15[20:10] The Fangs have a few hours to themselves before the feast Piu ordered to Dryas's suite is set up. How do they spend that time? And when they enter the banquet hall, how does the room find them? 15[20:10] Who exactly has Piu invited? Just the Fangs? Fangs and Senior Staff? Everyone whose name the narrator seems to know? [20:11] 4With Caedus, first, and then she'll check on Rinca. She invited -- well, if the narrator is to be so bold, then yes. All the relevant stakeholders from the ship! The previous ship. [20:11] 4She doubts Rinca will be up for a sit-down meal but it's polite to check. 15[20:11] Rinca's got some stuff to sleep off. He thanks Piu for the invitation, though. [20:12] 4Are the sailors being seen to? Surely they're getting a per diem for the casinos and various treats. 15[20:12] Yeah, the sailors are doing alright. Not being pampered like the Dynasts are, but they've got vouchers for massages and lobster tails and they're not afraid to use them. [20:14] 4Good. Piu's always worried about stuff like "are any of them getting secretly abducted in the back halls while we're having fun and games and incredible sex" but Caedus is surely on top of that, when he's not on top of...well. [20:15] 4Hopefully Dryas has either slept off the drink from earlier, or fully committed to the bit. [20:15] 4Starting to get a hangover in the middle of the feast is just no fun for anyway. [20:15] *4anyone [20:16] 10Daizo leaves Seiri to her own devices—it doesn't seem like she'd be particularly receptive to a pep talk just now. Let her temper cool a little while and they can discuss what needs to be discussed at dinner.  [20:16] 6Zhangyu will want to spend time with Sadako and Seiri, if he can. After that, he'll dress up nice. [20:16] 4Oh, Piu would like a moment for a private chat with Sadako. 15[20:18] That's probably easy enough to arrange. Not long after Zhangyu and Sadako return from the fight Seiri decides to take a nap. So once Zhangyu's gone off to switch into his Eatin' Gi, Piu's got a moment. [20:18] 14Piu: "Seiri let me know what happened with the illustrious Cynis Falen." [20:18] "So sad she fled, rather than join us here tonight." 15[20:19] Sadako: "Yeah I don't get it either. She's so tired. She slept the whole time we were rowing." 15[20:19] Blink. "Oh you meant Falen." 15[20:19] "What a bitch! Did you know she hit Dryas?" [20:20] 10And. to take his mind off of things until then, he takes Virumanda up on his suggestion and hits up the aesthetician. [20:20] 14Piu: "Yes. And unlike some of my brothers and sisters, I take what she did to Dryas and to you quite personally." [20:21] "I want you there next time. And ready." [20:21] 10Because honestly, after a week without sleeping, and gods-knows-how-long since his last proper haircut, he kinda looks like hell. [20:21] "The next time we have a conversation with Cynis Falen, it's not going to be a conversation." 15[20:21] The Saucer's aesthetician is some kind of spirit or spirit-blooded woman with a high, elaborate hairdo and the folded limbs of a great mantis. She chitters approvingly at his frame and wings — what's he in the mood for? [20:21] 6Knock knock. 15[20:21] Sadako smiles. "Oh, indeed." [20:22] 4Piu will likely slink into dinner in one of the many evening dresses she can just slip into and look stunning off the rack. 15[20:24] "Who is it?" calls Seiri through the bedroom door. [20:24] 6Zhangyu: "Zhangyu. Are you all right?" 15[20:26] A gentle groan. A moment later Seiri opens the door. Looks like she collapsed into bed in her day clothes, and she looks rumpled to match. "Is it dinnertime already? It's so hard to tell what time it is." [20:27] 10Something to complement the wings. Aerodynamic. And… let's try a bit of red in there. One lock all done up in a color is something he's seen a lot but never tried. [20:28] "Not yet. There's still time. I just wanted to check on you." 15[20:29] Ah! Like a male blackbird. Very thoughtful. Verrry stylish. And how is he? 15[20:31] Seiri's eyes meet his for a moment, her face set in thought... and then she runs a hand through her new haircut to try and tidy it up some. "I'm fine, Master Zhangyu. I just wanted to get some rest before dinner. How are you?" [20:32] 6Zhangyu: "I'm well. I just -- wanted to check on you before dinner." 15[20:33] Seiri laughs weakly. "Well, here you are." [20:34] 6Muttering: "I'm really not good at this." [20:34] 6At normal volume: "You really are okay?" [20:34] 10Mrm. Well, how do you deal with a situation where you need to ask someone questions you're not sure you want to know the answers to? 15[20:35] If you need to ask... that means you need to know, right? And it's hard, isn't it, to prioritize what you need over what you want. [20:36] 10Yeah. One way or another I'm not sure things can go on the way they have been. But I'd love to be proven wrong. I sure hope I will be. 15[20:37] Afraid of getting in trouble? [20:41] 10Not so much… more that I'm worried about finding out I never really knew them at all, you know? 15[20:41] Seiri looks up at Zhangyu again, and her shoulders sag just a bit. "I really am. I'm just tired." 15[20:41] "You ever get tired, Master Zhangyu?" [20:42] 6Zhangyu: "Yes... though it's after workouts." 15[20:43] Seiri: "...yeah." 15[20:43] "If there's nothing else I can do for you sir, I'm going to try to get another couple hours of sleep." [20:43] "...good luck. See you at dinner?" 15[20:43] "Yes, sir." [20:44] 6He can't help feeling like he made a mistake. Can't exactly go back and fix things, though... [20:44] 6He lets the door close and walks away. [20:45] 10Tell me about it, cuz. [20:47] 6Is Daizo free before dinner still? Because Zhangyu has half a mind to ask him about Seiri. 