A Dream of Quiet (IC)

[Recaiden]

In the distant south, lying in a crater nestled amid volcanic peaks, Beyond The Dreams Of Avarice, is the City of Gem.

Although the world is a harsh place, things here have been peaceful. There is little fighting amongst the nobles, fees are not harsh, and even the conflict with Paragon is lessened slightly. Everything is calm. Too calm.

Although a sidereal agent has been dispatched to investigate the strangeness, Yozi cultists preach on the corners in the glare of daylight, and plots to seize Gem's wealth continue unabated, everything is proceeding as usual. As the day draws to a close, the rich lounge in underground mansions, and the poor give thanks that the withering glare of the sun is finally retreating. The Sun Market is closing down as their shielding light fades away, while the legitimate place of business are just starting to open their doors. Crime lords scheme, slaves draw gems forth from the depths of the mountains, and children play with marbles.

Night is falling across the Jewel of the South, and the city is coming alive. In their manses and houses and discarded strawberry crates, our heroes are stirring. This is a vast, shining city. It is the last bastion of order in a world falling even further into chaos. What will the Chosen make of it?

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus lovingly polishes his construct mount, talking to it in low tones, as if to a lover. His house servants have learned to stay away when he does this, it's just better for everyone. When he's finished, he mounts up and revs the engine. "Oh yeah, purr for daddy. What's that? You want to go play in the desert? But I just polished you...Oh, you're such a dirty girl. I can never say no to you, come on!" He pops a wheelie and heads out, darting through the rooms of his rented townhouse and scaring his servants, before bursting through the door and heading out onto the surface.

[Tavar]

Onyx Wing
A figure in worn Delzahn robes exits a small alley, leaping back momentarily as some crazy guy on a magic motorcycle barrel's past.
Really? What kind of messed up place is this that they have horse-drawn carts and magical motorcycles in the same place?
Walking down the street, Wing slowly makes his way to the market. Always a good place to hear the latest gossip, and he just might find some work there.

[Drascin]

In the meantime, in a nearby park, a homeless musician plays his little makeshift mandolin. Good enough to get some money, not good enough that people find it odd that a wandering bard is so good. It's hard for a master to play below his ability, but Drake - or, rather, under this guise, Sparrow, the Haslanti bard, one of his favorite characters to perform - is certainly good enough to do so.

He raises one eye as the motorcycle goes by with its engine noise, noting it to himself - that one Dragonblood was a pretty odd one. Worth keeping an eye on. But now, his main objective were the Yozi cults. He'd been able to find out a lot, from chatting with the odd groups of hobos under the bridges. There were apparently some come prophets to the town or something, that had the cults in a bit of an uproar, and a lot more bold-faced than usual. Well, well... tonight we're going to have to make some questions.

In the meantime, he lets himself have some fun playing, and performing the charismatic fool act with complete naturality. Heh, well, I am a bit of a fool myself, eh? he thinks to himself, with a mental chuckle, as he changes the song to an improvised string rendition of a fragment of Mozart's The Magic Flute, to cheer up the crowd...

[Rhyvurg]

As Pyrus speeds through the streets, he sings Guns n' Roses' Welcome to the Jungle. In English.

[aetherialDawn]

Up until an hour ago, the Green Sun Prince Perfected Crystal Orchid had been having a normal day of plotting the perfect route to ingratiate himself with House Arbani, wrapping up with the customary cackling laughter, quiet enough to pass unheard by the neighbors - though what they thought of him, he didn't particularly care anyway. After that end to a day's scheming, until a few minutes ago, the unassuming smith Harmonious Sapphire Orchid had simply been preparing for the night, and its potential customers.

A few minutes ago, however, a man rode by on a motorcycle singing in English, and so now an odd white-coated man is striding through the streets, occasionally accosting random passers-by and asking them if they saw a two-wheeled artifact driven by. His mind bubbling with possibilities, the most likely is that Raziel has snapped somehow, except that whoever this English-speaking man is, it doesn't sound like Raziel. Orchid pauses, thinking to himself, Now what am I still missing that could explain this?...

[Leliel]

"Rejoice!"

On a busy street corner near Pyrus' home-and for the moment, a certain Malefactor's lodging arrangements-a wild-haired man, eyes wide with the madness of faith, stands at a portable soapbox, one of his only posessions in the world. A pretty sad arrangement-one that his mistress Cecelyne is somewhat embarrassed over-but one he plans to transcend very soon.

"Yes, rejoice my brothers, my friends. For the true gods of this blasted world are returning, and they are pleased. For they see in us, in you, the suffering they have endured, usurped by their very children and imprisoned within their own souls! They have seen your suffering, and they bring an end to it. They shall bring an end to slavery, an end to poverty, and begin a new social order-one not defined by accident of birth and wealth, but of merit and wisdom! Through them, you shall no longer be the dregs of society, looked upon as nothing more than trash, but each and every shall rise to their true caste, what each and every one of us wishes to be! And all they ask from us-all they have ever wanted-is loyalty.

One may wonder why he was pretty blatantly preaching Yozi worship, let alone a version that spat in the very face of the Guild and to be frank, both his inner demon and his confidant familiar initially did the same thing. Yet Raziel had noticed something about alleyway prophets back on Earth-namely, you didn't actually listen to what they were saying unless you wanted to hear it. While Raziel was notoriously hard of perception, his general assessment of human nature in regards to evangelists was perfectly accurate-the only people that seemed to actually be paying attention to him were a group of people who looked like they had seen better days, assuming they ever had a better day to begin with.

If you wish to know more, please, take my pamphlets. If you find what lies within pleasing, please come to our meeting tomorrow at Noon, in the Sunken Bazaar. There, my friends will take your to our meeting location, where we shall reflect on the Imprisoned Saviors' teachings and their goals.

[LauWren]

Amelia walks through the streets of Gem in a fairly random fashion, looking for anyone she recognizes from the Lap. Mainly those she tried to free, though she wouldn't complain at finding that others had gotten out on their own, either in the confusion or afterward.

It again occurs to her that she might have been faster than the people she tried to free, though that train of thought gets less likely with each passing day.

The language washes over her, and she hears...singing. Getting progressively closer. Amelia recognizes the tune, which is odd; she doesn't know many songs from this life. She tries to place it, starting to sing along under her breath to see if that helps.

"<You can taste the bright lights, But you won't get them for free, In the jungle, Welcome to the jungle>--ah, that's it!" Amelia realizes a few people started looking at her curiously and stops as she notices she just used English.

<Okay,seriously, did we all end up in Gem? Has someone done such a good job with a conspiracy that even people who are part of it don't know? It there any rhyme or reason here?>

Amelia tries to get a good look at the man singing, but only manages to see hair and a motorcycle. The motorcycle might be a help in and of itself, really.

She goes off to find Orchid.

[Recaiden]

[Streets, near Pyrus's house on the east side of Gem]

The early risers out on the streets draw to the side as the motorcycle roars past. One man who had to jump out of the way shakes his head as he dusts off his coat. "Lunatic. Honestly, someone with a valuable machine like that screaming gibberish at the top of his lungs. Disgraceful." Another man, in long robes, nods sagely. That was certainly no mortal tongue.

[Same street, near an alleyway]

"The nobles can afford all kinds of crazy toys," comments a passerby, headed in the same direction. A woman in plain clothes leading a pack mule laden with goods of some sort. "Good evening, sir. I admit, it seems a bit unfair that some travel in such luxury while we trod along on our own feet, but that is the way of life."

[Same street, outside a smithy]

A woman is loitering. Pacing, really. In front of the shop. Well, more to the side, out of any line-of-sight from inside. Just in case Orchid sneaks back inside. Dressed in flowy white silks, and frowning slightly to herself as she plans.
Then she catches sight of something (someone) along the street and stops, staring off into space for a good few minutes as thoughts and essence flows reorient themselves in her.

[Nearby Park]

The crowd...isn't sure what to make of this music, sounding like nothing they've heard before. A couple laugh and drift away, while a couple cheer and through a few more coins Sparrow's way. This sounds pretty cool.
A young boy steps up as the song comes to an end. "Excuse me, but whadda ya call that song there? Funny style o music, that. Is that music from way up north, o summat?"
A Frisbee Rainbowed Air-Catching Fun Disc goes sailing overhead, far left of its original course, and a child rushes to catch it.

[Two blocks north, one block west from Pyrus's House]

For a city where Yozi-worship is not just an odd habit but a crime punishable by gruesome death, Raziel is surprisingly correct in his estimations. His words seem to slip off of those who would be best without hearing them, and the disenchanted gather close around. Someone could point out that he was here, and they would have to come execute him, but he's not making trouble, is he?
They do not all listen long, or even all take his pamphlets. Today, he is doing a little worse than usual with the crowd-attraction, but still fairly well. Gem has its fair share of the broken and the lost, and some are desperate enough to hear his words.
This place, it might be noted, is not far from the park.

[Exit to the Surface at the end of Landdin Street]

The sun has just dipped below the horizon, and in the twilight people are beginning to emerge into the open air before and after Pyrus. One block along, a left turn and straight on to the edge of the city, the gates to the desert beckon...

[Rhyvurg]

[Streets, near Pyrus's house on the east side of Gem]

The early risers out on the streets draw to the side as the motorcycle roars past. One man who had to jump out of the way shakes his head as he dusts off his coat. "Lunatic. Honestly, someone with a valuable machine like that screaming gibberish at the top of his lungs. Disgraceful." Another man, in long robes, nods sagely. That was certainly no mortal tongue.


The bike skids to a halt and Pyrus gets off, walking back to the lippy mortal. The bike followed at his heels on it's own. "Excuse me neighbor, I don't think I heard you correctly."

[Tavar]

Onyx Wing
Ah, I don't envy them much. Going that fast, you'd miss the journey, and the lessons it brings. Though I wouldn't say no to a cart or the like. I'm T..Wing, by the way.
He winces at using his Earth name. But still, it's nice to talk to someone, after so long in the desert.

[Recaiden]

[Pyrus - Landdin Street]

The man in the robes smirks and turns, taking a few steps away. The 'lippy mortal' just looks at Pyrus. "I'm sure not. I can't think of anything I said that might have given you reason to stop." His expression practically dares Pyrus to correct him, the fool.


[Onyx Wing - Further down Landdin Street]

"Ah, pretty philosophical, that. But carts are nearly natural things. I wouldn't say 'no' to one myself, if I had one at hand." She chuckles and shakes her head.
"Pleased to meet you, Twing. Are you headed along to the sunken market too?"

[Drascin]

[Nearby Park]

The crowd...isn't sure what to make of this music, sounding like nothing they've heard before. A couple laugh and drift away, while a couple cheer and through a few more coins Sparrow's way. This sounds pretty cool.
A young boy steps up as the song comes to an end. "Excuse me, but whadda ya call that song there? Funny style o music, that. Is that music from way up north, o summat?"
A Frisbee Rainbowed Air-Catching Fun Disc goes sailing overhead, far left of its original course, and a child rushes to catch it.

"Indeed!" Sparrow answers happily, when he finishes the verse. "I come from far, far away, beyond the great Realm, and I know a lot of songs that aren't known around these parts. I'm hoping the novelty will bring some nice amount of silver on my hands - I do need to eat and such, you know!" he laughs, winking at the young man, before looking at his instrument in a bit of dislike. "Only problem is, this piece was supposed to be played by four instruments - couple winds, a string, and one percussion - so it loses a bit of its strength when I play it alone with this old thing. But, it's beautiful nonetheless, ain't it, my dearest patron?" he asks, doing a little riff on the strings.

Then, however, his ears pick up some words on the wind from a nearby street - words claimed about in magnificent tones and great volume, about Yozis and demons.

Well, time to work.

