15[20:40] The sun rises on Cinder Hearth, filtering through the dissipating morning rain. The atmosphere is heavy as survivors see the cracked dome of the old temple in full daylight. News of Budokan's death is met with taut alarm - a traitor? Skullstone's last gasp? But the anxiety builds without catharsis — in the absence of immediate danger, no one, not Temida's rebels nor the loyal 15[20:40] legionnaires wants to keep fighting. [20:41] 14Excellent. [20:42] 14And, frankly, we killed him in a way that everyone could pass off as kind of natural. [20:42] 14'We.' [20:42] 14At this point it's subject to negotiation. 15[20:43] The Fangs arise to find that Shiroi is swiftly asserting command in the wake of the governor's death: over the legionnaires, over the rebuilding, over the assessment. Temida, who lost one hearth-sister to murder and two to conspiracy, is stalking the ranks of the legionnaires like an uncaged demon, a burning reminder of what will befall them if they break the fragile peace to settle 15[20:43] old scores. 15[20:43] Shiroi's authority is legally unimpeachable, but the question of who's in charge is more ambiguous. [20:44] 14Excellent. [20:44] 14We need a summit! Dryas, Sister, babe, call a summit. [20:45] 10Daizo will gladly hand the credit off to Piu for that one. Oh, if any of this ever came out to a hearing, we'd all still go to the Nail together. But Her Majesty's justice is a bit thin on the ground these days.  [20:46] 10Even before you consider the question of how just it is. [20:46] 14It's not about credit. It's about leverage. [20:46] 14She will seek Daizo out that morning, however. Is it still raining like shit? 15[20:48] It's thinning out, with breaks in the clouds. It'll have burned away by noon. [20:48] 14Good. [20:48] 14Where's Daizo? On the ship? Taking breakfast in a joint mess? [20:50] 10The ship's food is what it is, but at least it doesn't taste like ashes like everything on land does. Piu will find him in the mess about this time. [20:51] 4Piu: "Brother! How's the...scrapple!" [20:53] 10Daizo makes a face. "Keeping body and soul together, about the best you can say for it. And we're down to the tea dust. When we get back to Abalone I could eat an entire… ahem. Sorry, I'm rambling." [20:54] 4Piu: "Let's go watch the sunrise! Over there! Alone." [20:56] 4She will take a plate of menial slop. If it's mostly fat and meat instead of sawdust, she'll even enjoy it. [20:57] 10Daizo: "A little walk ought to do wonders for my digestion. Let's." [20:57] 14When alone: "I killed Budokan last night." [20:59] 10Archly: "I figured as much, being as it's you telling me this and not a charred corpse." [20:59] "Was it quick?" [20:59] 14Piu: "Yes." [20:59] "Under two minutes." [20:59] "Proud of that." [21:00] 07Dryas appears later than usual, a bundle of scrolls under one arm. "Good morning." [21:00] "I'm going to try to get Dryas to reconcile the powerful, grumbly Cathak ladies on opposite sides of this. If Grenseal interferes, I'm going to kill him." [21:01] 14Has Dryas walked in both of them? She should have, that would be extremely leader-cool. [21:01] 10Daizo: "Hhe have any last words? Good morning, Sister." [21:01] 14Piu: "The Dragon died screaming. Dryas! I have requests." [21:04] "For my part, Caxi thinks I'm onto something with this whole 'steal the Lathe' plan. While you're bending Grenseal's ear, or possibly neck, we'll be heading back to the rebel village to secure it." [21:04] 07Dryas unfurls one of them and sets down a pot of ink. "Proceed," [21:04] 14Piu: "First, we don't just execute Grenseal out of hand. I know. Less than virtuous. We need a dope to help with positioning." [21:05] "Second! We need to get Shiroi and Temida to ally. Not even a fake alliance. That's the only thing that's going to make these mines productive again." [21:06] "Third! We need to start integrating an archipelago nation. We need to think big. Even if it means putting off our Houses. And I mean both of mine." [21:07] "I can talk to Garnet if we need Empress juice, but frankly, I think we should save that until she's comfortable." [21:09] 07Dryas dips her brush into