15[20:47] If he wants to be. [20:48] 10Sure, Zhangyu can probably catch him easily after he's done. [20:48] 6Otherwise Zhangyu will just dress in his extremely fancy gi and go to dinner. Where he will corner Daizo. [20:49] 4Piu commissioned the feast, so she'll show up to it first, taking the seat to the right of the commodore; Ratel will sit at the head of the table as is her due, then Piu and Dryas on her right and Daizo and Zhangyu on her left, so they can all actually talk to each other. Other seats aren't really assigned but will go down to seniority; hopefully Garnet and Lapis and others not [20:49] 4officially part of the senior staff will be able to make it. 15[20:51] Garnet is there not long after Piu, with Seiri holding her jar like a handmaiden two paces behind. She doesn't sit, instead working out how to guard her shawl as waitstaff duck in and out, setting up the buffet. She's cleaned up and in nicer clothes, but it doesn't seem like she's relaxed much at all. [20:51] 4That means she'll be on hand to give the waitstaff reassurances that this isn't one of those Dynast crowds, and particular instructions about not, e.g., bumping the jar. [20:51] "Garnet!" 15[20:52] Garnet: "Piu! You look lovely." [20:52] 4She'll slip over to...well, a hug if Garnet seems receptive; a crisp, bracing sisterly forearm shake if not. [20:52] "You as well. I like what you've done with your hair, Seiri." 15[20:53] Garnet takes a hug no problem. Seiri nods gratefully. [20:53] 4She will sort of touch Seiri on the shoulders rather than actually go in for a hug while she's holding the dang jar, unless Seiri seems like she'd rather not be touched, which is entirely fair. 15[20:53] "This place is bizarre," Garnet confides. "I can't find so much as a map." 15[20:54] Seiri's not a very touchy-feely person, generally. [20:54] 4Fair! [20:54] 4Piu: "It seems bigger on the inside than the outside." [20:55] 6Speaking of, to Daizo: "I don't think she likes me." 15[20:55] Garnet: "Rare in a manse, but common in the Wyld... curious." [20:56] 4Piu: "It seems to make the proprietor, Kiriglace, all-powerful within her remit...and I have to say, I've seen no problem with that so far. Keeps the place safe." 15[20:58] Ratel comes in, with Lapis and the Cathaks not long after. The Commodore whistles at the spread. "I'll never get over this place." [20:59] 10Daizo showed up with Zhangyu—his new hairstyle is appropriately sweeping, but he's been warned it'll be relatively high-maintenance. Still, how hard can it be? He returned from the salon to find yet another new set of clothes waiting for him, which is just a bit unnerving—but the jacket and trousers show off a fascinating exercise in contrasts between red, white, and black. [21:00] 10To Zhangyu: "The problem is, I think, that we've been offering her too many words when what she needs to see from us is our actions." [21:00] 4Piu: "Commodore!" 4They'll all get hugs too, some (Lapis) more chaste than others (the other three). [21:01] 4Piu: "Sadly, we can't stay here forever." [21:02] 6Frowning: "Mostly I've been training her in Mantis style." [21:02] "Combat is, let's call it, not conducive to being nice." 15[21:05] Ratel: "Yeah. I've got that report, by the way." She made copies, even! One for everyone. [21:05] 4Piu: "Ooh! Nice." [21:05] 10Daizo: "I think she's about done with Mantis. It doesn't have enough of a spiritual element to really appeal to her. But I'm not talking about just training." [21:08] "This latest… I think she's pissed off at us for standing by while Falen inspected Sadako like a horse at market. And there's more besides. We're—there's something she needs and we're not giving it to her." 15[21:10] Ito Pan: "Hey, whoa, did you see this one? The Sunlit Thousands. It's got a garden, a full kitchen, an aquarium..." 15[21:10] Ito Jun: "If we got that we would be living in this place full time, basically." [21:10] 4Piu: "We met the guy who captains that. He's very stupid, but I like him." [21:11] "I wouldn't want to take the ship from him, but I don't think we'd have to or even want to. It's very big and needs more crew than we have left." [21:11] "We could probably trick him into joining us." [21:11] 6More quietly, to Daizo: "I hated that too. I just didn't know what to say." [21:12] 4Piu: "House Cynis would tell you it's not a trick if he financially benefits and gets what he wants out of the arrangement! But then, House Cynis." 15[21:12] Ratel: "Where's Dryas? What happened with Falen?" 15[21:12] "Is she coming?" [21:15] 14Piu's face darkens. "Falen hurt Dryas and then fled." [21:16] 14Piu: "We can talk about her when everyone's here. When Dryas is, at least. She deserves to be here when I make my position on that woman clear." 15[21:16] Ratel: "Hurt? Is she injured?" [21:17] 4Piu: "Nothing serious. Badly bruised about the neck. I get the impression it was more damaging to her pride and her spirit than her throat." [21:17] 10Daizo: "I've got a couple ideas—if I'm right about what Piu's going to talk to us about, it'll be an opportunity for us to make our stance clear on some things." 15[21:17] "She's just stressed, ma'am." Samperson sidled in without anyone noticing his entrance, and he takes a seat down across from the Cathaks. [21:18] 4Samperson will only get a smile. His hug will come later, with interest accrued. [21:18] 10Daizo's gonna take his place at table and look over Ratel's report. Still no sign of Caxi? 15[21:19] Nope. Nor Sadako. They and Dryas are the only stragglers at this point. [21:22] 6They're all good ships. The Ito twins picked, uh, the worst one. Still good, but the least good. [21:23] 10Given the nature of the forces arrayed against us, we absolutely must make the attempt to acquire the jadeclad.  [21:24] 6The mystery machine is a must-have. 15[21:24] Garnet seems to concur. "Forgive me, I can't help but notice that only one of these is hulled in jade." 15[21:24] "That's not really a choice, is it?" [21:24] 4Piu: "Depends whose ship it is." [21:25] "There's only one person we've seen so far here who is also clad in jade. And she just ripped the arms off a Silver Anathema like it was nothing some three hours ago." [21:25] 10Daizo: "Not from where I'm standing. None of these others are like to survive a single attack from Akavadra." [21:26] 4It seems like figuring out whose ship it is should just be an easy case of asking around the docks, which Piu can get to after dinner if no one else has done it. 15[21:27] Now Caxi glides in, dressed in whites and blacks, with Sadako (who is wearing, uncharacteristically, a pale blue dress) in her wake. [21:27] 4Huh. [21:27] 4They both get hugs! 15[21:27] "Nice of you to join us," says Ito Pan. [21:28] 6"Hey who owns that ship that I almost ran into 'cause it blends in with the water" is a weird question to ask. 15[21:28] "A sorceress arrives precisely when she means to," responds Caxi. She and Sadako both return Piu's hug strongly and then take seats beside their lovers. [21:29] 4Zhangyu and Daizo both got hugs when they entered as well, though I think they kind of snuck in the side door. [21:30] 07A few moments later, a gong rings throughout the banquet hall. Dryas appears: only the ghost of a bruise remaining on her pale neck, otherwise transcendent - the paragon of earthly beauty. Her evening gown sparkles in the dimmed lights of the hall, as does the orichalcum amulet dangling between her breasts. [21:30] 4And, of course, so does her sister, Cynis Dryas. [21:30] 6He just tries to avoid hugs, it's not personal. [21:31] 07She accepts it, graciously - a bit stiffer than her drunken embrace a few hours earlier. 15[21:31] Caxi gives her cousin an airy wave. "She looks good. And so do you," she mutters to Daizo. "I love that hair." [21:31] 4That's how you know she's back! [21:32] 10Daizo doesn't turn down a hug from friends or family.  [21:32] 07She makes her way for the head of the table, where she plucks a crystal goblet between her long fingers and holds it aloft, silently. 15[21:33] Sadako gives Seiri a one-armed hug and Seiri rests her head on Sadako's shoulder for a moment. 15[21:33] They both perk up for the toast. [21:33] 10To Caxi: "Thought you would. I was overdue for a change. And as always, you're simply ravishing—" [21:33] 4Piu takes her glass in hand. [21:37] 10Here comes a certified Dryas Moment. [21:38] "Good evening. I have asked you all to come to meet with me - and my Brother, Tepet Zhangyu, my other Brother, Tepet Daizo, and my Sister, the esteemed V'Neef Piu. The reason you are here is so we can make a choice, together: do we venture forward, or do we return back? [21:40] "Look around you. The luxuries of the world, gathered together, for our enjoyment. We could enjoy it for a long time. A very long time! Enter residency, join the pit-fighters, or the singers and dancers. The world is our oyster, and perhaps this golden saucer, its pearl. [21:43] "Consider our accomplishments! We hunted, to the ends of the ocean itself, our quarry. And we found her! Learned her disposition, composed our reports. Is our mission not accomplished? And consider the glory we won, at Brightwork, where we humbled the deathknights of Onyx, or the hidden places of the world, where we bested ancient beasts and machines of war? [21:44] "But we find ourselves here not at the apex of our journey, but its nadir. Storm-tossed, wracked with demonic destruction, having survived - yes, survived - the worst the oceans could throw at us. So we have, in some way, earned this comfort. But have we earned the glory? [21:46] "Work, in my belief, if it is directed to noble ends, has no end and no reward but itself. The joy is not in the meat, nor the trophy, but in the hunt itself. We face calamitous times and calamitous decisions in the days to come. Home, hearth, comfort - none are guaranteed, even in a place like this. [21:48] "Therefore, I call on all of us to agree to continue our journey. To forge, here and now, a greater Hearth - a hundred fangs, a talon, a wing, a dragon - to commit to each other to meet those challenges together! Not to lose hope or focus in frivolity, quarrels, or selfishness. [21:51] "I was strongly chastised, today, for my own imperfections. I fell short, with Piu, with Seiri, and with Sadako in particular. But together with you, I am something greater - I am someone greater. I call on all of you to commit again, to those bonds of fellowship and honor. Those of you who choose to leave, who have no further cause, I wish only the best. But those who remain, we shall shake the foundations of Heaven itself! So [21:51] what say you? One last drink?!" [21:51] 4Piu raises her glass. 15[21:51] Everyone does. [21:54] 10Daizo will drink to that.  15[22:00] After the drink, and Dryas sits down, Ratel murmurs, "Meeting with Falen went that bad, huh?" [22:00] 6Zhangyu doesn't even drink and he will. [22:00] 07Dryas takes her seat. "Disaster. If the war hasn't started alreayd, I believe it will within the day." [22:01] 14Piu, smiling: "There won't be another like it, Commodore." [22:01] 10To Ratel: "Absolutely wretched. None of us acquitted ourselves well." [22:01] 14Standing: "Another bit of business before we get to the first course." 15[22:02] Piu's got everyone's attention now. [22:03] 10Daizo: "All ears." [22:03] "In the unlikely event that any officer or sailor on this ship comes into contact with Cynis Falen or her retinue in the future course of our duties, it will be this ship's policy -- this ship pending, of course -- to alert the Commodore, Cynis Dryas, myself, and Sadako, in that order...and prepare the crew for the chance of hostilities." [22:03] 14Smiling broadly: "We do not forgive, and we do not forget." 