15[20:02] Mouthy little freak. 15[20:02] Not that that's Piu's impression of the uncommonly composed teenaged boy who bid her call him "Oyabun"; it represents mere narrative editorializing. 15[20:03] Still, she found her quarry, who issued her a challenge in kind. Now what? [20:03] 4Hey, she's been called worse-- [20:04] 4She told him she'd find him when they were ready for the 'tour.' Shouldn't be too hard; when the agents of Heaven want to be found, you can't get rid of them. [20:04] 4While everything falls into place for that -- the rest of the hearth buying in, probably the senior staff as well -- she's got two imperatives. Make money and make friends. [20:06] 4She's proposed being arm candy for a savvy gambler multiple times, but no one seems to want to take her up on it. Maybe she can get Caedus to the tables. Rinca's temperament doesn't seem to fit. [20:21] 4She could also just lock herself in a room with Caedus and Rinca and three cases of wine for the next week. But they probably need to get to know each other a bit better first. 15[20:22] Caedus will be available soon, but isn't yet; apparently Ratel has him seeing to the crew's morale, as if they're about to be pressed into a terrifying and dangerous new mission that will almost inevitably entail treason. 15[20:23] Zhangyu, perhaps still mulling over his last efforts to mentor Seiri and Sadako, can easily find them together in Dryas's suite, the banquet long since cleaned up. [20:24] 4Oh, it's just a bit of light treason. Misdemeanor treason. Word barely means anything now with the Empress gone. You used to have to work for it! [20:24] 4Tangentially related: Piu will want to check in on Garnet eventually. 15[20:25] Garnet hasn't been seen outside of her suite since they docked, aside from the feast at which she was mostly silent. 15[20:26] There's also a whole resort to explore, other leads to run down on the other ships and their crews (particularly if there's any appetite for Dryas's plan to take/recruit them all)... [20:27] 4They call that 'pressing the flesh' when a patrician does it... [20:29] 4There's one of the ships that Ratel reported on whose captain and crew they haven't met. For now, Piu will run down the Petrel. 15[20:30] Meanwhile, Dryas was about to make a pitch to the stoic, well-built Pneuman, and the other principals of the Red Fraction's crew: her former classmate Shen and the scowling, tattooed woman with the giant silver 'piece. [20:33] 6It takes Zhangyu a bit to actually seek out Seiri and Sadako, but he will. How do they look, after the banquet? 15[20:35] The two of them are sitting at the base of the fountain that dominates the main area of the suite. Sadako is energetically telling Seiri, who rests with her head in Sadako's lap, about the gory, brutal pit fight. "--and then after the piledriver broke his neck... she ripped his arms right off!!" 15[20:38] Seiri, eyes half open: "Mhm." 15[20:40] Piu's not one for subtlety, and that's good because in addition to being vivacious and literally smoking hot, she's also now famous. She's got tattooed monks querying her on the finer points of grappling technique; she's got drunk-off-their-asses gods making passes at her, and she's pressed with investment opportunity after investment opportunity, each shadier and more improbable than 15[20:40] the last. [20:41] 4Some of these gods...well, if she were single. None of these contracts, though. 15[20:42] Sadako looks up as Zhangyu enters. "Hey! I was just telling Seiri about the fight. It was so sick, right?!" [20:42] 4The monks she'll engage in good faith...without giving up any Mantis school secrets. Gotta sign up to train with Master Zhangyu if you want that! 15[20:43] Does she point them to his dojo? [20:43] 4Of course. She's a teacher there, after all. [20:43] 4You know, when they're around. [20:45] 6Zhangyu: "It was quite a display. Broken limbs I'm familiar with, ones torn off are another thing entirely." [20:46] "How are the two of you?" 15[20:47] The monks exchange grave nods and bustle away. No one seems to know much about the big ship, as far as she can tell... something about business with the House? But she asks enough times that eventually she twigs onto something: eyes on her. Not that that's anything new, but there are people who follow but don't approach, people with yellow eyes that poke out behind hoods and shawls, 15[20:47] people who follow her more sudden or dramatic movements in what feels like unison. [20:48] 4Mmmm. She needs to get herself somewhere they'll feel comfortable approaching her without everyone else on the ship(?) feeling the same way. 15[20:50] Sadako: "Good! It feels like we're doing something again." 