direction and work more closely with local people. Technically I'm on retainer from the Guild." [22:06] 10Daizo: "Which brings me to the other reason I'm here." 15[22:07] Tomi: "Heh. You and me and a couple hundred of my closest friends." 15[22:08] "But it's suicide. Those freaks and perverts will just kill us and put our dead bodies back to work. We'll be no better than the Guildie slaves in their pens, and we fought long and hard to keep them off the docks." [22:08] 4Piu grins. "Oh, you won't be the short end of the wedge." [22:09] "You'll be the lever." [22:09] 4Piu: "There a place we can speak privately? With maybe six of your most reliable, closest friends?" [22:09] "We can wait." [22:09] "If the rum's this good the rest of the bottle.." [22:10] 07Dryas hums for a moment. "Which Factor? The one here? What is his name?" [22:10] 10Daizo: "I've discussed matters with Caxi and we think we've reached the limits of what we can do with purely safe testing on the jar." 15[22:11] Garnet: "Which brings us to the unsafe testing." 15[22:12] Tomi: "Good conversation, good rum, lovely new people... we can make that happen." [22:12] 4Piu: "We'll be here." [22:12] 10Daizo: "Precisely. Now, there's levels of safety we're working with here." 15[22:13] Tomi: "We'll just need to wriggle around the Watch a bit. The captain's not as nice a foreigner as you." [22:14] 10Daizo: "Another purely physical test we've proposed is to suspend you from a harness over the sea while I swim downwards with the jar, and see at what distance a 'ceiling' starts to close in on you." [22:15] "And then the opposite test, where we winch it up above your head and see where the ground disappears." 15[22:16] Tataru: "Brightwork's Factor is called Waxwing. She and Lady Lena worked quite closely together. I haven't spoken to her since I heard the news. She must be quite upset." [22:17] 10Daizo: "Or doesn't disappear. If you can continue to stand, then we've learned something valuable." 15[22:18] Garnet: "What if I fall?" [22:19] 4Piu grins. "Oh, you have no idea how nice I can't be." [22:19] 10Daizo: "That's what the harness is for, to prevent any uncontrolled descents." [22:20] 4Then she'll leave him to it and generally keep her own counsel with Zhangyu in a relatively-cool corner until Tomi returns, or sends for them. [22:21] 07Dryas: "I will need to drop by to visit her next, then. So, let's get into things. How many weeks of tribute are laying in Guild warehouses? What other business did Lena have here? Any other ships?" [22:23] 10Daizo: "The next step from that, obviously, would be a controlled descent. If we lower you down past the place where the grownd stops existing, can we pull you back? Obviously we don't just drop you in there all in one go. But you might lose the tip of a toe." [22:23] "So that's one route." 15[22:23] Garnet: "'Uncontrolled descent'. You have a gift for euphemism." [22:24] 07Wings must change one's perspective [22:25] 10Daizo: "It's how the petty officers say 'oi mate, don't drop that on me fookin' head!' Take all precautions to prevent any uncontrolled descents." [22:26] 4Samperson would resent that impression. Better than representing it, though. 15[22:28] Tataru gives Dryas the run-down: Lena had a small fleet to her name or at least her credit, including a couple of lumbering cargo vessels along with some faster ships (such as the Omeror) for escort or boutique transportation. Until recently, Lena's been able to get stuff out of port in fits and starts, but in the last three weeks, once the stoppage and riots shut the port down, 15[22:28] everything's at a standstill. Beyond overseeing the Realm tribute Lena also liaised with local traders and privateers for information and specialized goods. She had a reputation for being willing to sit down with, and walk away from a meeting with, anyone." 15[22:29] Garnet: "Very well. I can begin at your leisure. Should we return to the ship?" 15[22:31] Tomi goes to put the word around. He's gone a quarter hour or so before the teahouse door swings open again and a chill air blows in. A squad from the Watch pushes in, and behind them a woman wearing a jade breastplate and a high ponytail. The place goes quiet as dockworkers variably mutter into their drinks, exchange nervous glances, or stare with open hatred at the newcomers. [22:31] 07Anyone but one V'Neef. [22:31] 10Daizo: "By all means." 