the ink. "Can we really trust Grenseal? We've sent others to the Nail for less." [21:09] 14Piu: "Nope! Trust isn't what we're looking for." [21:09] "We want an angle." [21:10] 07Dryas begins writing. "With...?" [21:10] "Skullstone. Our only other one we promised to help kill Nn Tloc." [21:11] 07Dryas pauses for a moment. "Heh." 07She smiles. [21:11] "This guy comes with considerably fewer prerequisites." [21:13] 10Daizo: "Mrm. You want Grenseal to do what with Skullstone, exactly?" [21:13] 14Piu: "I want him available." [21:13] "We can figure out what he can do when he figures out what he can do." [21:13] 07Dryas: "Double agent?" [21:14] "If the answer is nothing, then there's so much sand and so much salt for such a little body." [21:14] "Aha, I get it." [21:14] "As for Gu Len and Rikai...leave them to the wisdom of the crowd." [21:15] "Maybe they'll even forgive them. Maybe they're not wrong to." [21:15] "Also we've got incoming from Heaven, right?" 14This is to Daizo. [21:16] 10Daizo: "Possibly sometime today, in fact." [21:17] 14Piu nods. "That means we need to get the local government in line here immediately." [21:17] 14To Dryas: "Should I go call the summit?" [21:21] 07Dryas: "Yeah, let's do it." [21:22] 14Piu nods, bows, goes >:I on her plate, then leaps up and over the Prolix's main spine, hup hup, down to shore, and away. 15[21:25] If it's any consolation, the people of the Neck aren't eating much better, and the legionnaires in particular are restive as Temida forces them to split their less-meager rations with the rebels equitably. But actual fighting is minimal, whether people understand the febrility of the political situation or because everyone's just too damn hungry and tired. [21:26] 14You know, if we had access to Brightwork's ports.. [21:26] 14Well, there are problems to be solved. 15[21:27] Where are Rikai and Gu Len being kept, and who's keeping them? Are they up in Perihelion? Are they already stowed in the P&T's brig? [21:29] 14Piu would not have been involved in that. Surely the Commodore has seen to it? [21:30] 10Daizo was definitely intending to get them in the brig ASAP. Keep their people away from them and guarantee they don't raise a fuss when we're ransacking Perihelion. [21:30] 14If asked, Piu would have said stick them in a room with one exit in the mountain and put three people there who would fucking kill them if they walked out. 15[21:30] Insofar as someone's kept her up to date. She wasn't at that first summit and she isn't at this one. [21:31] 14Piu makes sure to keep Ratel up to date. That's the deal. 15[21:32] Then it's simple enough to get them down to the brig. A couple of the sailors will usher them down, and they don't fight. They seem, independently, thoughtful. [21:33] 14Cool. Frankly, Piu doesn't think executing them will be worth it at all. [21:33] 14But that's not her decision. [21:33] 10Yeah, that's all on the 'legitimate' authorities. We're just keeping them on ice for the moment. [21:35] 10Still, watching the sunrise, some of Gu Len's words come back to Daizo. What does it mean if the sun isn't 10really10 the sun? 15[21:35] The crater where yesterday's parlay was held is still there, and the long earthworked table is still there. Temida is ill-at-ease sitting down. She stood at that first meeting, what feels like ages ago, where they talked about the sun. But she has enough social graces to recognize that standing while Shiroi sits would be needlessly aggressive. [21:35] 14Well, here we go. [21:35] 14Dryas is taking the lead here, right? [21:36] 14This is her shit. 15[21:36] Shiroi has Grenseal beside her. Temida doesn't have anyone in her camp aside from mortal rebels and, arguably, the Fangs. [21:37] 4Piu winks at Grenseal. 14He knows what it means, unless he's an idiot. 15[21:37] Grenseal responds, :| [21:38] 14Acceptable man. [21:39] 14She takes up a standing position outside the fire. [21:39] 10Daizo's sitting in on the summit, at least for the start. Important to be seen. [21:39] 07Dryas enters, setting the bundle of scrolls on the table; they go rolling this way and that. [21:40] 14Do any of them roll into the crater-fire where they boiled the tea. [21:41] 07Dryas: "Thank you, everyone. We have a few key items to discuss. The first is a discussion of the state of the West beyond the waters of this island." 