15[20:51] Seiri: "How are you, Master Zhangyu?" [20:51] 4Can she reserve a balcony somewhere? If not, this is simply rectified. 14She tracks them down. [20:51] 14Well. Less ominously than that implies. 15[20:52] Not a lot of balconies, but once she's made eye contact with a couple of them she can feel them start to break off from the crowd. Then it's just a matter of getting alone and letting them come to her, or getting them into a position to introduce herself. 15[20:52] How's she play it? [20:55] 4She'll allow the blessing of Wood -- ha ha, yes she's heard all the jokes before -- to fade before firmly discouraging any remaining grifters from following her to an empty pier that's not roped off or otherwise trespassing. Anywhere with refreshments means men trying to buy her drinks and women trying to buy her outright. 15[20:56] And nowhere but the sea to throw them. [20:57] 6Automatically: "I've been worse." 6Then, considering: "Actually, pretty well, all things considered. And we are doing something again, it's just... going to take longer than I'd like to get anywhere with it." [20:58] "Was thinking about the arena but the whole arms being ripped off thing put that one off the list." [20:59] 4They're more polite about it than Lena, and that solution is foreclosed to her anyway. But really, ladies, everyone knows what duties of a 'live-in bodyguard and valet' to a 'powerful House matriarch' involve. [20:59] 07Dryas first needs to get the bearings of her interlocutors. "You lot are notorious, of course. You here looking for business?" 15[20:59] Outside the Saucer it's the middle of the night, and a gentle rain is being whipped about by a less-than-gentle wind. The lanterns bob and weave, opening rifts of shadow on the pier that quickly close again, revealing one, three, five cowled figures. 15[21:00] The one in the center, cowled in red, calls "Hail!" in heavily accented High Realm. [21:00] "Hail," 14she returns in High Realm. 15[21:00] The Pneuman: "We're always looking for business, Lady Dryas. Are you?" [21:00] "Sit, if you wish." 15[21:03] They move below the nearby awning in lockstep, but do not sit unless or until Piu does. The red-cowled: "We are of interest to you?" [21:04] 07Dryas: "We're fortunate to have met each other under these circumstances. As it stands, we may have some common ground. But first, I must know more about you. When is the last time you landed at Abalone? Have you ever met its Guild factor, a man by the name of Nn Tloc?" 15[21:07] The woman behind the Pneuman: "Oh fuck this. We did not come up here to get the run-around from this baby-headed weasel *again*." [21:09] 07Dryas chuckles: "I'm going to kill him." 15[21:10] Shen's eyes widen in alarm. The woman: "Bullshit. You and what navy?" [21:11] 14Piu: "Yes, quite. My commanding officer was scouting ships -- looking for passage off of the Saucer, and perhaps a more...long-term commitment. Your ship was quite impressive, and caught her eye." 14She raises a hand. "Don't worry. We're not going to try to commandeer it, or even book passage. But I wanted to meet the crews of all the ships that caught her eye." [21:12] 07Dryas leans forward and plucks one of the brightly-colored cocktails off the table: "My navy." [21:13] 14They're never going to pry that ship away from these creatures and as she sees how they move and look at each other, she's convinced they shouldn't want to. [21:13] "My name is V'Neef Piu. I am one of the Four Fangs." [21:14] 07She swirls it. "I've even taken one of the biggest pieces off the board, until the job's done. The Keystone, and its master, are holding back." 15[21:15] Sadako: "Do you know where we're going next?" 15[21:16] The five figures tilt their heads to five identical angles. Red-cowl: "Kin to Cynisdryas?" [21:16] 07Dryas sips at it. "And the Water Fleet is a nonfactor." [21:17] 14Piu nods. "She is my sister." 