15[20:23] Once a Dynast reaches a certain age it feels like all they do every summer is go to weddings. 15[20:26] Tonight's different from any wedding the Four Fangs have ever been to, though, and they can taste it on the air like smoke from a far-off fire. The attack is three-pronged, with the hearth themselves preparing to crash the ceremony, an uprising in the streets of Brightwork to pull the Watch's focus, and the razing of the docks to pinch off cries for help or support. 15[20:27] There remain many known unknowns — where will the Watch and its dour captain focus their attention? Just how loyal is the digusting Abbot? And will the fanatic Deled live to trouble them all another day? 15[20:27] But these questions are in the hands of the Maidens now. It's time. 15[20:29] Through careful manipulation of the household staff, the ridiculous slave Bodease has secured a backstage staging area as people file in to the ceremony beyond the curtain. When they arrive they find the wedding singer tuning his six-string, whose eyes widen as he sees the hearth come in, looking like... what, exactly? Are they dressed for battle or for babble? [20:29] 14Tephen and Caska -- Bi làidir, bi sàbhailte. Tha seo a 'oidhche sinn amaideach le Taigh airgead. [20:30] 4V'neef Piu is resplendant and nearly-scandalous in whatever she had on the rack that was fit for purpose. Besotted clothiers keep her quite well-stocked with evening dresses for formal occasions. [20:32] 4There is an ornate bangle around her right wrist. Fashionable! 14The Chain is always with her. [20:33] 10For Daizo's part, he appears no different than your average wedding guest who stands two heads taller than everyone else and has glittering mica wings. He entered the palace grounds formally dressed and barehanded, but he won't leave that way—although he might have to excuse himself for a minute to change before the festivities really get popping.  [20:33] 6Zhangyu's dressed in the nicest set of robes he owns, which - despite assumptions to the contrary - are actually quite fashionable. Or maybe he's just very attractive and pulls it off better than anyone reasonably could. It's hard to say. 15[20:38] The wedding singer, who Daizo knows is called "Mockingbird", says: "...hey?" [20:40] 10Daizo, extending his hand into a carved column and pulling out a jade warclub wider then the column: "Hey." [20:41] "You were good to Seiri so I'll give you advance notice. You have about, mmm, two hours to get on a ship out of this town." [20:41] 4It's time to mingle...until the bride and groom show up. And the yelling starts outside. [20:43] "Or to find a very fast horse." 15[20:43] Mockingbird looks up at Daizo and rubs the back of his neck. "Listen, that's... very b— very nice of you. But they contracted me for the rehearsal and the wedding and I don't get paid if I book early." 15[20:43] "You know how it is." 15[20:44] "Did she like the album?" 15[20:45] The reception's a bit awkward for Piu, particularly among the ladies-in-waiting. Not *frosty* exactly... but they were a lot more loquacious before Lena died. Maybe it's that. Maybe it's the impending wedding to a hideous monster. Who can say? [20:45] 07Dryas stalks her way into the wedding wearing a chain tunic beneath a slightly-more-modest-than-usual dress. [20:46] 4Piu doesn't seem to notice. 14Really, it's that she doesn't care. 15[20:46] People are very eager to converse with Dryas, however! Many hinted opportunities coming from people who don't realize they aren't going to have a city to call their own in a few hours' time. [20:48] 10Daizo: "Yeah, I think it really spoke to her. Not my taste though." 10Plate mail follows the obelisk, and Daizo casually strips down before donning it. "They have a lot of music like that out in the Scavenger Lands?" 15[20:49] Mockingbird: "No. She's one of a kind." 15[20:49] "I'm glad it found a good home, though." [20:49] 07Dryas is, as always, ready and eager to talk. She is especially interested in the comings and goings of the rest of the Direction. 08[20:52] 10Well, there's other Xia Lans out there. But no point spilling 10all10 the beans to Mockingbird. "Hey, if all you're after is your wages, head on over to the Leaf. This wedding really is about to be cancelled." [20:52] 6Zhangyu for his part mostly tries to look unintimidating and approachable. It... doesn't really suit him, at all. [20:52] "It's Lady Dryas' ship and I'm sure she'll recompense you for any losses." [20:53] "And I can talk her into giving you free passage. Maybe." 