He looks back at the man, with a smile, picking up the little bowl he's used to ask for the coins and emptying it into his pocket. "But now, my dear audience, I must go for a while! The life of a fool isn't easy, you see, and it is one's calling to be there whenever something that should be mocked is happening!" he adds, doing an elaborate, flowery theater salute with his extremely attention-grabbing hat (as a decent prestidigitator, Drascin knew the trick to disguise isn't to look like someone else, but to look so attention-calling that nobody remembers your actual face and instead fixates on your trappings, and so when you change clothes nobody can associate you with your previous you. As Drake, he makes use of the knowledge greatly), and heading to the source of the declaration with a practiced happy step. Truth be told, he's all but happy right now, but he's a good actor. Thank whatever god isn't an irresponsible ass that I actually dressed the part instead of just trusting the Resplendent. Bet you a dollar there are demons afoot, and they could see through it he thinks to himself, sourly.

And so, he arrives, and listens for a bit. He takes a pamphlet, and reads it.

And then, still in his fool role, raises a hand from under his huge hat. "Now, excuse my daring, sir, but, you know, I'm just a wandering bard, and all I know are the folktales and stories, but" he starts defusing the situation with a bit of bumbling, "but aren't these great gods you mention in these pamphlets - good printing, by the way - the ones who create demons? You know, the things that escape every now and then and go around eating people? It's just, sir, I like my flesh - it's been with me for so long I don't know what I'd do if it was gone! Well, actually, I think I'd scream, on second thought, but you get what I mean" he says, joking and acting a bit afraid.

Indeed, to all appearances this man is just a passing fool, one of the many, many idiots in the city of Gem. But, as it's well know, it's always been the role of fools in every court to say in jest the truths that nobody dared tell the king, and it does make the people around a bit less enthusiastic - nobody likes the prospect of demons eating their face, after all!

[Leliel]

Raziel chuckles. He had encountered hecklers before, and, he often found their arguments easily demolished, by the simple fact that there were more demons then erymanthoi.

"Ah, I see you believe the lies of the Usurpers. Well, I hardly blame you...but..."

Suddenly, Raziel's "grandiose" voice dies out, replaced by a note of puzzlement. He tilts his head and raises an eyebrow in confusion at the oddly-dressed man before him. Besides the strange clothing-it looked more like well-kept stage props (he should have known, being an actor in a different life) then actual clothing-he also seems to have been a bit oblivious to the climate, what with the hat and all.

"Excuse me, sir, but if you don't pardon my asking, your hat appears to be rather hot. If you don't mind my asking, why do you wear that thing in the desert?"

This wasn't actually suspicion-Raziel tended to be rather blunt if he didn't catch himself. He honestly was wondering what was up with the hat.

[Drascin]

Well, this also works Drake thinks, a bit surprised. Point is defusing the speech first thing, and then seeing about the guy himself.

This was really such a useful hat. The Jägermonsters would be proud.

"Well, you see, these are but the tool of my trade! I am a musician, a storyteller, and a jester by profession, my good spokesman. Since I left the service of my noble Dynast patrons years ago to walk the roads instead, the very bread I eat each day depends on my ability to be obvious and bring merriment, be it with my word or my appearance!" he says, doing a small hop and saluting elaborately with said hat, with a smirk. "And I have found that there is nothing that will predispose an audience to sympathy as well as a merry performer with a truly, wonderfully outrageous Nice Hat" he winks, his obvious mischievous demeanour causing some stifled laughter around the audience.

[Leliel]

If it wasn't Raziel who was a victim of the sudden topic change, he'd probably be laughing too.

Instead, he briefly curses in English, muttering something about TV Tropes and the members thereof, just before he goes back to the debate.

"Yes, yes, tools of the trade, amateur acting, and all that. Getting back to the point...

...Why are you staring at me? Is it that odd to hear someone curse in a native tongue? <Not that I would be suprised, what with that hat being a one-person heatwave to the brain...>

[Tavar]

[Onyx Wing - Further down Landdin Street]

"Ah, pretty philosophical, that. But carts are nearly natural things. I wouldn't say 'no' to one myself, if I had one at hand." She chuckles and shakes her head.
"Pleased to meet you, Twing. Are you headed along to the sunken market too?"

Ah, just Wing. And yeah, I'm going that way. Always found the markets are the best place to hear the local rumors. Plus, well, I find my self somewhat bereft of funds at the moment, so I was hoping to find some employment.

[Rhyvurg]

[Pyrus - Landdin Street]

The man in the robes smirks and turns, taking a few steps away. The 'lippy mortal' just looks at Pyrus. "I'm sure not. I can't think of anything I said that might have given you reason to stop." His expression practically dares Pyrus to correct him, the fool.


Pyrus grabs his collar and casually lifts him off the ground with one hand. "You're quite the disrespectful mortal aren't you?"

[Recaiden]

[Drascin - Park]

The man nods. "Yeah, beautiful. It truly is." When the flourish comes, he tosses a few extra coins to the man, before continuing on his way. That was a pleasant diversion to start the day, but there are things to be done.

[Preacher's Corner]

A few people draw away. Some part of them knew the same stories, yes, but to hear someone outright say, 'demons' changes things. It is not a thing to say out loud here, and they really shouldn't be seen by this madman anyway. There were other ways. They are not that desperate, are they? And he - hat...? At least one passerby stops to admire the ridiculous garment. It is quite something, no?

"Justwing? That's a nice name. What sort of work are you looking for? Maybe the mercenary market would be a better place for you?" She winks, Wing is his name clearly enough. "As for rumors, maybe. I find somewhere that people are more relaxed tends to give you more to hear. Markets are for business, after all." Not for talking.

[Pyrus - Landdin Street]

He struggles for a moment before he realizes it's hopeless. He's only got so much strength, and even a mere Terrestrial can easily quash that.
"Only to those of you demons who don't deserve my regard." He manages a short laugh.
The robed man heads off at a quick walk. Most people give the two a wide radius, although one or two stand to watch the confrontation.

[aetherialDawn]

He struggles for a moment before he realizes it's hopeless. He's only got so much strength, and even a mere Terrestrial can easily quash that.
"Only to those of you demons who don't deserve my regard." He manages a short laugh.
The robed man heads off at a quick walk. Most people give the two a wide radius, although one or two stand to watch the confrontation.

As the white-coated man catches up with the halted rider, he reaches out to catch hold of a not-quite-fleeing mortal for a moment, and asks if the rider here is the same one who was singing strangely earlier. Releasing the mortal without particularly caring about the answer, he continues to watch the progressing scene dispassionately, eyes flashing green as Orchid scrutinizes the more-important dragon-blooded, adding more data to his observations.

Just a basic Perception+Awareness roll to notice things about the mortal and Pyrus. Pyrus also gets the Insignificant Embers Intuition treatment, so I know that he's a dragonblood, what aspect, and his Essence... And, if he notices the green flash, he knows that something is up with me, too. 2 personal motes, if it matters, leaving me 14 more.

[Rhyvurg]

"As Bill Pardy would put it, my easygoing nature is being sorely f***ing tested. Were you born this stupid, or did you have to study up?"

That's a Slither reference, BTW.

[Recaiden]

[Pyrus and Orchid - Landdin Street]

He shakes his head slightly. "Nah. Being right just comes naturally to me." The mortal is mortal, somewhat strong-looking, with darkly tanned skin and short hair, light grey and red clothing, and looks by now totally calm. Pyrus...looks and is how Pyrus is.
The robed man nods and mumbles something affirmative as he leaves the scene.
One of the folk watching the dragonblood notices a green flash and looks curiously at Orchid.

[Rhyvurg]

"You do know it's legal for me to kill you, right? But, I'm not going to. Death is to easy. When you're dead, you can no longer be made to suffer. So how about I tie you to my bike and road-haul you till you're nothing but a pelvis wearing a belt?"

[Recaiden]

[Pyrus and Orchid - Landdin Street]

"Yeah. I know. Enjoy it while you can; your people won't be around long, and then we'll see." He shrugs. "You better have a strong rope."

[aetherialDawn]

Orchid glances at the man who looks curiously at him, but it doesn't matter much whether he saw or not; no mortal could recognize him anyway if he wished to be disguised instead. Turning back to Pyrus, however, it sounds like this particular twice-Usuper is quite nasty enough, and yet... He was singing in English, so he can't be allowed to simply leave like that. Perhaps something that he can use to bring Pyrus back later... And the Defiler has an interesting idea.

"Hey, friend, no need to do that to one of my slaves." He turns to the mortal, and adds at more length, "And as for you... I'm offering to buy you as a slave, and I think it'd be in your best interests to accept if you value your life. Some hard labor might even knock sense into you, if your utter lack of it hasn't already killed your chances." He turns back to Pyrus, and smiles with overconfidence, lest the next part not work... "That acceptable punishment, sir? Of course, I wouldn't blame your wanting to still use the motorcycle either... Or did I get the name of your wonderful artifact wrong?" He says motorcycle in English - Flametongue lacks the appropriate word, after all. Hopefully, Pyrus will understand... and everyone will add two and two together and think he's just a stupid stranger trying to show off magical knowledge to the Dynast like a proper sycophant.

[Leliel]

\
[Preacher's Corner]

A few people draw away. Some part of them knew the same stories, yes, but to hear someone outright say, 'demons' changes things. It is not a thing to say out loud here, and they really shouldn't be seen by this madman anyway. There were other ways. They are not that desperate, are they? And he - hat...? At least one passerby stops to admire the ridiculous garment. It is quite something, no?


Raziel scoffs and starts picking up his soapbox.

"All right, I can tell when I've lost. I don't know who you are, but don't think you'll be able to find my brothers-I've been here a lot longer than you, and I have some powerful friends."

"...And you still haven't stopped staring at me. Stop it. You're starting to spook me."

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus opens his mouth to reply to the mortal, then does a double take at the newcomer. "Wait...motor what?" He switches to English. "Watchoo talkin' about Willis?"

[LauWren]

Amelia notes some commotion as she wanders around, looking for Orchid. Hm. Show-off singing in English on motorcycle, now a commotion. Two and two is... Ah. And I don't have to worry about finding Orchid.

She stands slightly off to one side, no closer than the circle, but close enough to see what's going on


Pyrus opens his mouth to reply to the mortal, then does a double take at the newcomer. "Wait...motor what?" He switches to English. "Watchoo talkin' about Willis?"

...Well. This should draw some attention. If another of us is here, anyway. Amelia looks around at anyone else paying attention to the English-speaker and memorizes faces. Being seen at one such occasion is nothing much, but seeing any repeats could be useful. And this fellow doesn't seem like the subtle type. Ah, patterns.

Amelia waits for the commotion to die down so she can talk to Orchid. And hopefully, the stranger. Interesting, to meet someone who speaks English but isn't related. A nice story-piece to add to her repertoire.

[Drascin]

If it wasn't Raziel who was a victim of the sudden topic change, he'd probably be laughing too.

Instead, he briefly curses in English, muttering something about TV Tropes and the members thereof, just before he goes back to the debate.

"Yes, yes, tools of the trade, amateur acting, and all that. Getting back to the point...

...Why are you staring at me? Is it that odd to hear someone curse in a native tongue? <Not that I would be suprised, what with that hat being a one-person heatwave to the brain...>

Now, you have to give to Drake - he recovers quickly. He'd stood still for a second as he heard the TVTropes reference under the other man's breath, utterly dumbfounded - but he recovers quickly, his mind racing now.

"Oh, no, my good man. It is, however, to hear you using such language. I have to say, I consider myself quite the cunning linguist, and I can speak several language families easily - comes with the job, you see" he smiles, playful. "But that is quite an odd one. And one that I have heard before - though the person who spoke it refused to reveal where it is from. It seems to be quite the mystery! And given that I gain my sustenance with stories, I am sure you'll understand my curiosity. Could I be so bold as to ask if you could tell me where it hails from?"