10He hadn't meant to start immediately, but hey, if Lady Garnet's enthusiastic… [22:33] 4Oh now this is interesting. 15[22:33] Garnet said "at your leisure," so if Daizo's got something else on his mind or something else he wants to see to he can totally do that. [22:34] 07There's a lot going on here. Dryas needs to come up with a plan to get things back on track. "Let's get the balance sheet out." 07Assets and liabilities. Assets: at least one ship, three weeks of sundry tribute. Liabilities: three weeks behind in tribute. [22:37] 10Daizo: "Ah, but one thing before we depart. There is another method I'd like you to consider. This one is a bit more personal." [22:37] 07Dryas: "Well, we are screwed by being so far behind. But, the good news is, so is everyone else here. We should be able to make that work for us, that can be what I talk with Waxwing about. We can use a new doctrine to move these goods out of port, I think. And some should probably stay here, given the political situation." [22:38] 10Daizo: "The empathic link we discovered. It absolutely bears investigation. I dislike the idea of rummaging around in someone else's thoughts as much as anyone, but…" [22:40] 4Are they specifically looking for Piu and Zhangyu? Does she have a chance to slip into the shadows even further or are they making eye contact when they enter? [22:40] 10Daizo: "From the outside looking in, this is a mystery. But if I could see what you saw, perhaps I might notice something you don't. Or you, through me." [22:41] "I haven't told any of the others about it. Not even Caxi." 15[22:45] Tataru: "That sounds like an excellent plan. Really hit the ground running! Er..." She looks suddenly mortified. "I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, I swear I wasn't making light." 15[22:46] The guards of the Watch fan out, looking around, but can't seem to find whatever it is they seek. Their leader sweeps the room coolly and carefully, but Piu is able to evade her attention. 15[22:47] "Captain," says the bartender. 15[22:47] "Drink?" 15[22:48] "I'm working," says the Watch captain flatly. "Have you seen a young woman, dressed well, very pretty, average height? She might've been in the company of other rich and pretty people. I know this isn't that kind of place but they keep odd company." [22:50] 4There's a small space between the roof and the rafters. It's very tiny, and staying there requires holding a taxing position. But Piu can make herself very tiny when she pleases, and her conditioning is second to none. [22:50] 4And it only took a kip-up and a hop. 15[22:53] Garnet: "That sounds less unpleasant than spelunking into the void." 15[22:53] "You already know more about me than I do. You risk your privacy far more than mine." 15[22:56] The bartender looks around. "No one like that in here I can see." 15[22:56] The Watch-captain stares. "Are you sure about that." [22:56] 4Good man. But she needs to get out of here. [22:56] 07Dryas: "Thank you for being so considerate. Is there anything else to show me here? I found a small key among her effects. Did she keep anything else?" 15[22:57] Tataru: "You already took care of her pet, right? That's the only thing that jumps out at me." [22:58] 07Dryas: "Pet?" [23:00] 4It only takes one rafter transfer to reach a vent in the roof, which she's perfectly-sized to slip through, up onto the roof, then out into the...what time is it? Noon? 15[23:00] Tataru: "Lady Lena keeps a pet! Or kept a pet. I suppose I don't know where it's gone if you don't. She never mentioned it? A cute little mouse in a wire cage?" [23:00] 4Whatever sun it is. [23:01] 4They have reinforcements outside? [23:01] 4She needs to figure out if Tomi's set her up. [23:01] 07Dryas has felt a sinking sensation since seeing that manifest on the desk. "Do you know how long she had it? Where she kept it?" [23:03] 10Daizo: "Last time, I broke the contact after only a few seconds. Let's see, perhaps, what five minutes brings us, and we can decide if we want to continue venturing further after that." 15[23:03] It's just about exactly noon. There are guards outside, yeah, and two of them are holding Tomi by his arms a few ilms off the ground. He seems pretty beat-up (in both senses) but he still has it in him to thrash a bit. [23:05] "Would you be prepared to begin now, or do you need some time to prepare yourself?"10 He takes a look at the songbook on the table. What page is it open to? [23:05] 4How's the crowd mood? [23:05] 4If this keg is really all powder, some trouble should be brewing in the margins. [23:05] 07Dryas fumbles for a cigar, which she brings to her lips. "Do you have a light, by the way? I stopped keeping anything with me when I started hanging out with Fire aspects." 