15[20:54] Dryas quickly gets sucked into a conversation with some dour-looking woman who is "in minerals", talking about the glut of jade that's going to be piling up in mining satrapies once the rainy season ends... assuming those rumors out of Putu-on-Neck are just that. Total silence from the satrapy! Not a word nor a scrap of jade from the island in half a year! [20:56] 07Oh, absolutely fascinating. Fascinating! Who is the Realm's point woman out there, anyway? 15[20:57] After putting down the last rebellion, Putu-on-Neck is still under transitional direct rule of the general that crushed it, some hoary old boor named Budokan. 15[20:58] Mockingbird: "You're a stand-up guy, Tepet Daizo. In my line of work it's bad luck to say 'good luck' so... kick ass out there, okay? I gotta go play the bride in." [20:59] 10Daizo pulls his wings close. The armor practically leaps onto Daizo's frame of its own accord, clasps locking into place. It's a tight squeeze, but what are you going to do? "Yeah. Give 'em a good song to remember, then." 15[21:02] "Think I know just the one," agrees the singer before he steps out onto the stage. 15[21:05] The gossip dulls as the Abbot emerges from behind the altar, dressed in black silk and shimmering silver. He peers past the party into the darkened double-doors at the front of the hall and snaps his finger stageward. The musician takes a deep breath and starts in on the requested song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNVAwlqst4 [21:06] 14The Chain begins to crawl into Piu's palm. [21:07] 07Dryas smiles at her Hearthmates. "Let me play us on, at the first dance." [21:07] 14Absolutely not! We don't let them ACTUALLY GET MARRIED! [21:08] 10We appreciate Dryas' dedication to keeping up the facade until the very last moment, don't we folks? 08[21:10] 07Dryas applauds as Mockingbird plays the couple out - then she rises and makes her way to the stage, gesturing at his guitar and indicating to the dearly gathered that she would like to say a few words. 15[21:10] The crown princess Mox Lapis shuffles up to the altar, possibly out of reluctance but possibly to keep pace with the wizened old man who walks beside her. Custom would dictate that this be the reigning monarch, so maybe this is the absent, ailing King himself, Mox Spinel. 15[21:11] Mockingbird, for his part, looks like he expected this, and steps back gracefully. [21:11] 14Where's the Knight? We can't snap this trap shut until he's here... 15[21:12] He's not here yet. The level of murmurs suggest this is not unusual for this point in the ceremony. He should be due momentarily. 15[21:13] And so Dryas sits and waits for the opportune moment. 15[21:15] The old man takes Lapis up to the altar and she leans down so he can kiss her cheek. When they separate, there are tears in both their eyes. Not particularly happy ones, judging from their faces. 15[21:18] Mox Spinel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34wcarloaA - Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough — I don't know why. 15[21:21] Dryas exchanges looks with the merchant woman, whose delicate, birdlike features are twisted by what seems like a resting expression of faint disgust. 15[21:21] 11 Pearl of Great Worth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0MGs-_9hkw - Don't need money, don't need fame — I just want to make a change. [21:23] 07Dryas simply has a big grin on her face as she fiddles with something at her waist level. A fur stole? A plate? Tough to tell at the moment. 15[21:29] Soon the song changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlK4U_LuNlY 15[21:29] A chill mist rolls across the floor of the hall, and the Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, in full military regalia, medals and leprous growths both shining in the flickering light, sword at his hip, strides up the aisle. 15[21:30] Mortals shudder involuntarily as he passes them. [21:30] 14Here we are... 15[21:31] Curiously — or not so curiously to those in the know — the guards close ranks behind him immediately, sealing off the exit. [21:31] 14He knows. [21:31] 14Good. 15[21:32] Whatever the Knight knows or doesn't know, he seems only to have eyes for Lapis. When he joins her before the altar, he takes her clammy hands in his clammy hands and smiles the way you might before a big meal after a long, hard day. [21:33] 14Caska better be close by and ready to get her away from him. [21:33] 07Is the Abbott here? Lurking in the furniture maybe? [21:33] 14He's officiating, the ghoul. 