15[21:17] The Pneuman: "If you can neutralize Skullstone and the Realm, I'm not sure our little crew is going to be much of a force multiplier. What are you looking for?" [21:20] 6Zhangyu's expression flickers for a moment as he glances to Seiri, before he looks back over to Sadako. "Once we get a ship, maybe a few ships? Not sure. I'd like to get back to my dojo at some point, but I'm not sure if that's in the cards just yet." 15[21:21] Red-cowled: "We know of her. And we are of the Crew. Now you have met us." [21:23] 14Piu: "And you, me. If the question isn't forward and the answer isn't secret -- what brings you to the Saucer? Do you do business in these waters? I don't believe I've seen you around the casino floor." 15[21:24] Sadako: "What kind of ship are we getting?" 15[21:28] Red-cowled: "Always business. There's much here to learn. Much to buy and much to sell." [21:29] 6Zhangyu: "Depends on what we can swing. I've got my eyes on one made of black jade, but we've got a few options. The Red Fraction might be nice, or the Sunlit Thousands. Petrel's probably a bit slow for what we're looking for, but workable." 15[21:29] Sadako: "It's not the same one, right?" 15[21:33] Red-cowled: "What about you?" [21:33] 6Zhangyu: "No. Not sure what this one is, but it's not the same one." 15[21:34] Seiri finally sits up. "Is there something you need help with?" [21:35] 07Dryas: "To the contrary. The other piece upholding Nn Tloc's operation are the Lintha. We need to knock over the Lintha family's vault, its home base - the place they keep their hostages, probably some of the treasures." [21:35] 14Piu: "Commerce is admirable. There are some things that shouldn't be bought or sold, of course. People -- mortal or otherwise. We do not deal in people, for instance. This puts us at odds with my sister Dryas's House, obviously -- but there are many kinds of family, and she has forsworn one of her family's trades for another family's sake. In all other parts of the market, we are [21:35] at the very least interested parties." [21:35] "If temporarily embarassed." 15[21:35] Pneuman: "Watch where you say things like that. The Saucer is crawling with Lintha." 15[21:36] The woman behind him looks around. "...where'd they go?" [21:37] 07Dryas takes another sip. [21:41] 07Dryas, evenly: "I can't recall seeing any around here. Though it's only been a day or two..." 15[21:41] Shen, hopefully: "Maybe they left...?" [21:42] 14Piu probably knows this answer off the top of her head, given previous offscreen chats with Dryas -- when pressed as to what the Garden has been smuggling, what can she credibly claim they've moved besides a songbird Lunar without breaking the truth rather than merely bending it? 15[21:43] Red-cowled: "If you wish to buy or sell you should speak to the Sailing Master." [21:44] 6To Seiri: "Hadn't checked in with Sadako in a bit, wanted to make sure she was doing all right. Plus I wanted to take some time to figure out what I should be doing here other than shiphunting, if either of you wanted to go somewhere." [21:45] 14Piu nods. "And what are the protocols for speaking with the Sailing Master?" [21:46] "Our current portfolio has us trading in cultural goods -- art, smut, music, literature, fashion, both real and counterfeit -- but we're an enterprise looking to expand." [21:46] 07Dryas shrugs and sets the empty glass back on the table. "One can hope. Regardless: chaos is coming to the West. A privateer will have a lot of opportunities, very very soon. But they won't have opportunities like I can offer." 15[21:47] The woman behind the Pneuman: "What's your angle? You're not a Guildie. They don't take Chosen." 15[21:50] Sadako nudges Seiri. "Yeah, what do you want to do? You want to gamble? You want to see the showgirls?" 15[21:52] Red-cowled: "A meeting can be arranged. You meet alone?" [21:54] 07Dryas: "And most other Dynasts underestimate the Guild. I used to, too. That's how they get you. Well, us. My angle? I guess I'm sort of the competition. My organization, the Garden, has a lot of places to get to in a hurry. Fast ship like yours could be a big help. As for my angle? You could say us Four Fangs are striking out on our own. A little bit." 15[21:55] Shen: "You won't regret it. The Realm, for all it gives you... it just holds you back. Keeps you on a leash." 15[21:55] "I haven't missed it a day since I left." [21:56] 14Piu: "If that is the Sailing Master's wish. I could also bring my brothers and sister." [21:56] "Though there's a lot going on right now. Alone might simply be easier to schedule." 