15[21:41] The kettle is just coming off that fire now, as Stranger quietly pours the tea. Grenseal watches her, face unchanged. Temida seems to avoid looking at her at all. 15[21:42] Shiroi pays her the minimal notice one affords a servant, and takes a cup more to fidget with than to drink. "How bad is it out there?" [21:43] 07Dryas: "Our mission, when we left Bittern, was to find Admiral Furia, because the Water Fleet had gone missing." [21:44] 10Daizo's got a bundle of scrolls and notes himself, and one of them 10does10 go rolling off the table— [21:44] 07Dryas, continuing: "I am proud to say that we succeeded in our mission. However, while we found Furia, the Water Fleet is no more, and Furia herself had, for all intents, lost her mind chasing a conspiracy of heavenly, but not divine, intervenors." [21:47] 14Piu steps forward, almost annoyed, and kicks - kicks - kicks - kicks. The scrolls falling off the table fly up in the air. [21:47] 14She snatches them from it and sets them down. [21:48] 10-_-; [21:48] 07Dryas: "I want to emphasize: the Water Fleet is effectively destroyed as a fighting force, or an entity capable of protecting Realm tributary vessels. Additionally, this is not the first place Skullstone has made a move; we foiled them at Brightwork and their tendrils have spread all the way to the Pole. They have extensively infiltrated the Guild, and many Dynasts, to their great shame, also collaborate." 07Her glance [21:48] pointedly avoids Grenseal. [21:50] 14Piu's doesn't. 15[21:50] Shiroi watches the scrolls fly briefly before looking back to Dryas. "You're saying we lost the Water Fleet to the wrong shadowy conspiracy?" [21:51] 14Piu crosses her arms. [21:56] 10Daizo: "To the degree that it's important to assign blame, yes. From Skullstone's perspective, they've been delivered a marvelous stroke of good fortune without having to lift a finger." 15[21:57] Temida: "That we know of." 15[21:57] "If Dynasts are working with the Skullstoners, why couldn't Furia or her people be among them?" 15[21:58] Everyone seems perfectly willing to take in stride that the Water Fleet is gone and the Realm's flank is totally exposed. Maybe because of, you know, all this. [21:58] 14Piu: "Possibly the insane capacity for directionless violence that Peleps Furia currently represents." [21:58] "Skullstone plans." [21:59] "Furia laughs." 15[21:59] Shiroi: "So what's protecting us from raiders once the weather's cleared up? The rainy season doesn't last much longer." [22:00] 14Piu glances at Dryas. [22:01] 07Dryas: "It's simple. We are going to build a new navy." [22:02] 14Piu nods smugly. [22:02] 07Dryas: "Please review page one of your materials." 15[22:02] Pages turn in unison. [22:02] 07It is a simple report, drafted by Dryas in bits and pieces over long nights and copied for this meeting. [22:04] 10We are building it bigger. We are widening the corridors and adding more (boat)swains. [22:05] 07Dryas: "There are two gates to the West: Wu Jian is the greater of the two, of course; it is known. But the lesser of the pair, Abalone, is where we established ourselves in our Western mission." [22:07] 07Dryas: "On Abalone, under the tutelage of great sensei Zhangyu, we have begun training many warriors. Much trade passes through as well. There is a great sea of laborers, waiting to be directed." 15[22:07] Temida: "And timber." [22:08] 07Dryas: "Yes, in the wyld-woods on the slopes of the great volcano Hamoji - now empty of its ancient and terrible god." 15[22:08] Shiroi looks up. "What happened to the god?" [22:08] 14Does Dryas want Piu to tell her, or does she want to do it herself? [22:09] 07Dryas gestures to Piu to handle this one. She will take a sip of water. [22:09] 14Piu: "We killed it, then got one better." 