15[23:05] It's open to a song called "The Master's Call", which seems to be about some kind of profound religious experience, at a glance. [23:06] 13Oh no. 15[23:07] The crowd outside the teahouse is chafing at the perimeter the Watch have established. There's some shoving, and a lot of cursing, but nothing bloody yet. 15[23:07] Tataru produces a long match and strikes it against her bootheel. "She's kept it here for weeks at least, right on that desk. I don't know where it's gone." [23:10] 07Dryas: "I'm going to make you an offer, right now, sight unseen." 07Drag. "Which isn't fair, but there's not much I can do for it. You can say no, and go back to the Guild, and go on as best as you can. No hard feelings. Or you can work for me. You might technically stay on Guild payroll, if we are clever enough..." 15[23:10] Tataru: "Full time?" Her eyes widen. [23:10] 07Dryas: "Double time." 15[23:10] "!!! I can't refuse an offer like that!" 15[23:11] "That's so generous I can't even ask Waxwing to match it." 15[23:11] "Oh, no, I just gave up all my leverage, didn't I." [23:12] 14Piu will head to the center of the strike brigade's cordon -- they should have pushed out this big empty perimeter to keep the workers from really grouping up on them, sort of a reverse-kettle since they have to hold ground not impede movement and they'll probably have ersatz alleymouths and such as chokepoints. This will make the perimeter guys choose between looking at her and [23:12] 14looking at the crowd...and should draw this watch captain out into a position only reinforced by a bunch of undermanned cordons. [23:13] 4When she's there, she's no problem at all to see. [23:13] 10Daizo can read music as well as any other properly-raised Dynast. He spots a familiar name, even among the foreign lyrics—a northern spiritual chant? Interesting. This other Xia Lan must be fairly well-traveled, or well-informed. [23:15] 07Dryas: "Yeah. It's fine though." 07She looks over the desk, where Tataru claims the cage was. Piu didn't mention anything about that. "Now that you work directly for me, you need to know: a confrontation is coming with Skullstone. We are the ones bringing it. And so are you, now. Do you have family here?" 15[23:17] The sudden movement draws the guards' attention, but also the crowd's attention, so the line holds even though a fresh wave of little scuffles adjoin her landing. The captain and her men step back out into the daylight. "V'neef Piu?" she asks, shielding her eyes against the sun. 15[23:18] Garnet: "I do hope that whatever comes of this union, we can keep discreet between ourselves, as long as it's practical. You don't strike me as a gossip, but some of your cohort are." [23:18] 4Piu finishes her shot of rum with only a slight flourish, and pockets the shotglass. 15[23:19] Tataru: "Oh, no. My family is way down South. Do you know Chiaroscuro?" [23:20] 10Daizo: "We all have secrets we keep from each other. I've already been burned a couple of times by running my mouth when I shouldn't." 15[23:20] The guard-captain: "I suppose first I should ask after your health. Are you feeling well, ma'am?" [23:22] 07Dryas: "I have been there! You don't look Delzahn, though...? Are you from one of the old city families?" [23:22] "'Salutations à vous,' the girls say, places better-fed than here. Or maybe, for you, it's 'Je vous salue.' You're on duty after all. But I guess that's all I know of pirate." 4Hands in pockets, raising her voice. "You beat a man and went out for a walk looking for little ol' me, huh." [23:23] "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to start a riot, Captain." 15[23:24] Tataru: "Yes ma'am, the Taru family's been traders for generations. It's an old tradition and I'm proud to be part of it." [23:24] 10Daizo retrieves the jar and places it between them in the center of the table.  15[23:27] The guard-captain: "Sometimes you get tired of waiting for someone else to make the first move, you know?" [23:29] 07Dryas: "In that case, I will meet with Waxwing. I need you to do a few things, though. I need you to see about getting some potted plants - pick some pretty ones but don't spend too much - in some nice large pots moved into the Inner City. I don't care how, sell them, gift them, it doesn't matter. Once you have that done, ask for Peleps Catela on the Drifting Leaf and we'll see to the next steps." 