15[21:56] Red-cowled: "Who fills the hold? Who sets the course?" 15[21:57] Seiri: "Oh, I'm all tuckered out. You two go on ahead." 15[21:57] Sadako: "No!! Come have fun with us. This place is great." 15[21:58] Seiri: "I'm tired." Sadako: "Ugh. You're always tired." 15[21:59] Seiri: "I'm sorry! It's been a long week." Sadako: "Not for you. You've been asleep the whole time." [21:59] 6Hey, I've been there. [22:00] 07Dryas: "We'll see about that. Anyway, I've got two ships now, neither of them here. I am going to need a lot more. Something fast, high-spirited... it fits the organization. Oh, yeah. The organization. The Garden. Us Four Fangs founded it." [22:00] 14Assuming those are actual logistical questions, not rhetorical mantras: "We have a small and dedicated crew. We sail under the command of Commodore Peleps Ratel. We will have a ship in a few day's time." 15[22:01] The woman: "Four Fangs, huh? I only see one. You sure you're not just a snaggletooth?" [22:02] 07Dryas: "V'Neef Piu, Tepet Daizo, Tepet Zhangyu. You know Brightwork?" 15[22:02] Red-cowled: "We will be in touch." 15[22:02] Pneuman: "A little bit." [22:02] 14Piu nods, and lets them leave first. She does not follow. [22:02] 4Time to find Dryas! [22:02] 4She'll head for the tables. 15[22:04] Dryas and Piu can make eye contact across the gaming floor. Dryas seems to be working a big Thresholder guy, some skinny wimp, and a woman in very short pants with a big, heavy gun. Piu seems slightly damp, like she just came in from the rain. [22:04] 07Dryas: "Well, we sacked it. Sacked the deathknight who thought he was going to be the new satrap, too." 07Her eyes dart up to make contact with her sister. She tilts her head slightly at the empty seat next to her. 15[22:06] Seiri: "I was unconscious." Sadako: "Yeah. And now you're awake. Come do stuff!" [22:06] 4V'Neef Piu likely makes an impression as she sweeps into the floor. She grins and waves to Dryas, her eyes running briefly over her sister's current companions14, making sure not to stare. Hello, Iselsi Shen. [22:07] 14The lazy scion of the House's public face. The functionary who fucked off. [22:07] 14He's never seen her, of course. So this should be interesting. [22:08] 4To Dryas: "Sister! You'll never guess who I've gotten us a meeting with. Well, maybe you will." 4Then pausing to look about. "But where are my manners!" [22:09] 07Dryas, deadpan: "You had manners?" 15[22:09] The Pneuman: "You must be V'neef Piu. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm captain of the Red Fraction. They call me the Pneuman." 15[22:09] Gesturing to the slightly red-faced man: "This is Skipping-Stone Shen." 15[22:10] Gesturing to the woman regarding Piu with slightly narrowed eyes: "This is Eska Vandal, our gunner." 15[22:10] Eska: "Sup." 15[22:11] Seiri: "Okay. What do you want to do?" Sadako: "I asked you first." Seiri: "My answer was wrong." 15[22:11] Sadako gives Zhangyu a look like, can you see what I'm dealing with? [22:12] 6Zhangyu shrugs. "There's no pressure, and we'll be here longer than just today, so. I can find something else and come back with the two of you another time." [22:12] 4She'll give a just-too-abbreviated-to-be-fully-polite greeting to each one, lingering on Shen, then grinning when he notices. [22:14] 4Then, very bouncily, she'll take the offered seat next to Dryas. [22:14] 4So this is the crew of the Red Fraction, huh. [22:14] 4The gunner is intense. [22:15] 4Does Shen say anything? Literally anything at all? She wants an excuse to mention his accent. 15[22:16] Shen: "Very nice to meet you, Lady Piu." 15[22:17] Seiri opens her mouth to respond when there's a gentle knock on the gong in the entryway. [22:17] 4What accent is she actually working with? Piu: "And very nice to meet you, Skipping-Stone Sh---hhey, you say my name weird!" 4Doesn't matter if he actually does! "Where are you from? Are you from one of the Houses?" 15[22:17] If Zhangyu turns, he'll see a skinny man with sandy hair and a scruffy beard looking uncertainly between the three of them, [22:19] 07Dryas pauses to see where this guy was from. Definitely not one of the houses. [22:19] 6Zhangyu: "Yes?" 15[22:20] Shen has a very pronounced Imperial City accent, the kind you associate with patrician merchant houses, market traders, and minor bureaucrats. "Oh! I apologize if I mispronounced. I am from the Realm, but not one of the Great Houses. Not anymore, anyway. I was born to old House Iselsi." [22:21] 07Dryas: "House what? Whose cadets are those?" 