15[22:03] Caxi's eyebrows go up the highest, but they don't go up alone. She shares a significant look with her cousin. [22:04] 07Dryas meets Caxi's eyes steadily, and gives an all-but imperceptible nod. 15[22:05] Caxi is the first to raise her glass, then. "Hear, hear." [22:05] 4Piu raises her own glass. [22:05] 07Dryas' cheeks are burning - and not from the drink - when she brings it to her own lips and drinks. 15[22:06] One by one, the rest of the table matches Piu's toast. 15[22:06] The table chatter doesn't pick back up immediately; even the densest among them have some sense of the gravity of this moment. 15[22:07] Which of the Fangs breaks the silence? [22:07] 4Piu does. [22:07] 6As the densest among them, it's not Zhangyu. [22:08] "Now! The first course is to be the 'taste of the sea,' a selection of fish, cod, and oyster dishes aimed to provide stimulation but not fulfillment. White wine is suggested, but there will be red and port on offer on the sidecarts as well as harder liquors, and then the buffet will open..." [22:09] 4Actually, Daizo has a chance to say something first. [22:09] 4Or during the course break if he wishes. [22:10] 10Daizo stands himself. "Ladies and gentlemen. I put it to you that we have a further question to ask of ourselves here, one that has come up several times so far in our journey." [22:13] 10Daizo: "What is to be our position on the liberation of slaves? Shall we go out of our way to lift the yoke wherever we may find it? This will make us no friends, and many enemies which we otherwise would not. But I believe Lady Garnet cares about this deeply, as well as Lady Piu, and Miss Seiri." [22:15] 14Hoooo. Now this is daring dinner fare. She glances at Dryas. Piu's position is obvious of course. 15[22:15] People look over at Garnet and Seiri, who are sitting side by side. Garnet's eyes are hard behind her veil; Seiri looks like she wants to sink under the table. [22:16] 07Dryas purses her lips for a moment. Her eyes slide to a plate of jellied eels. One of them seems to be grinning at her through the translucent aspic. [22:17] 14She'll glance around the rest of the table then, making it clear that she backs Daizo's play. 15[22:18] Caxi: "Your ethics are unimpeachable. Taken as a whole, though... quite an undertaking, isn't it?" [22:18] 10Daizo: "I am choosing to bring this up now because I was shamed by my inaction before Cynis Falen. This is a tradition widely accepted in the Dynasty—indeed, the foundation of much of House Cynis; business. But not all traditions are worth preserving, especially if their acceptance leads to good women and men doing nothing." [22:21] 10Daizo: "Yes. I won't say it will be easy. But if a new Hearth is to be born tonight, be it literal or metaphorical, we must decide what ends it will pursue." [22:21] "Your thoughts, friends?" 15[22:22] Sadako: "It's pretty much what we were doing anyway, right?" 15[22:22] Ratel: "...more or less." [22:25] 14Piu: "I say death to the slavers." 15[22:26] Caxi: "In essence, but not in fact. To commit to unity, even if it means independence, the first of you said. And then, to avenge the wrongs done to our number by the Cynis triumvir, said the second. And now to commit to breaking every chain whose path we cross. We would be sacrificing all of our connections, not just personal but material, to every institution and power in the known 15[22:26] world." 15[22:26] "In a sea rich with enemies many and monstrous, we would be declaring to ourselves that we will go it alone." 15[22:27] "Commendable heart. But at what cost?" 15[22:27] "To what end?" 15[22:27] "For what reward?" [22:29] 07Dryas nods. "Brother Daizo's zeal is admirable. And his goals are both pure and correct. But we must proceed in a strategic way, rather than resolving without consideration to make war upon the very hosts at whose tables we sit, at this very moment." [22:30] 14Piu will admit that asking the senior staff to commit to full abolition at dinner wouldn't have been her play. 15[22:30] Caxi leans back, to take in the standing Daizo with the rest of the table. "We were sent out here with a clear mission. Find Furia, and salvage what we could. If that's not the plan... then what is?" [22:31] 07Dryas: "Allow me to suggest one. It is my belief that civil war is upon the Realm. Imminent and totally destructive. However misguided Furia may be, and however unsalvageable the Water Fleet, she did give us one key piece of information. [22:31] 14Piu: "We have not yet salvaged what we can. Of this mission, or of this Realm." [22:33] 07Dryas, continuing: "I have had visions of the slavers of Onyx. In secret, Skullstone is building something horrible, for horrible ends. And- can we secure the room?" 07Dryas will wait a moment for the staff to leave- "Furia believed - and Falen did not learn - that they have captured the Empress, herself." 15[22:33] Garnet: "What?" 15[22:33] Sadako: "Whoa." [22:34] 10Well, Kinglace knows now at least. Of course, Daizo hasn't even met Kinglace yet. [22:34] 07Dryas nods grimly. "As you may recall, the basis of the Empress' power, confirmed by our own discoveries at Mionxi, is the Realm Defense Grid. I believe it is Onyx's goal to use such a grid to secure for itself dread imperium over all Creation." 