15[23:30] Tataru: "How large is large?" [23:30] 4Twirling a necklace around her fingers and grinning, 14she says: "Still a chance to find the better part of valor." [23:31] 07Dryas:"If you can get me one or two as big as the steam cannons that sit in the harbor in Chiaroscuro, that would be big enough." [23:32] "But if it's a street fight you want...baby, this is BRIGHTWORK!" 15[23:32] "I'll see it done, ma'am." Tataru bows, causing the beret to slip forward again. 15[23:37] Dryas looks at the desk anew now that she knows what was supposed to be on it. Delicate impressions in the grain mark out that, yes, there was something big and rectangular here, half-covered by papers now. It doesn't look like it was moved hastily or in a struggle, and Lena didn't strike Dryas as the type to just let a theft slide... so her best guess is that Lena moved it herself. 15[23:37] And the most likely place for her to have moved it is somewhere else she controls — one of her ships. Likely the Omeror. [23:41] 07Best place to go next. 15[23:48] The watch-captain looks on levelly. "You're the princess here. What do you want?" 15[23:53] The Omeror is a sleek little yacht with a sharp profile and clean lines all over. It looks devilishly fast even though there's clearly a stocked bar visible on deck. [23:54] "I'd like for you to let me drink where I please when I please. But I'll settle for you realizing you're cut off from reinforcement, pincered by two pissed-off Dynasts, barely controlling a growing crowd as it is, and you've clearly sortied to grab me and drag me back to somewhere I can get a stern talking-to than to actually deal with this powder keg of yours exploding. So tactically [23:54] speaking, my advice would be to sound a general withdrawl, drop the boy I was flirting with, and file a complaint with my commanding officer." [23:54] "Because a lot of your other options end with the docks burning on your watch." [23:56] 07Dryas approaches the gangway. "Kowai Lintha Meritine!" [23:58] 07Dryas approaches the gangway and looks for an officer. 15[00:01] The watch-captain lifts her head, eyes closed, letting the noon sun fall on her face. She breathes in, breathes out. "I'd really like to make an honest woman of you. But they're not my docks either." 15[00:02] "Enjoy your day, my Lady." [00:02] 4Piu half-bows, no mockery in it. "Captain." [00:03] 4Burning down the docks is not usually what people who tell her they want to make an honest woman out of her mean, but it's certainly more fun. 15[00:03] She gives the move-out order and the watch, with some consternation and no few jeers from the crowd, withdraws to more fortified positions. [00:03] 07Drtas: "Cynis Dryas, requesting permission to board." 07Not that she needs it, technically, but as a sign of respect. [00:04] 4Piu wanders up to Tomi and lightly kicks him in the ribs. Some place where it doesn't look like he's been hurt too bad. "A quarter hour, before you got rung up. That's sad stuff, my friend." 15[00:05] Dryas gets a gangplank thrown down by a sour-looking man in an old-fashioned hat. "My Lady! We've already received word. Terrible news." [00:05] "Less, actually. Given the time it should take to get all those men down here, I gather they snapped you up immediately." 15[00:05] Tomi grins past bloody teeth. "If I'd known you were so popular, I'd have been more careful." With a groan he pulls himself up. "Promise not to hold it against me?" [00:06] 4Piu: "Well, no one got fileted and cooked on the stones out here for lunch, so no harm done. Except you might have a rat or two." [00:07] 07Dryas takes to it in a seawoman's fashion. "Are you the master of the vessel?" 07she asks, once she has made it to the deck. A fully stocked bar? So it truly is a pleasurecraft. How droll. [00:08] 6Zhangyu's waiting around the corner if she needs help. She doesn't, but if she does, he's there. 