15[22:21] The guy in the doorway: "Uh... are you Cynis Dryas? I'm the troubadour." 15[22:21] Shen laughs a little nervously. [22:21] "Ohhhhhh," 4she says with the precise tone and voice of someone pretending they've heard of something they haven't. "Well that's nice for you!" [22:21] 6Zhangyu: "No, she's out at the moment. Tepet Zhangyu." 6Does he remember anything about a troubadour being mentioned? [22:23] 14Not a chance he's deep cover. They truly permitted one with the Blood to simply...fuck off. [22:23] 07Dryas: "I apologize, it's none of my business. And you said you left them behind anyway." 07This subject is making her thirsty. [22:24] 07Dryas: "Another round?" 15[22:24] Eska cackles. "No no, Shen, keep going. Tell them all about your loser House!" 15[22:24] "Shit yeah, another round." [22:24] 14Caedus will have to be made aware, but frankly, Piu is inclined to respect his decision. Either the House couldn't use him, or it has decided this is the best use for him. Honestly not sure which one she'd find more insulting, in his position. 15[22:24] "Especially if you're buying, Lady Dryas." [22:24] 4Piu: "Yeah!" [22:25] 4Unclear whether that's in response to 'loser House' or 'another round.' 15[22:26] The troubadour: "Oh, uh. Part of her package is she gets her deeds commemorated in song by a house troubadour. So I'm supposed to meet her and find out what she's into, for that. Name's Koose." [22:27] "I can pay for it! Still got a full purse from winning in the pit." 4Conversationally, almost innocently, as if this is a totally normal and not socially fraught question: "Do you have the Blood too, Eska?" 15[22:28] Eska: "No. I wash my hands regularly." [22:30] 07Ah. Someone with a chip on her shoulder about the Perfected Hierarchy. Go complain to the gods about it. Dryas takes a polite sip. [22:30] 14Mmmmm. 4But Piu doesn't register that as an insult on her face or in her voice. She doesn't have to. "Oh! I thought maybe you were his bodyguard." [22:31] 6Zhangyu: "You on a tight schedule? I can find her, but she's probably up to something. Busy woman, that Dryas." 15[22:31] The Pneuman: "Eska's saved my life more times than I can count. If you can trust me, you can trust her. Lady Dryas was just telling us we might do business together." 15[22:33] Eska wags a finger knowingly. "You're trying to get a rise out of me..." She pounds the table so hard her glass jumps a couple of ilms in the air and the pick the garnish was one flips onto the table. "IT WON'T WORK!" [22:35] 07The next round arrives. "Alright, alright. Less talking, more drinking. Yes, I think we are in the market for some talented specialists," 07Dryas hastens to explain. 15[22:35] Shen, sending a southron turn in the conversation, says, "House Iselsi used to be a Great House, a long long time ago. But it committed an unforgiveable crime, and it has suffered greatly. Some hope that one day Iselsi can return to its former glory. I wish them luck." 15[22:37] Koose: "Uh... kinda?" 15[22:37] "It's more like, I can't take any other jobs until I do this one, and I don't get paid until this one is done." 15[22:37] Seiri: "Let's go look for her, then!" 15[22:38] To Sadako: "I bet Lady Dryas is having fun." 15[22:38] Sadako: "I guess she must be." 15[22:41] The Pneuman: "I would advise you to be discreet about what you want those specialists for. They're back." [22:41] 4Piu, brightly: "Oh please, Eska! I would never." 4'It's clear how much you care about him,' she doesn't say, because despite how blindingly obvious that is, this one's got her heart wired to fist. [22:42] 07Are they? 15[22:42] Koose looks uncertainly from Seiri to Zhangyu. [22:43] 6Zhangyu: "We can find her. Probably looking in on one of the ship's crews, if I had to bet." 6She may have actually mentioned where she was going specifically, but they can head over there regardless. 