Twisty words, yet not a single lie. That was really goddamn circuitous, me Drake thinks to himself. Should have just gone with a standard lie. Why do I keep trying to be witty when I'm anything but?

Well, at least people seem to be dispersing. Good. That at least is a minor success. But now he has a bigger mystery on his hands...

[aetherialDawn]

Pyrus opens his mouth to reply to the mortal, then does a double take at the newcomer. "Wait...motor what?" He switches to English. "Watchoo talkin' about Willis?"

Orchid makes a slight strangling noise, which is several steps less obvious than bursting out laughing in the middle of the street. He coughs and manages to reclaim a little dignity, before repeating, "Am I incorrect sir? I only know a few of the technical names, from serving a Dynast once before..." More misleading kissing-up. He's not looking for a job, however... "<Motorcycle, and shall we ditch the crowd?> If I'm wrong, perhaps I could ask you to correct me while we negotiate?..." He glances at the mortal, who has proven more useful than expected already, and more suspicious. Honestly, he has no use or desire for slavery, but it's a great excuse to separate Pyrus from the observers and discourage anyone from drawing too much attention.

Melodies Within Fog 'tugs' gently at Orchid's mind, and simply conveys Amelia is here, receiving a mental nod in return. Neither knows what to do with that yet... But it's comforting to Orchid to know that his sister is at his back. Hopefully she'll understand that the slavery thing is a trick, since he doesn't want to have to try and explain that to a former Laplander.

[Recaiden]

[Pyrus, Orchid, Amelia - Landdin Steet]
The caught mortal laughs uproariously, shaking his head in amazement at Orchid. "Does it look to you like I value my life very highly? I'll take it if you insist, but I'd really prefer if you could get this head case to let go of me." A flick of the eyes back to Pyrus. "But I think he enjoys trying to put 'proper respect' in me far too much."

As for faces to memorize, there's the tough guy Pyrus is holding up and threatening. There's a pair of thin scars down the left side of his face, and has bright brown eyes.
There's a kid watching from a 'safe' distance towards the edge of the tunnel. Maybe ten years old, a boy holding a plush toy tyrant lizard and smiling.
There's an old woman who looks faintly sad and disapproving, wearing a tattered dress and carrying a cloth bag in one hand.
There's also a woman in white silk hiding behind a pushcart where fruit is sold, creeping along with it and looking between Amelia and Pyrus, and then ducking totally under cover when Amelia spots her.

[Preacher's Corner]

The crowds disperse wholly. Only a single withered old man who had been here to hear Raziel before remains to listen to the conversation.

[Tavar]

Wing
It's said that a soldiers life is 9 parts boredom, one part pants-wetting terror. Mercenaries are much the same, except they raise the ratio in favor of terror. Personally, I've had enough of that as it is, though if it comes to it I'll look into joining up with some company.

Wing pauses, looking at the truly outrageous hat for a moment before continuing.
Was that English? And TvTropes at that? Can't very well go and ask them, though. Just remember the hat, and try and find later.
He does stop to pick up a discarded pamphlet. After all, it seems like the preacher might know something about this whole situation as well.
And you can pick up a surprising amount in a market. Maybe it's different here in Gem, but up near Chiaroscuro the markets are at most half concerned with selling actual goods. The other half is selling information, or just trading news.

[Leliel]

"Oh, hi Kendik. Sorry, bard trouble seems to have cut the sermon short.

Speaking of bards..."

Raziel turns to the troublemaker in question.

"Interesting response, there. I may not be the best at telling when I am lied too, but I consider myself an expert when it comes to logic-something you seem to either fail forever, or are too flabbergasted to respond."

"So, just out of curiosity: <Who the hell are you, really?>, saying those last words in English with emphasis.

[Rhyvurg]

Orchid makes a slight strangling noise, which is several steps less obvious than bursting out laughing in the middle of the street. He coughs and manages to reclaim a little dignity, before repeating, "Am I incorrect sir? I only know a few of the technical names, from serving a Dynast once before..." More misleading kissing-up. He's not looking for a job, however... "<Motorcycle, and shall we ditch the crowd?> If I'm wrong, perhaps I could ask you to correct me while we negotiate?..." He glances at the mortal, who has proven more useful than expected already, and more suspicious. Honestly, he has no use or desire for slavery, but it's a great excuse to separate Pyrus from the observers and discourage anyone from drawing too much attention.

Melodies Within Fog 'tugs' gently at Orchid's mind, and simply conveys Amelia is here, receiving a mental nod in return. Neither knows what to do with that yet... But it's comforting to Orchid to know that his sister is at his back. Hopefully she'll understand that the slavery thing is a trick, since he doesn't want to have to try and explain that to a former Laplander.

"<Yeah...let's go. I figured English and something from TV would weed out a fake.>" He drops the fool and grabs his spear (just in case) off his ever-present bike, still following at his heels.

[aetherialDawn]

"<Yeah...let's go. I figured English and something from TV would weed out a fake.>" He drops the fool and grabs his spear (just in case) off his ever-present bike, still following at his heels.

"Ah, thank you sir." He follows after Pyrus... While he might prefer to pick a meeting place himself, that wouldn't fit the 'scene' he's trying to project, and it's never a good idea to go directly against a Fire-aspected Terrestrial anyway. He doesn't particularly pay attention to the mortal, though, except to ask Melodies to check if the man is a Yozi-cultist; he can't do much else except to try and memorize the face of the suspicious - or just suicidal - man.

Perception + Socialize against his attempts to hide it to spot a potential cultist. Or non-attempts, as it may be. I love Melodies and his 'paying attention for me' thing.
[roll0] 1 success... Well, at least I'll spot him if he's not very tricky, but a little too likely for me to get a false negative. Oh well!

[Recaiden]

[Wing - Preacher's Corner]

"I see." The woman shrugs, "Well, this is Gem. A bit more than half, I'd say, in concession. You may well be right, though. Perhaps I don't talk to the right people."

The hat, like the city it is contained in, is truly outrageous.

[Preacher Man - Preacher's Corner]

The newly named mortal smiles. "It's no trouble to me. I'll hear you speak again another day. Good luck, sir." He bows slightly and turns away.

[Pyrus, Orchid, and Amelia - Landdin Street]

Melodies will detect no hint that the man might be a Yozi cultist. In fact, he seems vehemently anti-Yozi.
"Where are we going, master?" he inquires sarcastically, following after Orchid.

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus spins around, smoke coming from his mouth and his eyes glowing like coals. "Unless you want to see how much pain a man can feel before he dies, leave now."

[LauWren]

There's also a woman in white silk hiding behind a pushcart where fruit is sold, creeping along with it and looking between Amelia and Pyrus, and then ducking totally under cover when Amelia spots her.

Amelia weighs her options and decides that it's worth seeing who that is. Orchid seems to be getting along with the other guy okay, and even if he doesn't, someone who thinks it's a fine idea to ride a motorcycle through the streets probably isn't going to be that hard to find once you know his face.

She moves through the crowd, trying to blend in to keep out of sight, and seeing if she can get a better angle of sight on the woman. Or on her tracks, at the least.

Perception+Awareness to locate the woman in white and see her clearly.
Dexterity+Stealth to hide from the woman in the crowd.
Forgot to roll and can't edit in, they'll be in the OoC thread.

[Recaiden]

The man bows to Pyrus. "I would relish the opportunity to learn such a thing. But I fear my master might take exception to your attempt." He shows no fear.

By the time Amelia gets a line of sight to the cart again, there is no sign of the woman. On the other hand, no one seems to be paying attention to Amelia either.

[aetherialDawn]

The man bows to Pyrus. "I would relish the opportunity to learn such a thing. But I fear my master might take exception to your attempt." He shows no fear.

"I suspect strongly that I may have been wrong to even try... Follow or don't, I'll know where to find you when this is over if I still need to." His words are somewhat more clipped; hopefully, if even Pyrus's abilities of intimidation don't work, just leaving the mortal will do. Orchid is starting to get extremely tired of the mortal, as he manages to be as annoying as the most crass of demons. Vehemently anti-Yozi in addition to anti-Dynast explains why such a man is willing to live in Gem, at any rate, if he has such convictions...

He's lying, of course, about knowing where to find the man, but if he truly needs to, he could give a description, so nobody needs to know that.

[Recaiden]

The man nods and bows again to Orchid. "As you wish. I shall attend to mine own business and meet you again later, master. Farewell, citizens." He turns and attempts to leave.

[Rhyvurg]

"<I sense a great disturbance in the force. Also, I hate that guy. So, a fellow Earthling eh? Can you throw fire at stuff to? Because I can totally do that. Also, apparently I'm rich as hell here, which is awesome.>"

[Tavar]

[Wing - Preacher's Corner]

"I see." The woman shrugs, "Well, this is Gem. A bit more than half, I'd say, in concession. You may well be right, though. Perhaps I don't talk to the right people."

The hat, like the city it is contained in, is truly outrageous.


Forgive me for asking, but what's your name? And, if you are a merchant, what do you sell?

[Drascin]

"Oh, hi Kendik. Sorry, bard trouble seems to have cut the sermon short.

Speaking of bards..."

Raziel turns to the troublemaker in question.

"Interesting response, there. I may not be the best at telling when I am lied too, but I consider myself an expert when it comes to logic-something you seem to either fail forever, or are too flabbergasted to respond."

"So, just out of curiosity: <Who the hell are you, really?>, saying those last words in English with emphasis.

((Ah, inter-PC telepathy))

At first, Drake laughs, and waits for the group to go away, simply keeping his eyes on the man. But when people finally disperse and the corner is no longer being watched, Drake's expression turns into a sarcastic smirk. After all, knowledge of English, knowledge of TVTropes, and now getting this - this proves it well enough. "My, truly? <Because I would think an Earthling with such a "mastery of logic" and who seems to be acquainted with TVTropes would know why it's probably not the best of ideas to work for goddamn Cthulhu, man>" he says, frowning heavily. He's happy to have found out that he was not, in fact, hallucinating it all - unless he's also imagining this, of course, can't rule that out - but the fact that the only other person around with Earth knowledge is a Yozi cultist is enough to put him on edge. I mean, hell, the demon armies are already dangerous enough without someone giving them ideas about rifles and squad tactics he thinks.

He only hopes this won't have to come to calling down a hit squad on this man. Right now, he's the only link Drake has to Earth... but what should be done always comes first.

[aetherialDawn]

"<I sense a great disturbance in the force. Also, I hate that guy. So, a fellow Earthling eh? Can you throw fire at stuff to? Because I can totally do that. Also, apparently I'm rich as hell here, which is awesome.>"

Walking down the street, Orchid continues to discuss with the dragonblood whose name he doesn't yet know. He can fix that later, first things first. Besides, he'll ask by the time they get where they're going.
"<Heh, he does grate, doesn't he? No idea who he is, though. And yeah, California... It's been a while...>" He pauses and tries to think of a safe answer - telling the truth would be off-putting at this point, demons tend to be, but lying is out of the question. "<My powers are mostly intellectual right now. I'm not sure how much I can tell you without getting int, uh, trouble, but I'll let you know if I can. I'm still working on the material-wealth thing, of course. So you're a Dynast, then? Or Lookshy?>"
Telekinetic force is intellectual, right?

[Recaiden]

"I'm Jana. I sell clayworks and pottery." The cart is indicated. Presumably, it would be full of pottery if opened and inspected.

((You can delete posts by opening the edit menu, Dawn.))

[Rhyvurg]

"<Dynast. So, you got a place to stay? Because I have a mansion.>"

[LauWren]

Amelia shrugs and goes off to catch up with Orchid and Mr. Ostentatious, not quite catching the dialogue.