15[22:35] Ratel: "Fuck." [22:36] 07Dryas: "Therefore: I propose a twofold strategy. First, to contain by any means necessary the spread of Skullstone and its necromancers. Second, to complete what Furia cannot accomplish: rescue the Scarlet Empress. Furia is doomed to failure, where we stand a chance of success, because she is unaware of Skullstone's most secret weapon." [22:38] 07Dryas: "Namely, an army of or from the twisted and deformed Silver Anathema it has managed to capture through its wide-ranging smuggling network, in which the Guild and many Dynasts are thoroughly implicated." [22:39] 4Good thing Rinca's sleeping this one off! [22:39] 4Though he's probably already aware, come to think of it. 15[22:40] Ratel: "We'll need resources. Manpower. Staging room. You can't launch an invasion of Onyx from Abalone, it's practically at the opposite pole." [22:40] 14Piu, dryly: "And we're going to need to get Old Mionxi working again." [22:40] "There's no avoiding that now." 15[22:40] To Piu: "Can your friend get us an in with other Silver Anathema? Maybe the Caul? Surely if Dryas is right they'll want to help." [22:41] 14Piu: "I can't make guarantees, but I can make promises, and I promise he'll get every incentive that's on offer." 15[22:41] Ratel: "I mean, don't... do anything you don't want to do." [22:42] 14Evenly: "Haven't had to yet." 15[22:42] Ratel: "Heh." 15[22:43] Samperson: "The Caul is even further from Onyx than Abalone. How does that help us stage?" 15[22:43] Ratel: "It doesn't. The closest ports to Onyx are satrapies in Putu-on-Neck." [22:44] 14To Dryas, quietly that outside the hearth only Ratel can hear: "We're going to need to grow the Garden. That might mean bringing everyone here in." [22:44] 07Dryas nods. [22:45] 10Daizo's long since taken his seat as the conversation's begun to wend down different paths. What's the general mood of the table now? [22:46] 07Dryas: "To anyone else, our actions will be indistinguishable from the worst sort of cynical self-dealing: declaring independence to forge a petty kingdom and petty satrapies of our own. We would be resisted by both Mnemon and V'Neef, and any other claimants to the Scarlet Throne. But I have established a contingency of sorts to assist us, which I have so far called The Garden." 15[22:47] Serious. The Cathaks are whispering to each other, Garnet seems lost in thought. Sadako is paying rapt attention and Seiri is looking down at the table. Samperson is watching Piu; Lapis is watching Ratel; Caxi is watching Daizo and their eyes meet when he gets to her. [22:49] 07Dryas: "It is a... secret society based on Abalone, and overlapping with Grandmaster Zhangyu's dojo. It is a garden whose tendrils must now find their way as far as the Blessed Isle, Wu Jian, Chiaroscuro, and Pneuma." [22:50] 14Piu: "It opposes Nn Tloc and the Guild, the primary suppliers of slaves across Creation -- and enslaved Anathema to Onyx in this region." [22:50] 14Piu: "We have infrastructure." 15[22:52] Ratel: "How are you making your money?" [22:53] 14Piu: "Illegal fighting schemes. Smuggling of valuables. Outright theft, prize, and plunder from the Guild." 15[22:53] Ratel, mildly: "Sounds dangerous." [22:54] 14Piu: "And profitable." [22:55] 14She looks around the table. "We mention it now only to assure you that there are bones and sinew beneath the skin of this plan." 15[22:57] Ito Pan: "So... pirates." 15[22:57] "The plan is to become pirates." [22:58] 14Mildly: "Oh, don't sell us short. I don't think any of the pirates on this sea intend to make war on the Deathknights to rescue the Empress." [22:58] 07Dryas shakes her head. "Pirates according to whom? Mnemon? V'Neef?" [22:59] 10Daizo: "Rogue traders. Hah.: 15[22:59] Ito Jun: "Well... according to Cathak." 15[22:59] "Is the plan to never go home?" [23:00] 07Dryas: "There will be no homes for any of us to return to, if the war runs its course. And no new homes to run refuge to, if Onyx's plans are consummated. The world will be as Thorns." 15[23:01] Ito Jun: "And you know for sure that war is starting?" [23:01] 14Piu has wondered this herself. [23:01] 14House Iselsi would be overjoyed if the civil war was actually finally underway. [23:01] 14And obviously, there's no way for them to receive such good news from the House here. 15[23:01] "Forget the Isle. What about Abalone? That's not even a satrapy anymore, it's a direct rule colony!" [23:02] 14Piu: "Well, no. Direct rule implies rule from the throne. Which sits empty." [23:02] "Which circles back to our problem in the main." [23:03] 07Dryas: "Falen called for three messengers - one to Cainan, your patriarch. Another to her sister. And the last, to V'Neef, herself. The destruction of the Water Fleet we reported means the last great variable - in the machinations of the matriarchs, which I - perhaps foolishly - believe I can guess at - is now known." [23:05] 07Dryas: "I would be relieved - embarrassed, but relieved - if I was totally mistaken. But I do not believe I am." [23:05] 10Daizo: "If Falen's message hasn't kicked it off, it's only a matter of time before the next tile is dealt." [23:06] 14Piu: "It is customary, in situations like this, to give anyone who wants out the option to get out. By your leave, of course," 14Piu says to Ratel. [23:07] 14To the Cathaks: "None would blame you. You spend your time here on this tab, win enough money to buy passage back to Abalone, and from there, return to the Blessed Isle...in whatever state it's in." [23:07] "But I don't think you'll like the results of that decision." 15[23:07] Cathak Ito Pan: "But the rest of you? Our Houses are going to war and you guys want to... stay out here?" [23:08] 14Piu: "Where the Empress is? The best chance of ending the war in one blow?" [23:08] "Yes!" 15[23:08] Ito Jun: "Ending the war for who?" [23:09] 14Clever boy. "That would be up to Her Imperial Highness, surely...but all the more reason to be there to put in a good word." 15[23:10] The Cathaks exchange a look. "We need to think about it?" says Pan. [23:10] 14Piu nods. [23:10] 10Daizo: "…and then there's Plan G." 10Daizo's eyes flick to Garnet. "I don't believe I need to say more about that here." 15[23:11] Caxi: "While our future is uncertain, our prospects dark, our enemies many and variable... insofar as our mandate is to do Furia's job better than she will: I like our chances." [23:11] 07Dryas reclines in the chaise. "I haven't gone mad, have I?" 07she asks no-one in particular. 