15[22:44] Dryas can see people that weren't there before, short and face-covered, watching them (her?) from multiple angles. Yellow eyes peek from behind shawls, cowls, hoods and hats. [22:45] 07Whoa! That's weird!! [22:47] 07Dryas: "I was just giving them the pitch, giving them our angle. How would you describe it, sister?" [22:47] 4Piu: "Oh! Hey! I was just talking to these guys." 14And wasn't expecting to see them again so soon. [22:48] 07Dryas leans in, a little perturbed. "What? What did they want?" [22:49] 4Piu: "Oh, I went looking for them. They want to meet you." [22:49] 07Dryas: "They are not here with Kowai Lintha Meritene, are they? Is the whole western ocean putting in?" [22:49] 4Piu: "No idea!" 15[22:50] Eska: "You work with Lintha?" [22:51] 4Piu shrugs. "A big ship caught our commodore's eye out on the docks, I started asking around to see who ran her, these little guys started following me." [22:51] "We have exchanged currency for goods or goods for services, if that's what you're asking." [22:51] *haven't 15[22:51] Eska: "That's what I'm asking." [22:51] 4Brightly: "Well, there's your answer!" 15[22:51] Eska: "Seems so." 15[22:52] Shen: "We've had some trouble with the Lintha Family in the past." [22:52] 4Piu: "What's the problem with House Ligma or whatever?" 15[22:53] Eska: "Fuckin' everything. Demons, slavers, kidnappers, cheapskates." 15[22:53] "And they're organized." [22:54] 07Dryas has an eye on these interlopers as she speaks: "I was telling them about our plans for our friend who insists on barefoot guests." 15[22:54] Eska: "You too? He's such a pervert!" [22:54] 4Eyes wide. "Slavers! Well, we don't work well with those." [22:54] 4Piu: "Oh? How much do they know?" 15[22:55] Pneuman: "Lady Dryas gave the impression that you Four Fangs have quite a pedigree." [22:55] 4Piu: "Well, I don't like to brag! Usually it's polite to hire people for that." 15[22:56] Everyone follows Zhangyu, but Zhangyu doesn't really know where to go. But he makes a sufficient scene himself as they enter the gaming area that Piu and Dryas can wave him, Seiri, Sadako, and some weird scruffy guy over. [22:56] 6If Seiri, Sadako, and Koose are all amenable, Zhangyu can probably lead them to Dryas and Piu fairly easily. Can't stand between the man and his paycheck, not gonna let him hang around in our space unaccompanied. [22:57] 4Piu: "Heyyyy! Brother Zhangyu!" [22:57] 4To the Pneuman: "The slavery thing really is kind of a dealbreaker, though." [22:58] "When it comes to that guy, but also in general." [22:58] 6Zhangyu: "Hey, Piu. Did we find more slavers to wreck?" [22:58] "Not yet!" 15[22:58] The Pneuman: "That's not our line of work." [22:58] "Oh, and Dryas, this guy's here for you. Koose, he's a troubadour." 15[22:58] Koose bows. "My lady." [23:00] 07Dryas: "Yes, well, we don't engage in slavery but we have other priorities. Actually, nearly everything else is our priority. Ah, Zhangyu, ladies, and... the troubadour? Excellent, delightful, yes, what can I do for you young master?" 15[23:01] "I'm here to compose a song about your deeds and virtues, as per the perks clause of your White Mountain Matriarch Rewards contract." 15[23:01] Koose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ujLyu59DDY - Why am I able to waste my energy to notice life being so beautiful? [23:03] 07Dryas: "Well, we are all drinking, so come have a drink. Do you need one of us to regale you with all the deeds and virtues?" 15[23:03] Koose will take a seat and a drink, the latter eagerly. "If you wouldn't mind, my Lady. You know how unreliable hearsay is." [23:04] "Hearsay?"07 Dryas asks, rather curiously. [23:04] 4Piu can pitch in most saliently when discussing the hunt that made the fangs that made the Fangs. That's probably where she's most helpful, rather than everywhere else in the story, where she's...less so. 15[23:04] Eska squints past Koose and then leans down to murmur something in the Pneuman's ear. 15[23:05] You can't see where his eyes move behind those dark lenses, but he frowns slightly. 15[23:06] Koose: "Well yeah. Everyone's heard of Cynis Dryas, who braved Lost Zarlath and came back after years in the wilderness." [23:06] 07Dryas: "As for the young ladies, this is Seiri Gansa, one of our lovely staff, and that is Sadako, my ward." [23:07] 4Piu: "Kinda weird to do this in the middle of a business meeting but hey, you wanted to figure out what you think of us! Might as well give you the story." [23:07] 07Dryas grimaces politely. "Ah. That is the older Dryas. I was named for her, when she was still, well, lost. Most call me the Younger Dryas, or Dryas the Younger." 