15[00:08] The captain: "In your absence, ma'am, I am. Bham Bata is my name, if you haven't had the chance to read the manifest. I've let most of our staff go on indefinite shore leave, but I think we can present a sailable crew inside a day if you're ready to get us back to work." [00:08] 4If the captain hadn't seen reason, then she would've. They all would've. Glad she did; Piu doesn't need to be causing so much trouble all of the time. 15[00:09] Tomi: "Not a lot of people who hold their pride above a full belly. They don't need to feed us all to break us." [00:10] 4Piu: "Well. Get yourself cleaned up, tighten the circle of trust a bit...and set up that meet. I think it's best if the two of us were elsewhere for a bit." [00:10] 4Her and Zhangyu, that is. [00:11] 6He nods. Not that she can see it. [00:11] 10Daizo lays one hand on the white jade vessel and invites Garnet to do the same. "Count three, and we'll begin." 10He shoots Xia Lan a look. "I hope you'll still respect me in the morning." [00:11] 6Actually she might. Piu is scary. 15[00:12] Bham Bata: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KO7cofMJH0 - One day, when the tonguing is done, we'll take our leave and go. 15[00:13] Tomi: "We'll be in touch, I hope." [00:14] 4Piu: "Next time I'll be more circumspect. But yes." [00:18] 07Dryas: "Recall the men. You'll be off before the wedding, or not long after perhaps. I mourn my kin, but I'm making changes. Did she leave anything in your care before she passed? Even as small as a pet mouse." [00:19] 07Can you see the Keystone from here? 15[00:20] You can, though it's not especially close; its black sails simply tower over all the ships in between. 15[00:20] Bata clears his throat. "Ma'am. I'm glad you were briefed about the mouse. It's been driving me out of my mind with its noise." 15[00:23] He'll show her to his cabin, where there is indeed a large wire cage rattling with intensity. The dark-furred mouse within is running inside a bizarre little wheel that allows it to get up to speed despite having no room. It's made of the same metal as the birdcage, and the silver padlock is prominent. [00:24] 07The virtue of a padlock is that it is reversible, if nothing else. [00:25] 07Dryas inspects it, feining disinterest. "Put it in a barrel and we'll take it to the Drifting Leaf. I don't want anyone to know it's been here, or where it's going next. Especially those Skullstoners." 15[00:26] Bham Bata: "Care of the Leaf's commanding officer?" [00:27] "Peleps Catela, if you know her." 15[00:27] Bata: "Never was a Navy man. But it will be as you command." [00:27] 4Home again home again it is. For Piu, at least. She's becoming a distraction. Zhangyu might still have work here. [00:28] 14For Piu, it's time to start making wedding arrangements. 15[00:29] The closer Dryas inspects it, she can see that beneath the sawdust the floor of the cage is badly scratched. Badly... and methodically. Rows and columns of neat little hatchmarks. It'd be impossible to count how many without sweeping the sawdust away, but whoever made them is counting something that goes quite high — into the dozens, at least. [00:29] 07Dryas: "Like I said, I want to make some changes around here. I am not in a place to take command myself, so I leave it to you. You're a seaman and I'll treat you like one. Do you need the bar?" 15[00:30] Bata: "We do not." [00:32] 07Dryas: "Good. We will need the weight. Use the liquor for the men's grog. Have you any other cargo rotting in the hold, waiting for someone to make a decision about it?" 15[00:32] The mouse has stopped running in its wheel and goes to the little dish of water in its cage, its tail swishing back and forth. 15[00:33] Bata: "Books. Of... various genres." 15[00:33] "I gather there wasn't much of a market for literature up here." [00:38] 07Dryas: "They'd be worth a small fortune in Abalone, no doubt. That will likely be your next destination, so plan accordingly." 15[00:38] "Understood." [00:40] 07Dryas: "Have there been any problems, is there anything I should be aware of?" 15[00:41] Bata: "Nothing aside from having to sit on our asses for most of a month. It's good to get back to honest work. I'm glad to be of service." 15[00:42] NEXT TIME: The Crank and the Commodore 15[00:48] Dryas gives whatever noise or gesture of assent or comprehension she likes, but her attention is drawn to the mouse, who is looking directly up at her for the first time. Its bright little eyes and the paler fur of its face, its twitching whiskers... it really is quite cute! 15[00:48] Rinca Bleeding-Brow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ8s1sbNFSY - It's like I'm gonna kill myself — but I'd rather kill you.