15[21:35] Speaking of which, as soon as there's a respectful silence he begins: "Notables, potables, esteemed guests and unsavory friends, we are gathered here today..." [21:36] 14Piu begins edging closer to the altar. 15[21:36] This bit is kind of long and dull. The eye wanders, and may see the surface of one's glass of wine ripple subtly, but repeatedly. [21:37] 07Dryas pushes her way to the front. "Sorry! Sorry! Good evening, Abbot. Your highnesses. And the Groom. As the representatives of the Realm, we wanted to say a few words before tonight's ceremony. Actually, I wanted to play a song to commemorate tonight." 15[21:37] The Knight, immediately: "The fuck you do. Sit down." [21:38] 10Ha. [21:39] 07Dryas: "I beg the groom's momentary indulgence. I can promise it's a performance you - none of you - will ever forget." [21:40] 14Just start playing! 08[21:40] 07She's already slinging Mockingbird's guitar over her shoulder. 15[21:40] Mockingbird rolls with it. [21:41] 07She plays a few chords to get into it. D minor. A leisurely tempo, kind of a ragtime almost. Very old-fashioned. 15[21:41] The audience's tittering and chattering obscures the noises coming from outside that sealed, guard-backed door. [21:41] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrLzb3_oZ3k "Midnight, with the stars and you..." [21:42] "Midnight, and the rendezvous..." 07She nods to the other Fangs. [21:44] 10From backstage, Daizo's just listening for the last note.  [21:46] "Your eyes have a message tender, saying 'I surrender all my love to you..." 07She croons. 15[21:55] For just a moment it seems as if she's done it, and seized the horrible man's attention with her brazenness and style. But the fog lifts from his face as quickly as it rolled in, and his hand settles on the hilt of his sword. "You stuck-up whores think you're so fucking clever. With your incestuous little schemes. Your hearth-sister dumping your idiot cousin onto the pavement like 15[21:55] a fucked-out bedslave!" 15[21:56] "But you can't do anything right." [21:56] 14Piu snaps The Chain across her hands. To the ladies-in-waiting: "Bitches, leave." 15[21:56] "That's why I'm up here — LIKE A GOD — and you're out there in the dark like a pig in a ditch." 15[21:57] Mockingbird gently tugs at his guitar. Does Dryas resist? [21:58] 07Dryas releases the guitar, but performs a sleight-of-hand, drawing the Earned Nemesis out of thin air! [21:59] *rewind noises on Piu* 15[21:59] The Knight: "What the fuck is that? Who the fuck are you?" 15[22:00] All the lights go out, and four shafts of cobalt light descend from no fixture in the ceiling, one by one. First Dryas, then Daizo, then Zhangyu, and finally Piu. 15[22:01] Five voices harmonize behind Dryas, though only one man stands there in the dark. 15[22:01] "Heeeeeere we are! Born to be kings—" 15[22:01] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7QaN0NpGws [22:03] 14Piu snaps The Chain across her hands as she's limned in the burning white light of her anima. To the ladies-in-waiting: "Bitches, leave." [22:05] 07Dryas spins the soulsteel bow around her hand. "Tally ho, you filthy brute!" [22:08] 10Daizo crashes through the curtain just in time for the spotlight, and brandishes his club. "Time to get back into the grave you crawled out of!" [22:10] 6Zhangyu swivels his neck and cracks his knuckles. [22:21] 6He stomps forward up to the Knight, but telegraphs his grab - he's too used to the more formal Mantis stylings, even if the more street-influenced style SHOULD be better here. Still, he can't find purchase. 15[22:25] Piu and Zhangyu rush the altar like the practiced killers they are, immediately hitting the Knight hard and fast and putting him on the back foot with their ferocity and skill! 15[22:26] The Abbot produces something from the depths of his habit: a dull, leaden flame piece whose barrel ends in a screaming skull. [22:26] 14Not hard enough. This is too much effort and not enough result for them to last. Dryas and Daizo need to help them dig in-- 15[22:26] He starts blasting. [22:26] 14Caska this would be a good time to get the bride clear-- [22:47] 10Daizo's anima flares, advancing on the Knight and readying a great overhand wallop— [23:06] 07Dryas pulls something over her face - it is a terrifying, fur-rimmed mask of a grinning, long-nosed force of amused destruction. In one smooth motion, Dryas draws back an arrow on the Earned Nemesis and sends it loose at the Knight of Ghosts and Shadow. Dryas laughs - a bonechilling sound - as it finds its mark. [23:07] 10Not