"<Howdy,> Orchid."

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus turns around. "<Hey....Oh, hello. Name's Pyrus. Care to take a ride on my hog?>"

[aetherialDawn]

"<Yeah, I'm fine. Bit of a secret - for now - since I don't want any thugs thinking I'm rich because I was talking with a Dynast.>"
Well, finding out his name was simple. He supposes he ought to introduce his sister, too, however.
"<This is my sister, Amelia. Well, sister from Earth. We're not actually related... Uh, here, in Creation, I mean.>"

In the back of his mind, he's trying to keep track of what Pyrus knows so far. Telling him too much might be inconvenient if he's pious about the Immaculate Order, but the chance to talk to another Earthling is too much to refuse... Right now, though, it sounds like Pyrus has taken well to the life of a Dynast, which can be fixed - especially if that motorcycle means that he misses Earth, since it's simple enough to make a few amenities as a bribe - maybe even a business.

Hopefully, walking out of the main crowd and not riding down the street singing means that nobody is paying too much attention to the odd language; they're just discussing in High Realm, obviously, to the average man.

[LauWren]

"<No, thanks. I like walking.>" You never know when one of the kids may recognize me.

[Rhyvurg]

"<So, perhaps we should go somewhere more secluded and figure out what's going on. Because I've been worrying someone here is going to figure out I'm not...this guy I'm inside of.>"

[Leliel]

((Ah, inter-PC telepathy))

At first, Drake laughs, and waits for the group to go away, simply keeping his eyes on the man. But when people finally disperse and the corner is no longer being watched, Drake's expression turns into a sarcastic smirk. After all, knowledge of English, knowledge of TVTropes, and now getting this - this proves it well enough. "My, truly? <Because I would think an Earthling with such a "mastery of logic" and who seems to be acquainted with TVTropes would know why it's probably not the best of ideas to work for goddamn Cthulhu, man>" he says, frowning heavily. He's happy to have found out that he was not, in fact, hallucinating it all - unless he's also imagining this, of course, can't rule that out - but the fact that the only other person around with Earth knowledge is a Yozi cultist is enough to put him on edge. I mean, hell, the demon armies are already dangerous enough without someone giving them ideas about rifles and squad tactics he thinks.

He only hopes this won't have to come to calling down a hit squad on this man. Right now, he's the only link Drake has to Earth... but what should be done always comes first.

(Sorry if that was metagaming. In real life, I can detect poor logic from a mile away)

Thankfully for Drake, none of the horrible things he's imagining occur to Raziel. For all of his unreadable expressions-a symptom of what Earth would diagnose as Asperger's Syndrome-he was actually panicking a bit that the a strange man would reveal himself to be an assassin, or somesuch.

And now, he discovers a man who also possesses memories of Earth! One with absolutely no link to the Yozis!

A wheezing laugh escapes from Raziel, which slowly mutates into hysterics. "Aha...and you said my mind was broken. You said that I was being used. You said that my memories couldn't possibly be true. Well, who's been wrong now, Corona? Who's been proven wrong now?!

"YOU HEAR THAT, BRILLIANT UMBRAL CORONA?, he screams at the sky in Old Realm. "DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT CONVERSATION? WELL, GUESS WHAT? I. AM NOT. INSANE!!!

Slowly but surely, he calms down from his victory speech...and suddenly becomes aware of his audience.

"<Oh. Umm, s-sorry a-about that. My, ah, memories of th-this life have a b-b-bit of a, shall we say, a l-life of their o-own.>

"<If you've, ah, heard of A-Abyssals, I-I'm kind of like that, o-only the p-previous, um, incarnation of mine uh, still, ah, exists. In my head. Sort of.>"

[Drascin]

...okay, that was worrying. Seems like the guys is rather insane. This does not bode well for my chances of being sane myself, Drake thinks inwardly, managing to not sigh. At least-

...wait.

What in the infinite layers of the Abyss did the man just say?

Oh, ****. Did he really say that? "Like abyssals", but working for the Yozis?

Infernal. Mother****ing. Deathknights. Unclassified, unknown, Infernal goddamn Deathknights! Right on his face! Danger, Will Robinson!

Oh come on. This was supposed to be my first field mission! ...man, I'd wonder if someone up there hates me except I work "up there" Drake thinks, a bit despaired. Well, he could be lying... no. He's too euphoric right now to lie convincingly, I'd say. And it makes sense with the face disruptions that've been around. Still... this man doesn't seem entirely evilcrazy. Perhaps he can be convinced to get away from infernal intrigues.

Worth a try, even if it's a longshot, Drake thinks, idealistic but pessimistic as usual. You never attack anyone until every other option has been exhausted. Drake's Earth version grew up on Kenshin and Spiderman, after all.

"<That... is not exactly something you probably want to go around talking about, if by Abyssals you mean Deathknights. It's not going to make you many friends, being like them. Going around being an Omnicidal Maniac isn't what you'd call a great ice breaker. Really, if you hadn't said it in English I'd have started running already befor the lynch mob arrived>" Drake says, serious, but a tad sardonic, keeping a poker frown to not let all the train of thought he's had during the past second reflect on his face.

[Leliel]

"<Can't say I can argue with you there,> Raziel admits, his rational mind returning somewhat. <And really, I'm not supposed to be telling you this-if it wasn't in English, my other mental passenger would probably be screaming at me right now.>"

Thankfully, Raziel was taught about the so-called "supernatural lottery", and it takes about two seconds for him to realize that the other man has no idea what a Coadjutor is, Exalted or not.

"<Oh, um yeah: A Green Sun Prince's Exaltation doesn't fly free like a Solar's does-it's actually carried to us by demons, who merge-not posses-us in the process. Some of us gain more of the demon's personality in the process, and the resulting demi-personality is called an Unwoven Coadjutor.>

"<To tell you the truth...mine is kind of a bitch.>"

[Recaiden]

There are enough languages that even the people who speak High Realm will assume it's something else.

...
...
Raziel will just away every secret he can lay his hands on, won't he?
It's a very good thing no one can understand what they overhear.
Well, except for the shouting at the top of one's lungs, which is quite comprehensible.
Kendik turns back around, and decides he should just keep walking away. He knew Raziel was a bit cracked but this is a bit much to stay around for. Later, at the market, he may be more reasonable.

[Tavar]

Wing barely made it to the corner before the street-preacher began yelling, but more importantly there was definite English being thrown around, and mentions of Earth. Okay, this was definitely something to look into.

Well, Jana, good luck on your prospects. I think I just got something better than news. Goodbye.

Heading back up the street, Wing tries to remain unobserved as he gets closer to the two others from earth. Better to listen, then try and join in.

Stealth:[roll0]

[Drascin]

"Green Sun Prince"? That's what they're called? So, they're under Malfeas, then...?

No, making Exalts is not something that the Malfeas he's read about would think. And that title isn't something he'd think on his own. It sounds like something someone would name something to appease Malfeas - "no, sir, they're just Princes to your kingly magnificence, ohgodpleasedon'tblowmyfaceup" kind of deal. So Malfeas is probably in on it, but the mastermind has to be someone else. Mmmmhh...

"<So... they sew a demon on your frontal lobe kind of deal? Um, ew>" Drake says. "<So, let me get this straight: you're serving what if the stories I've learned are correct are horrible Lovecraftian beings, they sewed a demon into your skull... you haven't given them the finger why, exactly? Do they have some control over you?>" Drake asks, straight on. "<I mean, I'm no sorcerer or anything - which is actually kind of annoying, I would have made a goddamn good sorcerer, I think - but my incarnation in this place was a servant to one years ago before he ran, and what I got was that demons are tricky bastards and the less you work with them, the better>"

Indeed, Drake is still keeping his "I got reincarnated into a normal mortal bard" story, for now. No reason to reveal he's Exalted too until the man shows he's, well not an insane demon-worshipper.

[Leliel]

(OOC: You're going to see a reference to the Great Curse here. It should be noted that Raziel was told it's an inherent part of Celestial Exalted, a counterbalance against mental influence by inciting the Limit Breaker into an emotional frenzy unable to be controlled by anyone, especially himself. Which is why you should never take "Creation 101" from the Ebon Dragon.)

Drake's question is an interesting one, in that it has an answer of both yes and no.

Unfortunately, this interesting semantic debate is cut off by the fact that the question sounded an awful lot like a slight against the Silver Forest.

Suddenly, Raziel grows rather quiet, and his expression goes unreadable again.

After about five seconds, he comes back, more than a little irritated.

"<'Horrible, Lovecraftian monsters', huh?>"

"<Well, I hate to burst your comforting view of the world in terms of good and evil, but the Yozis I serve are kind, giving masters who forgave us for our ultimate failure and cowardice, because they saw potential for heroism within us. They specifically programmed fifty shards to seek out people who could have been Solars, but failed because they were mortal or because they understood that they would face insurmountable odds. Through their servants, they created a perfect aide and confidant, providing words of comfort and succor to us in out times of emotional distress. Through their Second Breath, they rescued us from a dystopic and miserable existence as just another mortal to be used and crushed like some plaything of the gods and the Dragon-Blooded. And finally, they gave us the ability to control the inherent madness of the Exalted by acting in accordance to their wishes, staving off the all-devouring dragon that lurks within each of us, and so allowing us to be better rulers then the Anathema of the First Age could ever be.>"

"<So, if you wouldn't mind, I would enjoy it if you took your half-witted arguments and->"

Thankfully his rant is cut off by a newly-awakened Corona, who can tell even without speaking the language that someone seems to have hit a nerve.

Raziel rubs his temple a bit, and takes a few deep breaths.

"<All right, sorry about that. It's just that Lord Szoreny took me in at my darkest moment, and I have a duty to defend and serve him.>"

[Drascin]

"<Ah. So they just lied to you out of their ass, then>" Drake answers flatly. "<But while I'm just a little bard here, and a little psych/education student back there... I don't think I'm the one making half-arguments, here. Surprising to see such illogic in someone who just berated me for forgoing logic for a bit of a poetic misdirection before>" Drake sighs. He doesn't really expect it to sink in, but he has to say it. "<Because to me, as an outside looker, that stuff you're telling me? Sure as hell sounds much less like forgiveness than like near-stereotypical cult recruiting. Find someone in their moment of weakness, promise them safety and certainty, give them something to make them feel empowered under you, convince them that everyone else is lying so their trust in you forms an exclusive and closed feedback loop... psych 201, really>" he says, locking eyes with Raziel, not giving an inch.

God dammit. Yozi deathknights. And manipulated into fanatical soldiers. Yeah, this sounds downright Ebon Dragon - the twisting of words is evident. The demon spy is "a friendly advisor", the fueling of hatred is "forgiveness", and the shoveling around their heads is "to remove the madness of Exaltation". God damn. These guys have got Scientology beat.

Well, at least it does all but confirm the mastermind behind the thing. No Yozi save the Dragon would be able to come up with something like that, much less manage it to go through. And if what he's read about the Ebon Bastard is correct, this guy would then get inevitably backstabbed in the future.

Not if I can help it, he thinks. Poor bastard got ****ed around plenty enough. If Drake has any say in this, he's not going to get ****ed more.

He then closes his eyes, and sighs. "<But I don't think we're going to convince each other. Not until you actually see for yourself - you don't have any reason to believe me right now, after all. But if you're really going to help the Yozis, I can't help you. I'm not going to help kill the world. So we should probably cut this conversation now>" he finishes, serious, his voice gaining a certain sharpness.

[Leliel]

Initially, Raziel feels another rant coming on...then it peters out as his ability to self-examine suddenly starts working.

True, the bard may not know of the actual evidence that was shown to him-case in point, Chejop Kejack and the Hireophant-but as far as indoctrination went that...made a lot of sense.