15[22:10] "You killed a god?" [22:11] 14Piu: "You think a god is highest on our trophy wall?" [22:11] 10Daizo looks like he's about to say something but clams up. Let's see where Piu is going with this. 15[22:11] Shiroi: "What's higher than a god? Did you kill the Empress?" [22:13] 14Piu: "The Empress lives. We didn't take a shot at her." [22:13] "We're not monsters." [22:14] 07Dryas nods vigorously. "Just so, just so." [22:15] 10Unconsciously, Daizo's hand tightens into a fist.  15[22:15] This gets more of a stir. "Wait, she's alive? Where?" 15[22:15] Murmurs run through the assembled. [22:16] 14To Dryas: "Your call." [22:17] 07Dryas takes a breath in slightly-overbaked astonishment. "Is it so controversial a thing to suggest: that the Empress of the Realm, Her Most Serene Imperial Majesty, yet draws breath?" 15[22:17] Shiroi: "You didn't suggest it." [22:18] 14Piu: "I'll say it out loud again then. The Empress lives. Who wants to gainsay this article of faith?" [22:19] "Because my belief is pure and true." [22:20] 10Daizo closes his eyes and looks up at the sky. This might be perceived as some sort of sincere prayer, but actually he's trying to prevent his eyes from rolling out of his head. [22:23] 07Dryas clears her throat. "Gentlemen and ladies, we have an agenda." [22:42] 14Piu steps forward. "And it's a good one. It's an agenda that cares about these islands. It's an agenda that cares about you. We've met the Empress and departed on good terms. We've met the boys from Skullstone and fucking killed them. We intend, no matter what happens back east, to oppose what's happen to this archipelago's west and build to a strength everyone here can be proud [22:42] of. Everyone. No matter what they've done," 14Piu says, not glancing at Grenseal. "This is an opportunity for a new beginning and you need to understand, if you understand nothing else, the degree to which we value new beginnings." [22:43] *what's happening 15[22:45] The table falls silent, in contemplation, inspiration, or chastisement. Dryas sees an opportunity to press ahead. [22:46] 10Daizo actually finds himself swept up in the moment, his are-you-kidding-me attitude being thoroughtly swept away. [22:48] 07Dryas takes a deep breath and follows. "And we need more than just words, or the hope that lies beneath them. We need the jade to rebuild a navy that can protect this island and these people. To safeguard this Direction and to forge that new beginning, before it can be snuffed out, we need the commitment of the protectors of this land. We - all of us - need each other." [22:59] 07Dryas continues: "We have commenced, in this Direction, a new project which will bring civilization to the barbarians, protection to the satrapies, and stability to the Realm itself. And it is time for you to join this project and assist us in its furtherance." 15[22:59] Temida: "There's no doubt what you say is true - but the people who work these mines have been abused and exploited for far too long. They're not going back under the old regime, not under a lash or under pretty speeches. That means a fair, not a tributary price for the jade, that means some of the wealth of this island stays on this island." [23:02] 14Piu glances to Dryas. Done? [23:03] 07Dryas: "We would be foolish to do otherwise; the Silver Prince's catspaws here were rabble-rousers, urchins, and erstwhile anarchists. We must fortify this island's bellies and spirits as much as its bulwarks. Although I can't promise more fresh whales as magnificent as the one we provided," 07she obliquely reminds those assembled of the Fangs's service, with a smile. 15[23:04] Shiroi: "Defense is our first priority. We practically share a border with the Principality, and whether or not they can eat our morale, they can definitely eat our fortifications if they smell weakness." [23:05] 14Piu: "A percentage return from the market and a guarantee of fleet safety, then?" [23:05] "Can the two of you handle isle fortifications?" 15[23:06] Shiroi looks back at Grenseal. "Think they're good for it?" 15[23:06] Grenseal glances at Dryas and Piu briefly, and says, "If they're not, we're dead anyway. So..." [23:06] 14Piu's eyes don't leave him. [23:06] 10In the midst of all this, Daizo's keeping an eye on Se— Stranger. Presumably she's keeping up the servant act, but have any of the bold plans and bolder declarations so far provoked any kind of reaction from her?  15[23:08] Shiroi: "Sister Temida, what do you think? Can we defend ourselves?" 