going to lie, that's cool as shit. 15[23:14] The Knight's sword stands out like a solid black silhouette against Piu's ghost-white anima. "So it was you who took the Witness down. Did he lead you here? I'm going to take the flesh off your hand a layer at a time until I reach Rune or bone." The blade reaches only bracer. [23:15] 14Piu, grinning, eyes wide, shaking her head: "I don't care." 15[23:15] With his attention fully on Piu, he doesn't even register someone grabbing Lapis by the waist and yanking her into the dark with a barely-audible yelp. More attentive people can catch the glint of green jade off the various warring animas. [23:16] 14Good girl. 15[23:16] And then the front door blows apart. [23:17] 10Here comes the storm. 15[23:18] A steaming behemoth of white jade bursts through, great mole-like digging claws cleaving flesh and bone alike as tissue as the man within's tight voice reverberates inside the metallic shell. "Past the fire and the screams I could HEAR your black hearts beating. ABOMINATION! BY THE WILL OF FIVE HOLY DRAGONS I WILL SMELL YOUR BLOOD FRESH ON THE AIR!" 15[23:18] All of the bystanders who weren't already screaming have now begun. [23:19] 14Piu looks past the Knight, his blade still askew in The Chain, to lock eyes with the Abbot. "Professional courtesy, one killer to another: You should find a deep couch." [23:33] 07A second arrow follows the first, to booming laughter as it finds its way into the Knight's throat, piercing his neck clean through! [23:36] 14As he stiffens, shudders, and ceases to bleed, Piu kicks out his knee. It's a formality. The Knight has become ghosts and shadows. 15[23:36] The scent of his black blood *does* hit the air, smelling like the acrid oil that bubbles up from deep beneath the Southern hardpan. [23:37] 10Daizo: "…" [23:37] "Oah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!" [23:37] 10Motherfucker! How the fuck are we going to get rid of Deled now!? [23:38] 14We'll think of something. [23:38] 14Once he's out of the holy battle-armor. [23:38] 6That guy should've worked out more if all it took was one arrow. [23:40] 10Daizo bellows: "Wedding's over! You don't have to go home but you can't stay here!" 15[23:46] The crowd needs no further urging to stampede out of the hall. [23:46] 14Piu stares the Abbot down. If he's got a way to get out, he needs to use it...but she's not about to look soft in front of the psychopath with the Essence cannon. She's suddenly moving at full speed, a knee flying at Abbot's head (she doesn't have to get too much height on it)-- 15[23:47] The Abbot dissolves into fluttering shreds of shadow that seem to blow away in the force of Piu's radiant soul. 15[23:47] Deled: "NO! I WILL FIND YOU!" [23:48] 14Piu: "We got the one. The political leader." 15[23:48] "WE'LL TAKE THEM ALL!" [23:49] 07Dryas, masked, turns her face around slowly looking for signs of the Abbot. [23:49] 07Dryas: "Fetch Diamond Weapon." [23:49] "Then we should split up. You, my lord, deserve the honor of hunting him here, where he likely still is. We should check his escape at the docks." 14She's had her fill of this reception. [23:51] 07Then Dryas advances on the stricken Knight of Ghosts and Shadows. "Impertinent."07 A knife flashes in the dark of the hall as she kneels. A moment later, something black-red and wet is in her hand. [23:53] 14Has Deled reacted at all to her white-burning anima? 15[23:53] You can't see him in there, but it certainly doesn't seem like it. [23:54] 14A possibly-lethal argument for later, then. If we're splitting the force, then those who aren't pursuing the Abbot might as well take this miscreant's corpse and put it on display for the people. [23:55] 14And then Piu can find Caska, Tephen, and Lapis. [23:55] 6Zhangyu can help with that. Do we want the arrow still in the throat? [23:55] 10Daizo: "Good hunting, brother! Boil the filthy blood in his veins! But leave a piece for me—I'll join you once I have seen my Hearthmates to safety!" [23:55] 14It's not one of Dryas's special quiver. Leave it as proof of kill. [23:55] 10This last is a blatant lie, of course. [23:56] 14To Daizo: "Where's the best place to hang this thing upside-down, you think?" [23:58] 10Daizo: "Main gate to the Upper City, on the commoners' side—but make sure to hang him high so he lasts more than an hour or two." [23:59] 14Piu nods. "Let's get it done, then. Well...can the two of you handle it? I need to check on the princess." [00:01] 10Daizo looks down at the withered corpse. "Yeah, leave it to me.