In all actuality, the only reason he was still signed on for the Reclamation was that he was loyal to two Yozis in particular, and Kimbery was a bit iffy-true, he thought freedom would soon return her to emotionally balanced, but that still didn't the silence either his subconscious or the nicer of the two voices in his head. And to be frank, Szoreny was the only actual subject of his propaganda-fueled rant-the Ebon Dragon was, quite sincerely, terrifying. He saw where his Exaltation was stored, and to that day, his mind refused to remember what, exactly, he saw had been done to Lilim. No wonder he kept on finding excuses to be away from the Althing Infernal on days she was trotted out.

So, after about a real minute of conferring with Corona-just because she was annoying with her possession attempts didn't mean she didn't have her points-he sighed in defeat.

"<...If I could, I would.>" A half-truth, but one that was an honest answer to the objection this mysterious shrink raised. "<But, you remember what I said about the all-devouring dragon? That's true enough-it's why the First Age soured so quickly-and it isn't cured with us Infernals; it's simply modified into a stick and carrot.">

<"You see, inside of our Chrysalis-that's basically an organic chamber in which we fully merge with our Second Breath-we are given a mission, an Urge, if you will, that furthers a particular Yozi's aims. Mine was given to me by Kimbery, and it's to help prepare mortals for the Reclamation, which I do by creating cults prepared in advance for surviving a Hellish environment. If we don't obey our Urges, we eventually become overcome by Torment, the worst traits of our patron's personality-Malfeas' rage, the Principle of Hierarchy's inability to comprehend her own emotions, the hatred for moral restraint of the Ebon Dragon...and in my case, Kimbery's paranoia.">

<"That's bad enough, except that we also become arcane focuses for the Yozi in question-by following the emotional bonds we have with other people, our patrons can posses our friends and family-Malfeas can incite a vicious riot, She Who Lives In Her Name severs entire groups of people from their hearts, the Dragon can create an orgy of depravity-it's not fun. And the way we assuage the inevitable Torment? By acting in ways that assuage our master's collective egos by acting in petty, mean-spirited, and downright stupid ways known as the Acts of Villainy.>"

"<So really, I have to preach the gospel of the Yozis and build my cults, or otherwise the Demon Sea will turn them and I into the world's most dysfunctional family, or I can get out my top hat and handlebar mustache and tie damsels to trains or something. So really, you may want to revise your terms.>"

[Drascin]

This is proving to be quite an educative chat, Drake thinks. Problem is going to get this into Bureau knowledge without Kejak and his zealots going and trying to kill every of these "Green Sun Princes" - this is fairly good proof that a fair few of them are likely to simply be indoctrinated, and therefore not deserving of death, but rather liberation, but the Bronzers are unlikely to see it like that... food for thought, that's for sure.

Outwardly, though, he nods and hmmms as Raziel goes on, then the smirk returns. "<I see... so, Urges, uh? Well, funny thing about deals with the devil is, they usually have a loophole or two. And none of the stories I've read portray Yozis as being all that good with predicting long-term consequences. You gotta tell me the exact terms of this Urge, I'm sure wecan work something out>" Drake winks. Then goes a bit more serios again, and sits on a nearby barrel. "<I'm more worried about the insanity thing. I'd honestly figured that being Exalted simply melted your brain in the long run if you abused it too much, kind of like an overclocked comp, because one's skull isn't wired to deal with such "voltages". But the way you say it, you make it look like it's an innate thing. And that's rather worrying. Because, you know, we're kind of surrounded everywhere by hundreds of Dragonblooded and Anathemas and all that. You think that bit is actually true as said, or another "spin" from your bosses?>"

He then hops down. "<But really, I think we should discuss all this more in depth. This looks like a very important puzzle. I got...>" Drake looks into his pocket "<...about twenty silvers from today's sessions. Want to grab a bite somewhere where we'll not stand out as much - because no offense, but two people gabbing in an unknown weird language in a corner like this is the kind of stuff people remember, even with the hat distracting people from our faces - and you can tell me this stuff in more detail, the wording on this Urge deal and what these Acts of Villainy require you to do, so we can find your loophole?>" Drake grins, returning a bit to his bard persona. "<Because I admit, the thought of downright spiting a Yozi like that tickles my fancy - I wanna help>" he chuckles, mischievous.

[Leliel]

For a moment, Raziel fears that this would constitute a betrayal of Szoreny...

...but then he realizes that being Szoreny, the Silver Forest would probably want him to grow emotionally. That is after all, his domain. That, and it might give his master ideas on how to escape from Malfeas...

<"...All right. My familiar was left at my...landlord's, so he won't get upset that I'm making a friend with a Sidereal.">

.
.
.
.
.

<"Wait...Sidereal? Where did that come from? >

Corona, did you do that?

Pretty much, yeah. The guy isn't very good at pretending to not be a Serenity. Have to wonder why he's wearing that hat, too-it's not a very good disguise if he's trying to be inconspicuous.

I doubt if he's working for Chejop, though-he's hasn't killed you after spilled intel all over him. Keep watch, though-I know from experience they're tricky little beasts.

<"...Well, there's another benefit of having your past life in your head, I guess. First Agers aren't exactly uninformed. Sorry if I blew your cover.">

[Drascin]

Drake freezes at hearing that... then sighs, with a sad chuckle. "<...I'm never going to hear the end of this one, you know that? Got your cover blown on your first outing, woo, way to go, dude, why do we even trust you for field missions again?>"

He sighs again, shrugging.

"<Yeah, I'm a Sid. Can't tell you more because this gig is like being James Bond but with three thousand times the paperwork and none of the gadgets, so the whole "top secret" thing applies and I like my neck where it is, thank you very much. I'm a good actor when playing a role, but when it comes to plain lying as myself I'm not exactly beast. Wonder how your passenger got me, though. I could swear I didn't do anything too obvious>" he says, dedicating a slightly suspicious look at Raziel. "Note: If your friend is trying to get into my head, I'm going to play cricket with your head. I don't take kindly to mind****ery" he says, turning his head slightly. He then smirks a bit. "<Or is he the kind to suspect that every conciliatory bard on the road has to be a Chosen of Serenity or something and he figures he had to get it right sometime? 'cause that would seem something that the kind of hing a Yozi would sew to one's head would do. From my time as sorcerer servant, I kind of got the feeling that paranoia and bitchiness are Malfeas's main exports>" he chuckles, then heads forward, leading. "Well, anyway, let's go. I know a place where they serve some killer simhata beef..."

[Leliel]

<"She is not my Coadjutor. Two different voices, two entirely different personalities-and that one happens to have a lot of experience with Sidereals before she became my self-proclaimed shoulder angel.">

He leaves out the fact that said voice is a First Age Solar, of course. He knew enough about the Usurpation to leave the part about the fact that a literal voice in his head is a member of a group of people who were rather renowned for being meglomaniacal nutjobs at the time she died out-particularly given that the person he was talking to was probably one of the people who killed her in a previous life.

"In any case, my name is Raziel Kablah. Nice to meet you."

[aetherialDawn]

"<So, perhaps we should go somewhere more secluded and figure out what's going on. Because I've been worrying someone here is going to figure out I'm not...this guy I'm inside of.>"

"<I... really don't know what's going on as far as Earth and Creation. For all I know, Earth was a dream, but since we both shared it... Same thing, though, for Creation. Something is going on. Mysteries are great and all, but they're there for solving.>"

That all sounds a little too... heavy. He's found a Terrestrial, who is fairly friendly, has Earth-memories - apparently, they're dominant, too - and if he's a fire aspect, at least he's friendly and not just emotional. And if his treatment of that mortal was any indication, he's got Creation memories, too, so it's not just for the Celestials.

"<But that's all philosophical, and now is not the right time. I have my own theories about it, but no real information yet anyway... And I'm not certain about how well the Realm's education set you up to make sense of Earth - from what little I've heard, it's just not the same as Earth education.>"

The little jab just... came out. He's been thinking too hard about his Urge and his plans, he supposes, but it should not come out in conversation. At least he dulled the personal insult - the Realm is clearly the problem, not Pyrus. Why did he have to slip up like that?

"<That came out a little wrong. Anyway, I'd be happy to treat you and Amelia to lunch. There's a pretty good place I know of. Of course, you probably know the good places better than I do, so if you've got something in mind... Ah. And of course, I forgot to introduce myself - You can call me Orchid.>" His real name is safe enough in English, and besides, he'd rather make actual friends just now.

[Drascin]

So, it's not the demon, experience with Sidereals, the guy himself had said something about past lives and being made from Solar stuff... not hard to put two and two together. So, he still has an old Solar in his head? Probably subverted to the Yozi's whim, too, or they wouldn't have left her in there. Well, or maybe not even "subverted" - even after filtering the Bronze Faction propaganda, chances are that the First Age Solars had been really rather insane. I mean, to make the most compassionate and strong-willed guy in the universe turn to the metaphysical equivalent of drinking just out of your insanity, you have to be pretty damn bad. Will probably need careful handling. And a little needling - when the world was in the hand of Solars, they nearly made it explode, so to someone as duty-driven and compassionate as Drake, they don't come exactly well-recommended.

Well, time to test that theory.

"<Ah, so she's the past life you mentioned? Well, I suppose the eyes must have given me away, then, if she already knows what Sids are. These damn things are a liability, I keep saying. I really need to get some damn sunglasses somehow>" he says, mentioning the starred eyes Sidereals have under their disguises - and which a First Age Solar would probably be rather familiar with. Then he smirks, back to speech that said past life would understand. "And I bet she dissed me, my stupid face, and my fashion sense, too, while she was at it, given how much of a sweetheart you made her sound like." he says, with a mean chuckle.

"Well, anyway, here we are - Tolsin's Steak House" he says, pointing at a small restaurant in one side street. It's certainly not one of the big touristic spots - just a small family-run wooden building. "Yeah, I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me, they make some killer meat here - <and I'm a Spaniard, I don't go for half-assings when food's concerned!> - and on the cheap, that's important when you're living on your street performances, you know!" he winks, back to his bard role soon as they get into the public streets.

"And the name's Sparrow" he nods, when the other man introduces himself. "<Or Drake, but I'd rather you called me by my cover name for now if possible, I already messed up enough>"

[Tavar]

Wing

Following the pair is easier than Wing would have thought, and he manages to tail them for several blocks, till they reach the restaurant.

I can't let this pass me by. They're from home. Go. Talk to them. Do it. Come on. DO IT.

Reaching out, he puts his hand on Drake's shoulder.

<Umm...excuse me. You speak English?>

[Leliel]

Thankfully, Raziel couldn't actually be controlled by Corona until he started to rely on her abilities, so the old Zenith is left to steam over the insult to her honor, less than enthused that Raziel gave her away that easily.

Of course, one of those times might have been coming up at that moment.

"GET DOWN!"

Raziel jumps back, quickly looking for places to manifest his Ichor Flux Tendrils. Not yet, of course, but it was useful to note.

[Rhyvurg]

"<That came out a little wrong. Anyway, I'd be happy to treat you and Amelia to lunch. There's a pretty good place I know of. Of course, you probably know the good places better than I do, so if you've got something in mind... Ah. And of course, I forgot to introduce myself - You can call me Orchid.>" His real name is safe enough in English, and besides, he'd rather make actual friends just now.

"<Good to know you. So, what...are you exactly? This body has memories of various types of Exaltation.>"

[Tavar]

Wing

The odd preachers reaction certainly suprised Wing, and he drops to the ground as soon as the man yells out the warning.

What is it? What's wrong
speaking in Flametounge this time.