15[23:07] Shen finally looks up here. "Sadako! You're cured!" [23:07] 6Zhangyu: "Uh, what?" [23:07] 4Piu: "Wha?" 15[23:07] Sadako: "Who the fuck are you?" [23:07] 07Dryas grabs a glass and downs the whole thing when she hears Shen's outburst. [23:07] 14Now this is interesting. 15[23:09] Shen: "You don't remember? It wasn't even a year ago." 15[23:10] Eska, carefully: "Shen... shut your stupid fucking mouth, yeah?" 15[23:10] The Pneuman: "It's nice to meet you, young lady." 15[23:11] Sadako looks at Dryas. "Who is this?" [23:11] 07Dryas: "The command crew of the Red Fraction, one of the vessels moored here, who I was hoping - and am still hoping - to engage as some kind of privateers." 15[23:12] Seiri's eyes get as big as hen's eggs. [23:12] 07Dryas: "That is Iselsi Shen." 15[23:13] Sadako glances in Seiri's direction. "What? You know these guys?" 15[23:13] Seiri, immediately: "No! No, I've never met them before in my life!" [23:13] 14Right idea, rough execution. [23:17] 07Dryas, trying to explain for the benefit of everyone, including the troubadour: "Well, you see, when we came across Sadako she was quite ill. Actually, it was aboard a great smoking iron ship swarming with blood-apes. Quite a sight, halfway from Bittern to Abalone." 15[23:18] Eska: "Oh fuck." 15[23:18] "Sorry about your dad, kid." [23:18] 4Piu: "Hell of a fight in there!" 15[23:18] Sadako: "Fuck you." 15[23:18] Eska: "Excuse me?" 15[23:18] Sadako: "You don't know me." [23:19] 14And training in the martial arts is supposed to teach discipline. 15[23:20] If it helps, Sadako's menace is very focused. [23:20] 6That does help! 15[23:20] Seiri: "They don't mean anything by it." 15[23:20] Sadako: "Don't side with them!" 15[23:21] Eska: "What kind of fucked up magicians are you running with, Lady Dryas?" [23:21] 6Zhangyu: "They haven't met you since we have. It's -- they're expecting a different person, I guess. It's happened before." [23:22] 4Piu: "Before this goes any further. I've seen what happens when you start throwing punches anywhere in here that isn't the pit, Sadako." [23:22] "So, let's please not let it get to that." [23:23] 07Dryas: "We're a fun kind of fucked up, most of the time," 07she explains, her eyes meeting the Pneuman's glasses. 15[23:23] Eska: "Oh yeah, I'm real scared of the Wobbly Crutch Bandit." 15[23:23] Sadako: "Give me thirty seconds and you will be." 15[23:24] The reverie in their chunk of the gaming floor has died down a bit. A lot of eyes are on them. [23:24] 14The fact that Eska is plainly not scared, despite clearly having some idea of what Sadako is... [23:24] 6Zhangyu: "She's very good. Scared the shit out of me one of the times I tried to train her in Mantis." [23:25] 14Combined with the reason Piu thinks Seiri is so frightened of who they're at the table with now... [23:25] 07Dryas doesn't take her eyes of the Pneuman. "Sadako," 07she says, softly. 15[23:25] "What." [23:26] 4Piu: "There's a way everyone gets what they want here. If you two are gonna go at it...why not make some money off of it?" [23:26] 6Zhangyu was about to suggest the same thing. [23:27] 07Dryas was about to suggest nearly the exact opposite of that. Instead, she pretends like it was her idea all along and just closes her mouth again. 15[23:29] Sadako: "Oh hell yes." 15[23:29] Eska: "Your funeral, kid." 15[23:29] Sadako: "Not my first." 15[23:29] Seiri: "Absolutely not! Have you gone insane?!" [23:30] 4Piu's voice hasn't slipped into the hard tone she uses when Iselsi work is at hand, but she's no longer the bubbly airhead. "I'll get it set up. And I will make it clear up front that the rules of the fight will not be to the death." 15[23:30] "What? If she wants to—" Sadako's fury and focus curdle when she sees Seiri's. 15[23:31] Seiri: "You are not fighting for money like an animal." [23:31] 6Wow. [23:31] 6Rude. [23:32] 4That old refrain: been called worse. [23:32] 6Zhangyu: "Strictly speaking, it's for prestige. The money is secondary." [23:32] 6This probably isn't helpful. 