… I got enough shikari training to know how to display the body of a slain Anathema." 15[00:01] Dryas's steed was stabled on the palace grounds in advance of the wedding, and Diamond Weapon rushes to her side, leaping over burning wreckage and guard and civilian bodies littering the ground. 15[00:01] Deled's voice echoes inside the armor. "Yes! Yes!!! Ride with me, huntress! Bring low the most loathsome game to stalk the gods' own country!" [00:02] 10There's a whole protocol, too. The golden, the silver, the bloody… Just another kind of funeral rite, really. 15[00:03] Beyond the palace walls, Brightwork burns. Fierce cheers go up as the Knight's corpse is raised, though the bloody street fighting between the Watch and the sailors continues unabated. No sign of the captain... the fires in the city proper are as nothing against the conflagration at the docks, however. [00:03] 07Dryas leaps onto the beast's back in a single, smooth motion, spurring it onwards towards where, by dead reckoning, she assumes that the Abbot has escaped to. "We've burnt the port. He cannot have gone far." 15[00:04] The doors that Diamond Weapon doesn't kick open Deled blows right through. [00:04] 14Piu ignores the civil war being prosecuted around her -- that is sizeably her fault -- as she heads for the agreed-upon extraction point. 15[00:06] Piu finds them at the pondside house where she met Caska the day before. Tephen, Caska, and Lapis. [00:08] 14She drops into a crouch from the rooftop and stands. "The Knight of Ghosts and Shadows is dead, and hangs inverted from the upper city gate for the commonfolk to see. Deled and Dryas pursue the Abbot, who is in full flight. The Moray has suddenly found much more important places to be." [00:09] 14To Lapis: "Losing the docks is painful, I know, but it also makes you useless to Skullstone. Brightwork's curse has been its strategic importance. Obviously you will rebuild, but this should give you a breather." [00:11] 07Dryas spurs Diamond Weapon onwards through the halls, ironshod hooves striking sparks on masonry as the horse and rider weave through the palace grounds! [00:12] 07A trail of flower petals and twisted brambles mark their passage. 15[00:13] Lapis, weakly: "Who's to stop them from coming for me next?" [00:14] 4Piu and Ratel surely have had conversations about sweeping this babe off her feet to join the adventure, right? Only issue is we're getting a bit short on cabins. [00:16] 4We might have to do some shuffling anyway with Peleps Deled surviving. Move Garnet and the girls over to the Leaf. 15[00:16] Dryas leads the chase, with Deled keeping pace but lacking her acumen for the hunt. Crashing through the Palace, breaching even now with pillaging peasants with work tools and torches and into the night beyond. The fat little man moves faster than you'd think... but the smell of blood carries very far. He's just attempting to force himself into a vertical, suppurating wound in midair 15[00:16] that weeps red blood into the dirt. 15[00:16] Ratel has graciously consented to let the princess bunk with her. [00:16] 4Mmmm. [00:16] 14Piu: "Well, how are your sea legs, princess?" 15[00:17] Lapis's eyes widen. "You mean to take me with you? Make me an exile?" [00:19] 14Piu: "I mean to tell you that there's a space for you on the Defiance, if you want it. I'm not here to sweep you off your feet." 4Casually: "Though...space on the officer's deck is tight. You'd have to bunk up with Commodore Ratel. By her suggestion." [00:19] 4Piu's not here to sweep her off her feet, because someone else already has. 15[00:20] Lapis: "!!!" [00:21] "Come now, Abbot! Test your might! Do not deny us our sport - mortal combat!" 07Taunts Dryas. [00:21] 14Piu: "Gotta decide quick and can't take much. In fact, you might have to go as-is; I'm not sure we can risk returning to the palace." 15[00:22] She turns to Tephen. "I don't know what part you played in this, but I feel as if I owe you very deeply. Let my last act be to formally free you, and every other slave in Brightwork from bondage. A freedom they have already taken... but one I will respect upon my return." 15[00:23] Tephen: "Lot of assumptions in that, Highness, but if they prove out I'm grateful for the consideration." [00:23] 14Piu raises her eyebrows. Well, hey. Sometimes they are fairy-tale princesses. Or ero-scroll princesses, to hear Ratel muse about her. 15[00:24] Lapis turns to Piu. "Let's go. I don't need anything else." [00:24] 14She nods. "Give me a few minutes in private with them, and we'll be off." 15[00:24] The Abbot scowls at the masked Dryas but shakes his head fiercely. "Nope! Nope! Not dying for this shit. Knew it was a bad idea from the start. You wanna have my ass you can split it with the Prince. I'm DONE." 15[00:25] Then he wriggles greasily into the void. 15[00:25] Lapis gives the assassins their space. [00:25] 14To Caska: "Fine work. Fine, fine work. Even harder than the kill; even more impressive." 