[aetherialDawn]

"<Good to know you. So, what...are you exactly? This body has memories of various types of Exaltation.>"

"<Huh... It's difficult to describe?>" At least, without potentially being put into an instant fight to the death. "<Not quite the same as an Anathema... They are possessed by evil spirits, I think is how the Immaculate Order views it. I've never heard of any proof for that, but I do have a demon with me - except it was forced to give up the Exaltation itself to me. And of course, then there's a past life, Creation and Earth memories... There are plenty of people in my head, but I'm the one who owns it. There are other details,>" The Primordials and what had been done, the Usurpation, the Realm's objective problems... "<but I think you can understand that I'd rather think of a way to say it to a Dynast that doesn't make me sound crazy before I go further. I doubt you've heard of my kind anyway, but as far as there is a name, we're Green Sun Princes. It's complicated.>" He would mention the Usurpation, but... honestly, it wouldn't help much right now, and besides, his only personal witness is a mad bomber's memory stuck in his head. Maybe he'll ask Raziel about all that. Now... He just hopes that he managed to make that all confusing enough that by the time Pyrus figures it out he'll have had time to decide not to get into a fight.

[Drascin]

Now, thing is, Drake isn't used to being taken by surprise, not in this life and not in the other (in fact, "let's see if you can sneak up on Drascin" was a known pastime at his highschool. The scoreboard always favored him). So when someone manages to get to him undetected, near enough to touch him, he's very surprised. He visibly tenses, and takes a quick sidestep to the side, taking distance from whoever it is and facing him in a single move.

It's to be noted, though, that even while in thoughtless instinct, he's not making aggressive motions. Seems that this man is not what you'd call a bellicose one.

And then his brain catches up with him. What the hell am I doing? He gets a look at the man in question, and he retakes his role as a fop seamlessly - it'd take a very, very observant person (or someone being nearby enough to hear it) to notice how fast his heart is actually pumping after that sudden adrenaline rush. He smiles again his silly huge grin, and acts mock-offended like the foppish bard he's supposed to be. "By the Dragons, my man! You startled me! I thought I was being mugged, or worse, for a second there! You shouldn't approach people like that on these alleys!"

[Tavar]

Wing

Wing has the graces to look sheepish at Drake's statement, and slowly gets up. Again, though, he speaks in English.
<Sorry, I guess I didn't realize how quiet I was, or how noisy everything else was, either. But, was I correct in hearing you speak English?>

[Rhyvurg]

"<Huh... It's difficult to describe?>" At least, without potentially being put into an instant fight to the death. "<Not quite the same as an Anathema... They are possessed by evil spirits, I think is how the Immaculate Order views it. I've never heard of any proof for that, but I do have a demon with me - except it was forced to give up the Exaltation itself to me. And of course, then there's a past life, Creation and Earth memories... There are plenty of people in my head, but I'm the one who owns it. There are other details,>" The Primordials and what had been done, the Usurpation, the Realm's objective problems... "<but I think you can understand that I'd rather think of a way to say it to a Dynast that doesn't make me sound crazy before I go further. I doubt you've heard of my kind anyway, but as far as there is a name, we're Green Sun Princes. It's complicated.>" He would mention the Usurpation, but... honestly, it wouldn't help much right now, and besides, his only personal witness is a mad bomber's memory stuck in his head. Maybe he'll ask Raziel about all that. Now... He just hopes that he managed to make that all confusing enough that by the time Pyrus figures it out he'll have had time to decide not to get into a fight.
"<Yeah, part of me really wants to kill you. But the other part wants to give you the benefit of the doubt.>"

[Leliel]

Wing

Wing has the graces to look sheepish at Drake's statement, and slowly gets up. Again, though, he speaks in English.
<Sorry, I guess I didn't realize how quiet I was, or how noisy everything else was, either. But, was I correct in hearing you speak English?>

Relieved, Raziel lowers his arms, but not before waving down the guards.

"<You were.>

"<But before we begin, can we eat? I just got through a bunch of exposition, and I haven't had a good meal in days.>"

[Recaiden]

A pair of mercenary guardsman head over towards the priest who is obviously signaling them. One walks up, while the other hangs back at a safe distance.
"Is there a problem here?" he inquires roughly, looking suspiciously at the people jabbering in some barbarian tongue.

[LauWren]

"<Well, part of me wants you not to kill him, part's curious about finding a non-family member English-speaker, and the last part is hungry. Shall we try for the overlap?>"

[aetherialDawn]

"<Yeah, part of me really wants to kill you. But the other part wants to give you the benefit of the doubt.>"

"<Well, that's an enormous relief then! I'll try not to hide too much from you, if you're willing to listen I'm sure there won't be many problems. After all, after all I said you'll give me the benefit of the doubt, I can hardly not extend that back can I? Besides, curiosity is a hallmark of my caste... Or, aspect, to you. Just a semantics difference really.>"

He grins, in a way that would probably make any remaining mortals uneasy. It's certainly happy, just not entirely... normal. It doesn't help that his shadow is acting up as the lanterns and glowstones set it flickering about.

"<I'm in favor of a meal, and I don't mind paying. It's a good lunch place, even if it isn't quite the normal time. We can get to know each other better.>"

[Rhyvurg]

"<Sounds good, but I don't know any places to eat in this town yet.>"

[aetherialDawn]

Realizing that he was about to answer in English despite the totally-innocent nature of planning a meal, Orchid clumsily switches back to Flametongue and then continues normally again that way.

"Simple enough; I wasn't clear, I suppose, but I do. They do some good things with Simhata. Usually good for lunches but that hardly matters. And you, Amelia, is that good? <I think we can probably stick to Flametongue now that the sensitive matters are done for a little while.>"

[Leliel]

A pair of mercenary guardsman head over towards the priest who is obviously signaling them. One walks up, while the other hangs back at a safe distance.
"Is there a problem here?" he inquires roughly, looking suspiciously at the people jabbering in some barbarian tongue.

Sighing, Raziel turns to the mercenaries.

Speaking in Low Realm, he says "No, everythings fine. We simply thought this man was a mugger, but as it turns out, he simply is recognized us from home."

He deliberately emphasizes his Seatongue accent, hoping to avoid the mantle of "barbarian", and thus "easily tricked".

[LauWren]

"Sounds good to me," Amelia says, answering both questions.

[Recaiden]

The guardsman glowers at him. "Make sure everything stays fine."

[Drascin]

"Oh, do not worry, my good man!" Drake iterjects flightily, giving a litte half-bow and a fluttering salute of his hat. "I'm with them, after all, showing off this beautiful city of yours to the newcomers - once the startles have passed, there is nothing to worry about!" he grins a huge, friendly, so-sincere-it-hurts smile.

[Recaiden]

The guardsman rolls his eyes. These people are clearly up to something. But they've broken no laws that he can see, so...
"Heh. Enjoy your stay in Gem, then."
With that, he returns to his partner.

[Tavar]

Wing

After the guard returns to his partner, Wing answers Raziel, this time turning to flametongue.
That would be fine. I don't think I'll have anything, though. Not particularly hungry at the moment. Are you planning on eating here?

[Leliel]

Raziel blinks.

"Er...I'm sorry, I don't speak Flametongue." he whispers in Low Realm.

"Seatongue, Old Realm, Low Realm?" saying each in it's respective language.

[Rhyvurg]

Realizing that he was about to answer in English despite the totally-innocent nature of planning a meal, Orchid clumsily switches back to Flametongue and then continues normally again that way.

"Simple enough; I wasn't clear, I suppose, but I do. They do some good things with Simhata. Usually good for lunches but that hardly matters. And you, Amelia, is that good? <I think we can probably stick to Flametongue now that the sensitive matters are done for a little while.>"

"<Agreed>. So, now that we've met and decided to not try and kill each other, what's next? I've been in Gem for a few weeks now, but I have no obligations to my House for the next few years."

[Tavar]

Wing
Wing listens to the stream of gibberish, and switches back to English.
Um...sorry, what languages were those? And you really don't speak flametounge? And you live here?

[Drascin]

"<Don't speak Flametongue? Seriously? How the hell do you manage to live around here? Half the people in this place can barely stammer anything else>" Drake asks, nonchalant, making sure to make it look as if he's just showing them around for any guards that might still be watching. "<Anyway, I think we got decently established as me showing around two foreigners, so we can talk in English if you want. I'll take care of the orders, don't worry>" he adds, entering the place with his skipping, flighty steps.

"Hey, Tol!" Drake waves to the man in the counter as they enter. He's eaten here a couple times already, as Sparrow, and people remember the hat - not the face, but the clothes. "Couple foreigners in town, they're paying me to show them around 'cause I know the language. Give'em a couple good slabs of meat and show off the cuisine of Gem - the one in the right especially looks like they didn't feed him right at home!" he winks, with a laugh. He usually feels rather bad about lying to the guy - Tolsin really is a jolly, friendly, trusting man - but, not like there's much in the way of options. and at least by lying to him he keeps him out of trouble. It's just so tiresome to always lie, always be on the stage. Even proffessional actors get breaks, damn it all...

[aetherialDawn]

"<Agreed>. So, now that we've met and decided to not try and kill each other, what's next? I've been in Gem for a few weeks now, but I have no obligations to my House for the next few years."

"Honestly, even if some strange arrangement of the stars has fated us to be useless to each other - and trust me, they are not so solid a guide to events as you might think - having a friend and confidant is worth a lot, is it not? To me, to all three of us."
A little flowery, maybe, but the faint adrenaline shock of having to explain himself and being successful can get the poetry going.
"In the short-term, food. I did not have breakfast due to getting distracted by the singing, and at this point I may be harping on it because I... have run out of other plans for the day, what with the surprise I found with you! It's this way, er," Right, Flametongue, Dynast... "Sir."
Orchid smiles a little as he starts walking, letting Amelia and Pyrus follow. Things have moved surprisingly far this night, and it's barely begun! Certainly not what he expected from chasing a singing man on a magitech motorcycle. Although what he expected would be hard to express at this point; all he can do is guide the flow as he goes along with it.

After a fairly brief walk, only long enough to start getting a bit awkward without conversation but hardly grueling, Orchid starts to speak and then adopts a more properly respectful tone.
"One of the better places to eat around here, and the closest of them, lord. Amelia and I meet here now and then."
It is around this point that he spots Raziel, traveling with an outrageous hat being worn by a man, and another who looks less civilized than the average patron.
"Why don't you two - Er, I mean, Amelia, would you escort our honored guest to a table? I'd recommend the Simhata, and I'll just be a few moments."
Raziel being here is almost certainly coincidence, but Orchid hardly wants to hear Melodies chastising for assuming such a thing. There's not a lot he can see to do about it, except to try and catch Raziel's attention.

[LauWren]

Amelia picks up the cue to be respectful and smiles. Politeness doesn't cost her a thing and helps much; that's something she learned in both lives. "I'd recommend the same. It's right this way, sir, and it should be easy enough to find a table now, when we're between rushes. Shall we?"

[Rhyvurg]

"Sounds good. So, Amelia was it? Do you have a place to stay here in Gem?"

[Leliel]

"...Orchid? Pyrus?

"Hey, what a coincidence!

Sparrow, this is Orchid, and my landlord, Cathak Pyrus."

Quietly, he mouths to Pyrus about not mentioning he's actually a vagrant.

"I didn't know you two knew each other."

"And I assume this lovely miss is Amelia?"

[Rhyvurg]

"Oh, hey. Yeah, these guys are from...'back home', if you get my meaning."

[aetherialDawn]

Feeling slightly guilty for not introducing Amelia and Raziel earlier, Orchid nods and says, in English for Raziel and then in Flametongue "<It's fine, Pyrus, Raziel and I have met before. Although I haven't introduced him to Amelia; Raziel, Amelia. Amelia, Raziel.>" And, of course, hello, uh, Sparrow. Is that a title or a name?... I'm afraid that while I've done some traveling, most of the culture has passed me by. I'd hate to get it wrong. <And your other companion, Raziel?...>" He turns to Wing, not realizing that 'Sparrow' understood all that he just said.