15[23:08] Temida: "From the Skullstoners? Sure." 15[23:08] "From each other?" 15[23:08] "Look around you." [23:09] 14Piu's expression darkens. 15[23:11] Daizo thinks she was about to say something in the brief pause before Dryas committed to supporting the miners more, and then thought better of it. She doesn't seem happy about this, but she does seem... satisfied. 15[23:12] Shiroi: "Yeah. I think we're in accord here." 15[23:13] Temida: "Education has to be done outside the authority of the Order." 15[23:13] Shiroi: "Okay, hang on--" [23:13] 14Piu glances at Sei--Stranger. [23:14] 14To her: "Thoughts?" [23:14] 14To her: "Thoughts?" 15[23:15] Stranger looks up from the tea service. "I think... the only real teacher these people ever had is getting burned at sundown. There is no Order here. Why rebuild it?" [23:16] 14Piu: "I think I agree." [23:16] 10Interesting. Stranger's got a particular sense of justice, it seems. [23:18] 07Dryas holds back on commenting directly. "The death of Nellens Szalony was a terrible tragedy, which I think necessitates this discussion about what shape the future should take." 15[23:19] Shiroi: "Where will teachers come from, if not the Order?" 15[23:19] Stranger: "Where will ships come from, if not the navy? You are beyond the reach of empire now." 15[23:20] "Ma'am." [23:20] 10Daizo: "…The methods of Immaculate pedagogy can be adapted to a secular context." [23:20] 14Piu: "The answer to both is: The people." [23:20] "You're not suckling babes. You can figure out who your elders are." 15[23:21] Stranger: "I think the point Lady Dryas and her kin are trying to make is: it's time to try something different." [23:21] 14Piu nods. "You've seen what the past has brought you. On both sides." [23:22] 14...There's probably a lesson there. 15[23:23] Shiroi: "Okay. We'll work it out with Mos and Rai." 15[23:24] Temida: "I think this is enough to be getting on with." [23:24] 10It's Daizo's turn to look a little dissatisfied. The methods can be adapted, yes, but… well. Those who feel the need can still read the Texts, even if they're taught with other books. [23:24] 14Piu smiles, finally. [23:26] 10But given the turmoil in the settlement, even the staunchest monk might think twice before trying to carry on as if nothing had happened.  [23:31] 07Dryas: "Are there any other questions or concerns?" 15[23:32] Temida: "Just timetables and seating charts." 15[23:32] Shiroi: "Yeah, I got work to do." [23:35] 14Piu: "We all do." [23:35] 14Piu: "Let's get back to it." [23:36] 10Daizo: "Oh, there is one other thing." 15[23:36] Everyone looks up. [23:36] 14Piu lingers. [23:36] "We've got Rikai and Gu Len in our custod. Will we be turning them over to you?" [23:36] *custody 15[23:37] Shiroi: "The deal we negotiated under previous leadership saw them going to Abalone for trial there." 15[23:37] To Temida: "You wanna handle it here? I got no problem with that." 15[23:38] Temida: "I have no love for them." 15[23:38] Shiroi: "Me neither." 15[23:38] To Daizo: "Keep em. Free to a good home, or the sea." [23:38] 10Daizo: "Very well. One all-expenses-paid trip it is." [23:39] 14There'll be some use for them. [23:39] 07Dryas will take a moment to calculate the figures. [23:44] 07Then she will take her leave. Two more things to do. [23:44] 14Piu will remain until Stranger is satisfied. 15[23:46] Stranger's cleaning up the tea service now. [23:47] 14Does she want help? 15[23:49] She doesn't ask for it, but she doesn't shoo Piu away if she starts helping. It's a slow, deliberate process; Piu can see that Stranger is working by touch, and is occasionally surprised when something is not exactly where she put it down or expected it to be. [23:50] 14...Makes sense. Piu mainly stays to the side, keeps milling guards away from her, and firmly places anything that falls away down where she can easily find it by sound and touch. [23:51] 14As long as no one's seeking her out after the meeting breaks, it should be fine. [23:53] 07Dryas makes her way to the spot outside the school - where Budokan met his end as well, perhaps. Outside, though, should be the petrified remains of Szalony. 