15[00:26] Caska: "Can I tell her?" 15[00:26] Tephen: "You want to wind her up, go ahead." [00:27] 14This should be good. 15[00:28] Caska: "I saw another Skullstoner. She killed the Captain on the dock. She was going for one of the ships that didn't burn and this woman with long black hair just crawled out of the ground and wrapped her arms around her and just... sucked the life out of her. Hollowed her out." 15[00:28] "She looked like she'd been dead in the water for weeks." [00:28] 07Dryas turns to look at Deled. She simply nods. Then she tilts her head forward to shrug off the mask. "Moray caught our scent and fled before the wedding. So, one of three." [00:29] 14Piu nods as if that's perfectly normal. "Yeah, she does that from time to time. Nice kid, though. Dating my hearth-brother's assistant." [00:30] "Captain must have pissed her off." 15[00:31] Deled: "Two near misses and one perfect shot." 15[00:31] "This would've been a total wash without you. Good work." [00:32] 14Piu: "We're fighting a real confused shadow war here, and we take the allies we can. Not all the bloody-crested dead are Skullstoners. Just a lot of them." 15[00:33] Caska: "How are we supposed to keep straight who's on our side or not?" [00:33] 14Piu: "Same way you do with everyone else. Get to know them. Get to know the things they don't want you to know about them. Make judgment calls." 15[00:34] Tephen: "More than tracking or killing or flashy acrobatics, this is the job." [00:34] "Except raksha though -- fuck raksha. Stay far away from that trouble." [00:34] "Thank you. Your arrival was perfectly timed to turn the battle to a rout. Where will you go next?" 07she asks. [00:36] 14Piu nods at Tephen's words. "Gonna be a lot going on in some tight real estate here through the end of the rainy season. A good playground to hone your skills, with most of the big pieces taken off the board. You'll do well." 15[00:37] Deled: "I have to return to civilization. I need to let them know Furia's gone mad. We need to bring the full might of the Realm down on her, whether she's a fool or a puppet or a traitor. I will pull every string, step on every neck I have to. We'll need a fleet and a legion, at least. Even the Vermillions would suffice." 15[00:38] Caska: "Thank you. Where will you go now?" [00:40] 14Piu sighs. "My cover assignment has me on a date with a mad vice admiral, somewhere out to sea. We're going to have to chase that spoor until we find blood, bone, or a fight. So I'll be out of pocket for a bit." [00:41] "I'll send word through the family network when we're back in Abalone, though. And Caedus will have already informed Lao you'll need some unconventional support here." 15[00:41] Caska: "Good luck." Then she lunges forward to hug Piu. [00:41] 07Dryas: "It may not be so simple. We were dispatched by the Admiralty to find Furia. How many Houses do we represent? Cathak, Cynis, Peleps, V'Neef... We may need to discuss this at a high level with the Commodore..." [00:42] 14Piu will catch her and hug her back. Not quite as fiercely, but not distantly, either; with a firm grip and a squeeze at the very end. Just like she imagined she'd have liked. 15[00:44] Deled: "Can she be trusted?" 15[00:45] "She is very corruptible." [00:45] 14And then, with a firm farewell to Tephen, it will be time to go. [00:45] 14Just enough emotion. Not too much. [00:48] 07Dryas considers the question. Dryas considers what Caxi might suggest as an answer. "I have trusted her." 15[00:49] Deled: "That's not a yes or a no. Do you trust her right now? With this?" [00:49] 07Dryas: "Yes." 15[00:50] Deled: "Well... I know you shoot straight." [00:52] 07Dryas: "I think we can arrange you transport back to the Blessed Isle. Wu Jian at the very least. The political situation is changing all the time." 15[00:56] Deled: "Then we simply have to change it to something that favors our undertaking. By force if necessary." 15[00:56] He corrects himself: "By force if justifiable." [00:58] 07Dryas: "New friends, new undertakings." 07She wheels the horse around to survey the damage and find her Hearth. 15[00:59] NEXT TIME: The Lower Decks