[Tavar]

Wing
Wing's head is positively spinning. He entered the town with the belief that he was the only one from his world here. Now it seems he can't turn around without tripping over someone from home. Even the fact that one of them is involved with the damned dynasts barely dims his spirits. Thus he speaks for himself. In English.
Well, you can call me Wing. It's what I go by here. Are there anymore people that speak English here?

[LauWren]

"<How's it goin',>" Amelia says with a nod, finally realizing that the day is going to stay weird and pausing to take it all in isn't going to help any. "<This is all I'm aware of, and I'd think that riding a motorcycle through the streets and singing 'Welcome to the Jungle' would probably bring just about anyone who wanted to be found out of the woodwork, thanks Pyrus. Also, Pyrus, yes, I have a place.>"

[Drascin]

"Oh, it's a name. And I do speak the language, don't worry about me" Drake answers Orchid with a fluttery grin. How did the man know him? Well, probably just out of his street plays - not worth being too paranoid yet. Now it's time to find out things. "<Though this is starting to look like a lot more than a coincidence, to have so many Earthlings around. You didn't tell me you knew more Earthlings, Raziel>" he adds, smirking at the Infernal with a sideways look. Though if he knew, why the hell did he act as if I was the first one he met? Okay, so maybe some paranoia is necessary...

[aetherialDawn]

Sparrow's words are briefly confusing; of course he understood Flametongue, or he wouldn't be answering...
"Good to meet you then, Sparrow."
...But as the man speaks in English, Orchid's worry quietly pegs himself at the upper end of the scale. Evidently Flametongue was not the language he was referring to, and with this Wing guy as well...
"<Well, ah... that was unexpected. Raziel and I have known each other for a little while, but I think I can speak for both of us when I say that meeting another Earthling is a bit of a surprise. And with you as well, Wing, are we going to start crawling out of the woodwork next, or do we all just have some sort of gravitational pull on each other? It's making me a little paranoid here.>"
Right now, what Orchid most wants would probably involve about an hour alone with Raziel and Amelia to figure out what's going on. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, so the direct approach will have to do unless someone blabs something important and revealing.
"<Can someone explain what's going on, seriously? Are we all, or is there some networked conspiracy I didn't know about?>"

[Drascin]

"<The gravitational pull thing may be more right than you know>" Drake answers, with a certain grim amusement. "<From what I've known - and when acting as a traveling bard you know a lot - Creation seems to work less on logic and more on tropes. A bit Discworldian, but less generally awesome. It would be dramatic for all the people who have fused with another world to come together, either in alliance or war - so it did>" he finishes, with a bit of a resigned smirk. "<Now question is going to be, well, what are we going to do with this?>"

[Leliel]

<"Ehh, you got me.>"

"<Maybe a Ring, as I understand the concept? I wouldn't know about you, but my...employers are not the most trustworthy of people.>"

Except one, but I don't betray my friends.

<"You know, keep in touch, help each other out?">

[aetherialDawn]

"<Always in favor of having allies around... Although I have to ask, so that it doesn't become 'dramatic' later... Are any of you secretly Dynasts or long-lost princes or anything?>"
Orchid glances between Sparrow and Wing... And Wing again. Something is up there, with the last man. He looks a little translucent, maybe? Melodies points out, His eyes aren't right either. Normal humans have circles in them, he has diamonds. Sparrow has blue stars in his pupils. Neither of them is normal, be careful.
Orchid considers, zoning out noticeably for several seconds as he confers with his Coadjutor... Probably best to ask now. If we let them hide it, it might stab us in the back later - at least here, Raziel and Amelia can help us if things go bad. He keeps an eye on the tables - if one opens up too soon, then this conversation might get interrupted, and that won't do yet. They haven't been seated yet, but it's only a matter of time...
"<Or to put it another way... I know that neither you, Wing, nor you, Sparrow, are normal, but I'd prefer to know how from your own mouths.>"

[Tavar]

Wing blinks in surprise. He was trying to hid his tell, but it appears that his efforts weren't enough. Being in his own skin probably doesn't help, though it's not like he had much of a choice; animals were of limited use in social situations. Looking around, though, there was Amelia as well. The tell was subtle, but there. If another of the pack could work with this Orchid, then he could as well.

Pretty observant. I'm like your friend over there, pointing at Amelia as he says this.

[Drascin]

"<It's the eyes, isn't it?>" Drake answers, with a certain sardonic, exasperated amusement. "<Okay, that's it, if I ever get to management I'm issuing contact lenses for everyone>"

"<Anyway, yeah. Well, I never was what you'd call exactly "normal", but I think you mean the fact I work for Heaven>" the man chuckles. "<Well, or at least I'm on the payroll, technically. Mostly I keep people up there from ****ing up too much, really - god knows someone has to. Can't tell you many actual details because they're really kind of big on the secrecy thing, sorry - but I get to help people and the pay is good, so even having to deal with the dumbasses, it's worth it>"

[Rhyvurg]

"Pyrus knows something about Exalts from Heaven, but he just knows they are to be respected, he's seen House elders acquiesce to them before. Beyond that...nothing."

[LauWren]

"<Ah...Wing. Are you in the habit of pointing out stuff like that, or did you only do so because we're speaking English?>" Amelia asks, a tad concerned at how quickly some defenses dropped. "<Helping sounds good, so long as no one's going to do some passive-aggressive manipulation because of it. Oh, also, point of curiosity, has anyone taught any English?>"

[Tavar]

Only because of the language. Though I wouldn't have even then if I wasn't being revealed myself. You're of the Pack, are you not? Oh, and no, I haven't taught anyone English. Having a ready made code language seems useful.

[Leliel]

"<Good plan. It does feel nice to speak without two different people listening in.>"

"<...Don't ask. It's a long story.>"

[LauWren]

"<Wing: Glad to hear it, and I am, hi. I think so, too, but if it's gotten out it seems better to know.>" Amelia turns slightly. "<And...I'd feel better if you could confirm they weren't Superpowered Evil Sides, but I suppose you'd just say no anyway, so alright, I won't.> Anyone else wondering how long until a table opens up?"

[Recaiden]

A table opens up suspiciously immediately, and a waiter leads the group to it, setting down menus. The food is of a slightly high but reasonable price.
The table itself, a stone booth lit by a hanging glowstone.
"What can I get for you all today?"

[Rhyvurg]

"Yeah, bring us a large Chicago style meat lovers."

[Recaiden]

The waiter looks puzzled, and flips through his copy of the menu before nodding. "Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?"

[aetherialDawn]

"The same, please."
If nothing else, it will be worth it to see how the staff handles it...

[Drascin]

...damn it. Why are these people going on about Chicago out loud in Flametongue? They're going to radio to everyone that they're weirder than usual! On the other hand, this could be usable, to make everyone look like silly dumb foreigners - everyone knows foreigners are stupid, and it always helps to be underestimated. So the waiter with an accomplice smile and a wink.

"Yeah, sorry, foreign people order rather weird things. Even I have no damn idea what they asked you for, really. Just tell the cook to make up something he thinks fits, alright?" he says, joking with the waiter a bit. "<Anyway, Pyrus, yeah, you may have seen one or two. The whole organization has some ties with the Dynast houses and such, and Dragonbloods are hired every now and then. Again, can't go on about the details, sorry. But, to put it someway - imagine the MIB's job plus Social Security's absurd amount of paperwork" here Drake's voice goes more than a bit despaired. Seems he has first hand experience with the horrors of it. "<That's what I work with in a nutshell. Ungrateful job, but someone got to do it, no?>"

[LauWren]

"Ditto and room temperature water," Amelia says, wondering idly if he comes in here often or if they're just deciding not to say anything.

Turning back to the table, "I'll have to take your word on that. <Don't suppose you have those nifty pens?>"

[Leliel]

Of course, Raziel not being able to speak Flametongue, he just looks confused and just repeats "Chicago meatlovers", guessing that was the actual order.

It's quite clear he has no clue what he just said.

[LauWren]

"<Ah...I can translate for you some, if you'd like,>" Amelia says, wondering how long it would take to teach Raziel some basics of the language. Not that that would be helping now, regardless... "<Although unless you decided to go vegetarian or something, what you ordered should work. We're currently quirky foreigners. Except Drake.>"

[Leliel]

<"Umm...sure. Good plan.">

<"Thank you. And sorry. For you being translator.">

[Tavar]

Nothing for me at the moment.

[Recaiden]

The waiter nods. "Thank you. We should have that fairly soon."
Of course, he goes to deliver the order to the cook, leaving the newly united exalts to converse.

[Tavar]

Wing switches to English once again.
Is a Chicago Meatlovers actually on the menu, or do you just not care?

[Rhyvurg]

"<Mostly I wanted to see how they handle it. And on the Blessed Isle there's maps of the entire world, from what I can tell this place is larger than the entire planet back home, and flat to boot. I bet there's a thousand cities these yokels have never heard of.>"

[aetherialDawn]

"<In my case, I just ordered it to see what they'd come up with. Besides, so long as we don't complain when they overcharge us a bit, we might get away with the foreigner thing, and it's a nice cover for talking in an odd language, don't you think? Interesting about the maps, though... How far out do they go?>"

[LauWren]

Amelia waves off the apology. "<Don't worry about it. I actually translated a bit back home. Er, home, not> home."


"<Mostly I wanted to see how they handle it. And on the Blessed Isle there's maps of the entire world, from what I can tell this place is larger than the entire planet back home, and flat to boot. I bet there's a thousand cities these yokels have never heard of.>"

"<Huh. I'd never considered the flat part. Cell phones would work amazingly well here. ...Of course, magic. I wonder how outlandish I'd have to make a story before it becomes unbelievable,>" she muses to herself.

[Tavar]

What do you mean by "how far". Plus, from what I understand, it's size is flexable. Tamuz said the world has shrunk since his day.

[Leliel]

What do you mean by "how far". Plus, from what I understand, it's size is flexable. Tamuz said the world has shrunk since his day.

<"Um just a question.">

<"I assume that by "shrunk", this Tamuz person means the Balorian Crusade. But if he also says "his day", that means he was old enough to witness it first hand.">

<"How old is he?">

[Tavar]

Primarily the crusade, but before that as well, I think. From what he told Wing, he remembers the Usurpation. Wouldn't guess it from his mannerisms, though.

[aetherialDawn]

"<Tammuz sounds interesting... Oh, and as for the maps, I suppose if I know how old the maps are and how far out they go, that might be useful.>"

Orchid glances around. He has some help from his Exaltation in convincing people, but it's still not his strong suit... But this is important, and there's not exactly a lot of conflict around the table. At least not yet.

"<The world shrinking fits with what I've been told, and it's probably going to continue, you see. We've been given incredible power; even if it's impossible now, nobody said we can't make it possible someday, one way or another. Isn't that what Luna is all about? I don't want to see the world shrink to nothing someday because I couldn't - or worse, just didn't - fix it. Especially if it's not just a matter of keeping the fairies out.>"

If he's starting to build a good model of the people around him, then Drake will speak up soon against that... But he always has room for surprise, something his patron lacks.

-----

(Internal Dialogue)
That sounded important. What exactly are you planning? Do I need to watch for knives after that little speech?

I'll tell you when it's over. I don't think I'm in any extra danger, but watch Pyrus and Sparrow just in case. And it wasn't a speech, I just added a bit of flourish.

That might be worse, Orchid... Do you really trust these people?

Maybe.

You know, I was told most Defilers could be more hardhearted when it was called for.

I was told that I was chosen because, whatever I might lack, I could care about the things that were important. Besides, I thought you said I was acting too slowly to get into House Arbani.