15[23:11] Caxi grins. "Look at the world and tell me the pleasures of sanity, darling." [23:12] 10Daizo: "What does it mean to be sane when Creation itself seems to be going mad?" [23:12] 10This overlaps with Caxi's answer. Hah. 15[23:12] Caxi gives Daizo an approving thump on the shoulder. [23:13] 07Dryas: "Do we have a report on the ships here? Falen has already left, so take hers out of the equation." 15[23:13] Ratel: "No matter what we do when we depart the Saucer... we still need to work out how." [23:13] 4Piu: "With the food served and all of us appropriately worried, let's get to the dang boats." 15[23:13] "We do." Ratel hands Dryas a copy. [23:14] 10Daizo: "Time enough for these heady matters in the days to come." [23:14] 07Dryas scans it. "This last one. This is perfect. No name? Of course, all of them are excellent, and the more, the merrier." 15[23:14] Ratel: "Now hang on. We barely have the girl power to crew one of these ships." [23:15] 4Piu: "Yes, I think we'll have to dispense with the idea of more than one. Eyes can't be bigger than our stomachs." [23:15] "If there's one, though, it's the black jadeclad." 15[23:15] Caxi: "The others already come with crews." 15[23:16] "Impressing them probably contravenes our antislavery policy. But if we're pirates, let's be pirate queens. Why not hire them? If not now then when we're more established?" [23:16] 4Piu grins. "The captain of the Sunlit Thousands will be especially amenable. I taught him how to get dumplings from a restaurant!" 15[23:16] Ratel: "That's a lot of extra variables to throw in." 15[23:17] Caxi: "We can add them gradually." [23:17] 10Daizo: "And between the two of us, we can surely bind enough elementals to make up for any crew shortfalls, at least in the short term." 15[23:17] Garnet: "Is the captain of this ship a child?" [23:17] 4Piu: "Not in body, but yeah, he seemed about eight years old upstairs." [23:18] 07Dryas: "The jadeclad, the caravel, the brigantine, then the great ox. The brigantine's captain we met, but the others?" 15[23:18] Ratel makes a face. She doesn't vocalize it but Piu can tell she's thinking, okay, eight's too low. [23:18] 4We'll find you someone eventually. [23:19] 4Piu: "Seriously, though, we have no information at all on the black jadeclad?" 15[23:19] Ratel: "We almost didn't even see it." 15[23:19] "No name, flying no colors, no crew in sight." [23:20] 4Piu sighs. "I'll do some digging, then." [23:21] 07Dryas: "An opportunity we will rue for a long time if it escapes. We should post a... watch? An observer? Not a spy, of course." [23:21] 10Daizo: "Could always try and sneak aboard." [23:21] "I mean, Piu could. Not me." 15[23:21] Seiri looks up and down the table and then raises her hand for some reason. [23:21] 4Piu: "Seiri!" [23:21] "What's up?" [23:22] 10Daizo: "I believe we have a volunteer?" 15[23:23] Seiri taps the report. "I've heard of this one. The Red Fraction. About two years ago it was down south and so many ships, Realm and Guild and privateer all hunkered down like hermit crabs in the Port of Abalone." 15[23:23] She looks at Zhangyu: "Remember?" 15[23:23] Zhangyu does remember, as if by narrative fiat. [23:23] 4Piu: "Captain sounds like she's probably a badass." 15[23:24] Ratel: "This whole Direction is lousy with Anathema, isn't it?" 15[23:24] Caxi: "Not as bad as the East, I hear. In the East they rule openly." [23:25] 4Piu: "Feel like it's happening all over." [23:25] 07Dryas: "That is what the Knight of Ghosts and Shadows thought he could rely upon." [23:27] 4Piu: "Haha. Fuck that guy." [23:27] 10Daizo: "The Hunt no longer has the range it once had." [23:28] 4How has Lapis been taking all of this? Is she just kind of quietly marinating in it? As far as she's concerned, all of this could mean an incredible reversal of fortune for Brightwork. Unless we all fucking die, of course. [23:28] 07Dryas: "When you think about it, what I have proposed is nothing less than the greatest Wyld Hunt since, well, the Revolution." 15[23:28] Lapis is taking it in, but it's clear that, like Seiri, she doesn't feel like she has the standing to speak, and unlike Seiri there's nothing she's burning to contribute. [23:29] 4Piu laughs. "Well, if you squint. At least we won't be chasing down children." 15[23:30] Caxi: "This Gemship is Southern?" 15[23:30] Ratel: "Yes, far Southern. Treasure ships like this are built in the Cinder Isles." 15[23:30] Caxi: "Ah. Lintha territory." [23:31] 07Dryas: "Perhaps Ragara Galad's?" 15[23:31] Ratel: "Oh for fuck's sake." 15[23:31] "Galad is here?" [23:31] 4Piu titters. "Oh yes." 15[23:31] "That fat fucking snake." [23:32] "In fact, through his simpering need for a fighter, he is already directly or indirectly funding this venture to the tune of a talent and a half again." 15[23:32] Sadako: "How can a snake be fat?" [23:32] 07Dryas: "If it just ate." 15[23:32] Sadako: "..." [23:33] 10Daizo: "She's got you there." 15[23:33] Ratel: "Watch yourself around him." [23:34] 4Piu: "He's been given sufficient demonstrations of what'll happen if he steps out of line." [23:34] "And Dryas is reading over any contracts before I sign them." 15[23:34] Ratel nods. "Good enough." 15[23:34] The meal continues, and the next step is clear: they need a better idea of who controls their prospective vessels, including the mysterious jade-clad frontrunner. 