15[23:32] Seiri: "You stay out of this!" [23:32] 4Well if we're going to defuse this without a fight, then Iselsi Shen needs to step the fuck up. [23:32] 4Seiri has. [23:32] 07Dryas takes note of Seiri's remark. Something to keep in mind for later. "As you can see, we're a motivated bunch," 07she tells the Pneuman. [23:32] 6He raises his hands placatingly, but doesn't contribute further. [23:33] 4Does he look like he's going to? 15[23:34] Shen waits until Eska's hand starts to stray to her hip to nudge her elbow. "Hey. Hey." 15[23:34] Eska draws down anyway... to point it at him. [23:34] 4Let it play out. [23:35] 4She will put a not-really-restraining hand -- probably under the table -- against the stomach of either her brother or sister if they try to intervene. 15[23:35] Shen stares placidly up the moonsilver barrel. His face is expressionless. His voice is almost monotone. "We're better than this. You're better than this." 15[23:35] "And our business will be better than this." 15[23:36] A moment later it's like all of Eska's lights go out. Her posture slacks, her eyes sink to lidded slits, all the tension bleeds out of her arms and the curve of her mouth... culiminating in a final, sullen "Whatever." [23:37] 4There it is. 15[23:38] Sadako tears her eyes from Seiri to meet Eska's. Seiri squeezes her hand. "Yeah." 15[23:38] Seiri squeezes her hand harder. 15[23:38] "...I'm sorry. That was my fault." 15[23:39] Eska's lighting up a thin cigar. "Never happened. Forget about it." [23:39] 14If Eska Vandal is what Piu thinks she is, then Iselsi Shen just became one of the most important House assets in the entire Direction. And Piu suspects he's not going to be happy to hear that. [23:39] 14But someone's going to have to tell him. 15[23:40] Koose, barely above a whisper: "14I'm just gonna come back later thanks for your time" [23:40] 4Piu, raising her glass: "We'll be in touch!" [23:40] "Ah, troubadours." 15[23:41] Sadako: "The last one was a lot fatter." 15[23:42] The Pneuman nods to Dryas. "...as you can see, we are too." [23:42] 6Zhangyu: "Keeps things interesting." [23:42] 07Dryas: "Well, what is it you want, that we can help you get?" [23:43] "More than just-"07 her eyes flit to Seiri- "money?" [23:43] 4More seriously, but still in her hostess/entertainer mode: "Seems clear to me we share a lot of the same values, the same interests, and the same approaches. And we know what it's like to rely on each other, both on the battlefield and just for perspective. Seems like we can work together." 15[23:44] The Pneuman: "We specialize in hit-and-runs, procurement, moving value-dense cargo in unsafe waters. We move fast. We break things. If you've got something you need, in or out of trouble, you won't find better in the West than us." 15[23:45] Shen: "In the world." [23:46] 4Piu: "I can think of three or four times over the last couple months when we could've used that service, and paid well for it!" 15[23:47] The Pneuman: "Then why don't we start with that. See how it feels working together, before we start talking about the things money can't buy." [00:03] 4She continues: "Some of us left our houses -- great, small, or just literal houses -- behind, too. Maybe they weren't very high status; maybe, instead, we weren't. And then we did things -- and they did things -- that made maintaining that relationship even harder." 4That's for Shen, and a little bit for herself. Her eyes flick to Eska. "We've done shit we're not proud of, stuff [00:03] that makes us bad people, and we keep going because when we can't fight for who we are, we can fight for who we want to be, and the people we who we want to be that for." 4That's for Eska...and also, more than a little bit, for herself. But to the Pneuman: "Frankly, however, it comes down to business. We've conquered Old Mionzi, done deals with Heaven, done deals with Hell, and so [00:03] far stayed on both of their good sides, and last week we killed a Deathknight with a single arrow and hung him upside down out in front of his own wedding as a warning to the others. We're in the business of business, and business is good." [00:04] 07Atta girl. [00:06] 4Piu looks startled at herself when the speech is done. Not entirely artifice. 14'Our business is business, and business is good?' Getting a bit out over your saddle, Piu. 15[00:06] The Pneuman looks left to Shen, who nods once. Then he looks right to Eska, who sort of halfheartedly waggles her eyebrows. Then he looks dead center at Dryas the Younger. "Let's do some work, then." 15[00:07] NEXT TIME: Mystery Box Theatre 15[00:09] The Petrelene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn9F19Hi1Lk