15[23:54] The stone is still there, rubble cleared away from the fragments of a statue that has gone reverently untouched since its desecration. 15[23:54] There's a faint smell of smoke on the air. Someone burned incense, hours past, while Dryas and the others were in pitched negotiation. [23:55] 10Daizo's been going the same way as Dryas for most of the route, and he'll stop to pay his respects to Szalony, who didn't deserve any of this.  [23:56] 07Recognizable scent? 15[00:01] Yes, in fact-- Dryas recalls the scent of smoke, leather, and dried flowers. It was in among the wreckage of the home of the first Skullstoner she saw die, Piu's old lover, "Ted". It wasn't him, though, it was... damn, she can't remember. She remembers the smell, but she can't put it to a face in her mind. [00:04] 10Daizo: "It feels wrong to leave her out here like this, to get eroded by the wind and the rain. Perhaps I'll talk to Stranger about building a memorial around her." [00:07] 10It's a bit of an odd sentiment, given how many pyres he's personally lit and watched burn down to ashes. But stone is …different. [00:08] 14Piu and Stranger will leave the meeting place together. Unless Stranger tells her to fuck off. [00:09] 07Dryas sniffs. "Hm. I sense... What was that? Oh, good idea, yes..." 07She sniffles again. 15[00:09] Instead, Stranger says, "It feels like we've been here a long time." [00:11] 14Piu: "'Here?'" 15[00:12] Stranger: "This island. This ashen fields." 15[00:13] "This voyage, beyond the limit of love or law." [00:13] "Four months at sea. Six months in the archipelago. A week? Maybe? Here at the fucking storm mouth. But in some ways I think I've been out in these islands my entire life." [00:14] "Or maybe I just don't like what my life was before I got off the boat in Abalone." [00:14] 10Daizo pats his hearth-sister on the back.  15[00:15] Stranger: "What's changed for you?" [00:16] 07Dryas, quietly, to Daizo: "So many of the other people we meet out here, even the other Dynasts, are scheming, greedy, rotten. Even we are, really. But Szalony wasn't like that." [00:18] 14Piu: "I love the people who are responsible for me now, instead of hating them." [00:19] "Both sets earned it." [00:22] 10Daizo: "The world needs both schemers and teachers. Would that it were otherwise." 15[00:23] Stranger's hands are hidden by her sleeves as she raises one to her face. She's silent for a bit, taking slow but steady steps through sodden ash. 15[00:24] Finally: "So if you had your way, you'd never see your old families again?" [00:24] 14Piu: "Oh no." [00:24] "One more time." [00:24] "I'd only need one more time." [00:26] 07Dryas: "If we made them learn to make it work here, maybe it doesn't have to go that way. If we don't want it to, anyway." [00:26] "...Do you want to stay with us? It's your choice, of course. And you don't owe me an answer before you talk to Sadako or whoever else." 15[00:27] Stranger laughs, gently. "She's so happy this happened to me." 15[00:27] "'Now we're both monsters.'" [00:28] 14Piu smiles. "She's good-hearted. I'm pretty sure that hasn't changed with you, either." 15[00:28] Stranger: "I wonder." 15[00:29] "Am I? Was I ever?" 15[00:29] "I don't feel good-hearted." [00:30] 14Piu: "Mmmm. Well, good people don't generally walk around proclaiming their righteousness. You remember the parable of Peleps Deled. Wherein we sent him fucking packing." [00:31] "I knew Seiri for quite awhile. I've known you your entire life. I feel confident in my behavior about it." 15[00:32] Stranger: "Maybe you're right." [00:32] 10Daizo: "What we want or don't want… isn't important. We won't live forever and we can't be everywhere. And look—" 10here Daizo gestures towards Perihelion and its counterpart far underground— "at what happens when you try." [00:33] 14Piu: "It's going to be strange, perhaps, with Garnet. Are you up to date on that?" [00:33] "At best, we can arrange the score, but it's on the choir to sing the