15[23:35] Zhangyu retires early to contemplate the beauty of violence. What about the others? [23:35] 4Piu will excuse herself slightly early -- but not before any final toasts -- to change into something more suitable to being sexy in front of port officials who might know who owns that ship. 15[23:36] It's easy enough to identify the Saucer's "port officials", because they're sexy young men and women in skintight leotards with bunny accessories and faux-naval epaulettes on their bare shoulders. [23:36] 07Where would someone who pilots such an exquisite vessel be found in a place like the Golden Saucer? Perhaps the hippodrome? Surely there is such a place, here, for going fast. [23:39] 10Daizo's probably the last of the Fangs to leave. After the heavy pre-dinner discussions it's pretty relaxing to hear about everyone else's gains and losses over the course of the day. He'll also draw his mental map he made of the place for Garnet. [23:41] 10Once it's down on the back of a spare copy of Ratel's report, the spiraling shape of the main corridor's obvious.  [23:42] 4Mmmm. Piu prefers the boys, of course, but the Saucer's girls are nothing to scorn, and they're the ones who probably have the docking permits.. 15[23:43] Piu pokes around and is able to find someone who remembers the ship docking, a couple of days ago. Real light disembarkment. Like... two? People? Three? It's so hard to remember. 15[23:43] One of them was really pale and bald, but the other details... hazy. [23:44] 4Ahhhhh shit. [23:44] 4Well, this is probably better than it being Trinity's? 15[23:45] Dryas, meanwhile, finds her quarry-query leading her to the gaming area. People are making a scene. Well, one person is making a scene. She has two accomplices. [23:47] 07Dryas advances into the fracas. What gives? 15[23:49] The woman is tall, well-built, and tattooed. She seems to dress with the same rough sensibility as Piu. But hanging alongside her mostly-bare thigh is a flame piece to rival Ratel's, one shiny enough that the reflected lights of the casino seem to dance in its surface. She's hunched over the scrawny man at the mah-jong table, and is either preparing to strangle him or giving him a very 15[23:49] aggressive massage. "Come on! If you take this down we're fuck-you rich. Don't let down the side, Shen." 15[23:50] An oblivious server walks up and the tattooed woman levels her with a scowl. "Back the fuck away. Back. The fuck. Away." 15[23:50] The woman's second accomplace, a huge muscled man frowning behind dark lenses, gives the server a curt, almost apologetic shake of the head. [23:50] 10Then there's a minor matter Daizo wants to bring up with Caxi. Over dessert: "Have you heard the name 'Sigereth' before? Virumanda's got them here as the resident Gateway master." 15[23:51] Caxi: "..." 15[23:51] "...yeeeees." 15[23:51] "Why?" 15[23:51] "You haven't bartered your soul away, have you?" [23:51] 10Daizo: "No. Not yet." [23:52] "…I was hoping you might know if there's some way to cheat on that kind of wager." 15[23:53] Piu heads back inside on the hope of finding a fresh lead, maybe one of the shift managers— and catches a short whistle from behind. Not a catcall, just a 'hey, over here'. [23:54] 4She turns and cocks her head, while continuing to backpedal, and will The Chain down into her hand. 15[23:54] The big man's voice is deep: "You're breaking his concentration." 15[23:54] The Pneuman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBQy_S_k-qg - When the ending comes, is it gonna run at us like a wild-eyed animal? 15[23:55] The scrawny guy hisses, "I'm doing the best I can...!" 15[23:55] Skipping-Stone Shen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oncu0bgdcXU - When you love someone, but it goes to waste... could it be worse? 15[23:55] The woman scowls into the back of his head, and he actually rubs it as if it has real heat. "Do better than that." 15[23:55] Eska Vandal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ealvplgBdrI - You make me wanna break you — no matter who you are. 15[23:58] Piu's face to face with a boy dressed in a secondary school uniform, short pants and high socks, sitting on a sculpture and kicking his legs idly. "How you doing?" 15[23:59] Caxi: "Well... the good news is that Sigereth cannot cheat. It's against her very nature. The bad news is that, if you are caught cheating her... she claims a victory by default." [00:01] 10Daizo: "I see. So. It would probably be incredibly stupid to take up the challenge just because she promised me answers to all of my most burning questions." [00:02] 4Piu: "Getting hit on by an uncommonly confident schoolboy, so either I need to check my vibes oorrrrrrrrrrrr" [00:03] "You're who I've gotta talk to about a jadeclad riding low in the water." 15[00:04] Caxi: "In a sense. It would be a terrible risk, to be sure, but a lot of people have your back. And in another sense... what do we gain if we venture nothing?" 15[00:04] "Insofar as you're asking for advice, I must demur. Insofar as you are asking for support, count on it no matter your decision." 15[00:05] She leans in a bit and adds playfully, "That is the pirate code, is it not?" 15[00:06] The kid smiles at Piu. "You're a little young for me, doll, but I appreciate the respect. You got a name?" [00:07] 4Piu grins. "V'neef Piu, you fuckin' perv." [00:08] 10Daizo grins. "Guess so. Ahoyyyyy~" 10Maybe he should've had a little less to drink. 15[00:08] The player opposite Shen is ahead in positioning, material, almost every respect... and he knows it. And so does Shen. But the player either doesn't see or has already disregarded the risky, ridiculous gambit Shen is going to try to upend the entire board state. 15[00:09] Caxi: "You were very moving in your toast tonight. Very moved, as well. Was it really that bad with Falen? Sadako seemed unfazed." 