song." 15[00:33] Stranger: "I know she's alive, and that Caxi was surprised to learn that." 15[00:34] "Is there more?" [00:35] 14Piu: "The woman in the jar has escaped it. She might decide she's not going to stay with us much longer. That's her right. She deserves a future she wants." [00:35] "So do you. And Sadako." [00:35] "Together or not." 15[00:36] Stranger: "I don't know where my future goes. I know I don't belong here." 15[00:36] "They wanted me to save these people. They wanted another Empress to make their problems go away. They wanted another empire to grow fat and safe in." 15[00:37] "I don't want that. I want the opposite of that." [00:37] "...If it's with us, I'm happy. But I don't want our ship to become some kind of guilt-trip home. I don't want--" 14She stops speaking abruptly. 15[00:41] Stranger: "I don't think pity would keep them somewhere they don't want to be. If it did, I'd stay here, and they'd stay with me." 15[00:41] "Eventually the ship will stop moving, and stay docked in a stable port, for long enough to see where the wind takes them." [00:42] "...Yeah. Yeah." [00:42] "That's right." 15[00:42] "We're going back to Abalone, aren't we?" [00:44] 07Dryas: "We have a navy to build. We didn't mention to whom it was going to answer." [00:44] "Yeah. Straight as the albatross flies, regardless of the tide. We can oppose it. We can..." 14Piu squints into the distance, winces, and turns, stopping. "Don't...rely on me. Don't plan on me being around much longer. I finished my job. One night I'm just...not gonna be here anymore." [00:44] "People like me don't get to continue." 15[00:45] Stranger: "Who does? It's not the killers. It's sure not the saints." [00:46] 14Piu: "The ones who pay the killers and pay the saints." [00:47] "I don't want to alarm anyone. I don't want to worry my brothers and sister. I think I've just run out of time, that's all." [00:47] 10Daizo: "Indeed. Perhaps it'll be Lady Garnet. Perhaps it'll be Stranger. Or perhaps it'll be yours. Dryas, First of Her Name." 15[00:48] Stranger: "Just stick close to Lady Dryas, then. She'll muddle through." [00:49] 14Piu smiles faintly. "She is good at that. The best Cynis that's lived, that's for true." 15[00:49] Stranger: "I wonder what her mother's like." 15[00:50] "I think Caxi mentioned she's some kind of doctor?" [00:50] 10Daizo: "Lumber, nails, rope, and canvas become land and jade. Land and jade become nations. Talk about alchemy." [00:52] 14Piu: "Something like that. I think it's complicated. If I see Cynis Falen, I'll kill her. I think she's a great-aunt." [00:52] "I'm still looking for a Great Work of my own." 15[00:54] Stranger: "She must be so lonely." 15[00:54] "Lady Dryas, I mean." [00:55] 14Piu: "That's what I thought. But she either enjoys the solitude or is very surreptitious." 15[00:56] "She's doing something for Sister Szalony right now. You could probably catch up if you wanted to." [00:57] 14Piu: "Come with me?" 15[00:58] Stranger shakes her head. "I already saw her eulogy. She was shattered, died, and was shattered again. I don't want to see whatever they're planning to do with what's left." 15[00:58] "The hands of men and women made her what she is now. Rocks in the mud. Let the winds have their say." [00:58] 14Piu: "Fair enough." [00:58] "See you at the ship. If that's where the wind's taking you." 15[00:59] "I'll be there. That's west, right?" [00:59] 14Is it? 15[00:59] Yeah. [01:00] "Yep. Navigate by the--" [01:00] 14Piu pauses. [01:00] "Remind me to talk to you about the Sun. When we get the chance." 15[01:01] Stranger laughs weakly. "Yeah." 15[01:01] "See you later, Lady Piu." [01:01] "See you later, Stranger." [01:01] 07Dryas is wrapping up a speech to whoever happens around. There's probably a few stragglers. "Those necromongers thought that they'd destroy her, that their deed would prove their idea: the final victory of death over life. But what those murderers really did, was ensure that some part of Szalony is going to endure forever. In that heroism, she found immortality." [01:02] 14She wanders down to the soft mud and the ruins, to hear the epilogue of a teacher.