15[00:11] The boy: "Ah! Imperial girl, in an imperial world. Call me Oyabun." [00:12] 07Dryas leans in to examine the state of play, but remains respectfully silent, save for a quiet "Hmm." She folds her arms behind her back. Is the big woman upset because she's down in her chips? [00:12] 4Piu: "Mmhm. So I guessed right about the ship." 15[00:13] The woman helpfully offers, "Hey! Careful! You lean in any more you're gonna bump the tiles with your tits." 15[00:13] 'Oyabun' looks bashful, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. "What'd ya guess?" [00:14] 10Daizo: "It didn't bother Sadako as much as it bothered Seiri. I didn't take a stand then, so I wanted to take a bolder one tonight." [00:15] 4Piu: "That the jadeclad no one can remember shit about and the two servants of Heaven wandering around the premises, one of which we've purchased music from, are in some sense related." 15[00:15] Caxi: "I wonder what she thought... in any event, if you're serious about staring down a Greater Demon, let me see what I can put together to give you a leg up." She cranes up to kiss him in the cheek. "Do be careful in the meantime, darling." [00:16] 07Dryas: "It would be doing him a favor, surely." 07but she steps back. "Dryas." 15[00:16] Oyabun smiles. "Pretty good! Pretty good. I see why you're the favorite." [00:17] 4She smiles but doesn't take the bait. [00:18] "I'm hoping our relationship is more productive than the one we had with 66." 15[00:18] The big man nods respectfully. "They call me the Pneuman. This is Eska, that's Shen." 15[00:20] Dryas watches as Shen's gambit unravels and he's resoundingly defeated. "Ffuuuuuck!" 15[00:21] Eska: "Motherfucker. Was it her tits? Did you get distracted?" 15[00:21] Shen: "I got distracted by you!" 15[00:21] Oyabun: "I heard about that. More than pretty good." 15[00:22] "So what's your interest in me?" 15[00:24] The Pneuman raises his voice a bit over the other two. "Well, now that we're out the fortune that guy's walking away with, maybe you came looking to do business, Miss Dryas? Lady Dryas?" [00:24] 4Piu: "You specifically? None. Your buddy's cool, nothing against him, great second job as a wedding singer. We need a ship, though. Yours is cool." 15[00:26] Oyabun: "You want—" he grins again. His head bobs from side to side, tongue pressing against his lower lip from within, as he seems to think it over. "...and this is on behalf of your whole crew? Make me an offer." [00:26] 07Dryas: "Lady Dryas, if you don't mind. And I don't know, maybe? What kind of business are the three of you in?" [00:26] 4Piu, immediately, brightly: "Eight talents." 15[00:27] Oyabun: "Bold! Ambitious! But here's the thing: your money's no good to me. Where I live they don't take silver. And what I get paid in is the stuff of your wildest dreams." [00:28] 4Piu: "Yeah, that's why I didn't bother actually thinking about it first." [00:28] "So what do you want instead of money?" [00:29] "I think I can guess. You want a win." 15[00:29] Oyabun looks Piu in the eye. "Tell me what you're going to do with it." [00:29] 4Piu: "I'm going to win." 15[00:29] "Win what?" 15[00:30] Eska: "The kind that pays. I run the best crew in Creation." 15[00:30] The Pneuman: "...I defer to our captain." 15[00:30] Here Shen actually looks up. "Dryas?!" 15[00:31] Eska's expression instantly hardens. "You know her?" 15[00:32] Shen: "We went to secondary school together!" To Dryas: "Do you remember? I helped you write your Overland Trade Theory exam." [00:32] "The archipelago and the West. Possibly the Isle and the former lands of the Realm but that's getting a bit bold. We're self-starters but we try to be realistic. If you guys had any love for Onyx you wouldn't have hung your boy so far out to die killing Idle Witness Wasted the Keenest Eye. And we're the ones that killed the Knight of Ghosts and Shadows and hung him upside down as a [00:32] warning to others." [00:33] 4Piu: "If you mean short term, mainly we're gonna fuck up Nn Tloc's day." [00:36] 07Dryas: "Ohhh, right." 07She remembers someone basically like him, but doesn't really remember anything about him. Because she never asked. But she does remember how that exam helped her out. "That was a good job. Actually, one of my first things after graduating was an overland trade route. Opened 'er right up. The Thri-Khan was so pissed off he beheaded a couple Guildsmen." 15[00:36] Oyabun: "I'm hearing you out... I'm listening... I'm not hating it. Stipulating that I have some respect for your skills and no love for the Principality, it's not a bad pitch. I just need to see you earn it. You know? Show the bosses a good time." 15[00:36] "You guys gamble?" 15[00:36] "Or game?" 15[00:37] Shen: "That's right, I remember hearing about that. Outracing the Delzahn riders and everything." 15[00:37] "So your career's looking up, then!" [00:38] 4Piu: "In the last sunrise we've lost a talent and won a talent and a half through gaming and gambling and showing the third-ranked fighter in the venue a good time. So yes, we have a resume." 15[00:38] Eska: "So she's rich, you're saying?" 15[00:39] Oyabun: "Sounds good. Beat me in a game, then. Or, well. Beat my champion in a game. And the ship's all yours." [00:39] 07Dryas: "Well," 07she grins. "Why don't we get a drink and talk it over a bit?" [00:39] 4Piu: "Is this an open challenge or do I only get one shot?" 15[00:40] Oyabun: "I wouldn't advise going in alone. But yeah. Find my friend Ludo in the VIP section. Tell them 99 sent you. Then you can all work out the details." [00:41] 4Piu sighs. "Looking forward to it. And to what happens after we meet your terms." 15[00:42] Oyabun grins. "Come find me. I'll give you a tour. Introduce you." 15[00:42] NEXT TIME: The game is the game