Holding back on a plan is not the same as keeping your feelings in check and not spilling out secrets. These people actually have the power to mess up our plans.

[Tavar]

At mention of Luna's name, Wing becomes somewhat rigid, and the words tumble out of his mouth.
"<The Fickle Lady is...complicated. she is many-who-are-one. She is about...protecting isn't the right word. Nurturing, I guess. She...sorry. It's an issue I know a fair bit about.>"
Leaning back, a faint blush rises in his cheeks, which for some reason makes him appear all the more translucent. Licking his lips with an oddly forked tongue(to those who can see it), he continues a bit more sedately.
"<Keeping the faeries out is part of it, but there are other threats. The Underworld. Malfaes. Hell, even forces in Creation itself are a threat. But what do you have in mind.>"

[Drascin]

"<Really, I wouldn't call what I got "incredible power". More like a few useful magic tricks. I still got to go by my wits more than anything>" Drake says, with a bit of an eyeroll. Given the kind of stuff the Bureau faces every day, some overwhelming firepower would come in handy every now and then.

"<And yeah, it's nowhere near enough to keep the fairies out. They're about fifth in the "will likely blow up the world" list. The fact that I actually keep a bullet-pointed list should probably tell you enough of the kind of **** the world is in>" the Sidereal sighs. Probably sixth now, with these new Infernal Deathknights being discovered... "<So, anything that can lessen the supreme cluster**** would be welcome. Give us your pitch>"

[aetherialDawn]

"<I'm sorry for speaking about Luna that way... and, well, I don't have a plan yet, only ideas. But I found out today that we have six powerful people here - whatever you might say, Sparrow, you work for Heaven. Connections, influence, and especially knowledge - those are all power too. You have a list of threats to Creation? Then you had enough information to create it.>"

Orchid waves his hand, gesturing at the surroundings without being too flamboyant - so long as they're just foreign, they can hopefully slip under the radar a bit longer, but he's getting excited despite what Melodies said, supplementing speaking skill with energy and a dash of poetry.

"<We're in Gem! A glittering nexus of trade, free from the Realm, free from Lookshy, free from everyone, and still peaceful even while the rest of the world is withering away in war! If there's any place that could be the start of a glorious new Creation, it's Gem.
Thanks to our time on Earth, we know things and can think in ways that nobody in Creation has ever tried before. If we wanted, we could conquer the world with mass-produced guns - firedust is even more powerful than gunpowder ever was, but it's led to the stagnation of technology.
But why even go to war? We want to save the world, not crush it, and we know about electricity, engineering, computers, an entire Renaissance and beyond if we applied it. And so what if the materials are different here? That doesn't stop us from inventing anew, and I'm certain we can.
This world has been stagnant so long, and even now it's only changing for the worse in the fires of war - but we could be a jolt of life!>"

Orchid is starting to attract some actual attention now, he's sure - certainly, Melodies is getting agitated. So he cuts it short and lowers his voice slightly.

"<These are just my ideas, the tools that I see - but I was specifically chosen to be a master of science and magic. What were you all chosen for?>"

There's something... Oh, of course. The shift in gears is a bit abrupt.

"<Sparrow, I'd like to see that list sometime. The one of threats to Creation? I can only think of a couple off the top of my head, and I would have rated the Wyld up near one or two, so I need to know more.>"

[Tavar]

Wing waves the apologies aside."<No problem, and I honestly wasn't offended, just, well, talking. It's and interesting subject, learning about some of the beings. Wish Wing had asked more myself.>"

Leaning in, he takes a more subdued tone, focusing on Sparrow's declaration.
"<Honestly, we are powerful. Maybe we can't change much now, on our own, but patrons did not simply give us power. They gave use the ability to grow, to become more than we were. And in the meantime, well, who says we have to do it alone?>"

Turning to face Orchid, Wing thinks on his speech for a moment.
Guess this is like what Tamuz was talking about when he said the solars had their blindspot.

"<Introducing that is all well and good, but knowledge and power without stability are useless. Both were plentiful before the Usurpation, but when the solars fell they dragged creation down with them.

More importantly, Creation hasn't been stagnant. The Usurption was bad, but the Great Conjugation was worse. And then the Crusade happened. This isn't stagnation any more than the 'dark ages' were. This is recovery, and from a sharper brink than Europe walked away from. But the recovery is faltering. The Empress seemed to be the only thing holding the Realm together, so it's like the USSR collapsing without the US there to gather the pieces. If you have some idea of what to do, I'm all ears.

[Drascin]

"<Oh, yes, knowledge is a power on its own right, you won't get me arguing against that. But, to be honest, sometimes I'd give a lot to be able to supplement that knowledge with a Star Destroyer to bombard the Deathlords' asses>" Drake smirks, sighing.

He then lays his elbows on the table and leans on his hands, looking straight at Orchid. "<As for the other thing... there's a problem with that. Nothing we know from Earth applies here. I don't mean just the geography. I mean, the laws of physics here only work because there is a magic web with billions of jade spiders that takes care of causality and makes sure that when you drop a cup, it breaks into fragments instead of, say, tarantulas. And lightning doesn't happen because of the ionization of the atmosphere - it happens because a lightning god wills it>" he says, serious. "<So we'll be starting from zero. We do have the advantage of knowing about the scientific method, though, which should certainly help us find out how this place actually works. But it's not going to be easy, and we're not going to make many friends>" he finishes, looking around, to see how this has been received.

"<Plus, what Wing said. Creation is, right now, in kind of a complete disarray. Everyone is fighting everyone and being incredibly dumb and racist. You can't try to bring modern ideals on people that quickly. It'd cause a seriously nasty culture clash, with all the sociological problems that entails - people in Creation still have problems with the "don't kill thy neighbour" thing>" Here, Drake's voice goes a bit more dissertative. "<The fact that the greatest power figure in the world just up and left wasn't exactly good for recovery, either. Remember the years after the fall of the Roman Empire? We're kind of in those now>"

Despite his pessimism, though, Drake is obviously interested. But that is only expected of what could be called the sourest idealist ever.

[aetherialDawn]

Orchid keeps his tone under control; just foreign people discussing their foreign things while they wait for some slightly-overpriced Gem cuisine, nothing to worry about...

"<I'm not saying that we can wave a magical - or technological - wand and make everything better, or that things haven't been happening to Creation. But if we only work inside the system, then however much we change it we'll have to face it's limits. I'm happy to work with Creation, but, well, to play devil's advocate,>" and how very appropriate that is, "<The Scarlet Empress kept Creation stable, but the stability she kept was still one of decay. She stopped the Balorian Crusade, but the Wyld still eats away at the edges of the world.>" He pauses, considering but finally continuing a little more slowly, "<And whatever you might say about those changes, I say that it was still stagnation; just because something finally fell down doesn't mean that the termites weren't eating away for a long time. Creation isn't the same as Earth; it's picking up the pieces from disaster, and unlike Earth that isn't enough when angry ghosts want to unmake the world. Besides, I might characterize it as like China, where they could have had an industrial revolution for centuries, but valued stability and unchanging, um, ness, too much.>"

"<But I'll still accept the point, and I wouldn't stake the world on being China instead of Europe, or vice-versa. Creation isn't falling back on its own so much as it's unable to resist the pressures on it. Not so much a stagnation as we might think of it as a losing battle. Still not much prettier, I suppose... I'd rather agitate for some cultural change than support a war just because people don't want to think in ways their grandfathers didn't, though. I'd rather figure out how to make guns in a spider-run world than see it eaten by faeries. Maybe we can even build some new jade spider things and start reclaiming what was lost!... Not for a while, perhaps. But we should start. Right?>" Orchid slumps back in his seat slightly as the adrenaline of ideas and thinking starts to drain back again, leaving him equally drained. "<I'm not saying we need to go out there and take over Gem right now or anything. We don't have to be stupid, or impulsive. But I do say we should make a start as soon as we have a feasible plan we can all agree on.>"

"<And as for you, Sparrow... I'd like to offer a pact. You won't tell Heaven about this yet, and I won't inform the people I work with. We can tell them later, but I think for now we both need to think about it as individuals, without our respective bosses yelling at us.>" He glances at Raziel, and smiles a little at Amelia... "<In fact, maybe that should go for all of us. The Silver Pact doesn't need to know, and especially the Realm doesn't need to know, nobody does until we know how we feel about this. Then we can decide who to tell.>" Melodies, well, he can think up something to tell Melodies. Maybe reminiscing about Earth, with a few possible intelligence leaks for his coadjutor to worry about, but nothing major enough to stand out.

[Recaiden]

The waiter returns, awkwardly carrying the order on non-pizza trays.
He then sets down four large Chicago-style pizzas and one glass of water. The pizzas look rather sloppily made, and the meat isn't what one would get in Chicago, but they're passable.
"I hope you enjoy your meal."

[LauWren]

Amelia blinks. This doesn't look like a pizza she'd get back home, or in Chicago, but it doesn't just look like one from someone who was guessing, and doesn't even really look like someone who'd only heard of it. It looked like someone who knew who happened to be working with not-quite-right ingredients... Was someone else from Earth? Were they not the first?

"Thank you," Amelia says, barely remembering to switch to Flametongue. She shakes off the feeling of familiarity. Either she's wrong, and this is another part of the whole run-on-tropes bit, or as she said, people who want to come out of the woodwork will. Especially given that anyone who spoke English would probably pick up the fact that they were all speaking English, and would presumably continue to do so, given that they shared no other language.

I just hope we aren't missing, say, someone who speaks only Italian. Or Chinese.

Amelia picks up her water and nods. She's not entirely sure she's following everything, but one step closer to the idea of "modern" in the view of a bunch of people from her world with these accents is probably going to mean less slavery. "<That sounds reasonable. I'll agree to it if you all will.>" Not that she'd exactly been planning to go out and tell someone, but throwing support in with one's side never hurts.

Amelia waits to say anything further until everyone else responds.

[Leliel]

<"...Hm? Oh, yes, that would be a good plan.">

<"But just as importantly, does anyone find it...odd that the chef knew what a pizza was?">

[LauWren]

"<Yes. In that vein, does anyone speak another Earth-language, in case we run into someone from somewhere else? I've got enough Spanish to get any odd terms defined.>"

[Tavar]

Sorry, I took Latin to get out of foreign languages. I have a minuscule amount of French, but that's it.
Wing isn't focused on the conversation, though. He's watching the the server, to see where the kitchen is.
The fact they understood our order is very disturbing, though. I could check out the back, if no one has a problem with that.

[Rhyvurg]

"<If we can find way to...accelerate our growth, I'm the only one of us who could get in position to take over the Realm outright. And, while this place is different than Earth, we do have the memories of our hosts, we are not totally ignorant. I think our first objective should be to gather knowledge, find this world's secrets, then find the best way to use that to our advantage.>"

[LauWren]

"<Latin might be useful, actually, if the other person happens to speak it as a second language. Or, if they've been around long enough, a first. And no problem here,>" Amelia adds, deliberately throwing an absent-minded tone into the last few words and looking around the restaurant as if bored. <Hello there. Any repeats from our last escapade? Oh, and if you happen to be a mindreader, we're friendly.>

[Tavar]

Well then, if you'll excuse me for a moment. If I'm not back as myself soon enough, try ordering something else from home. See if it gets a reaction. This last part is said in a whisper, no need to let listeners know what'd going on.

Getting up, Wing heads out of the restaurant, looking for a deserted alley or nook. After making sure there are no observers, he changes. Soon a rather unremarkable cat sneaks back around into the back of the kitchen, content to observe what happens.


Perception+Awareness to know if anyone's watching before I transform[roll0]

Stealth+Dex roll to remain unnoticed, not including any bonuses from the animal's shape, or the Dex. Can't find the stats for a normal Cat's Dex:[roll1]

[Recaiden]

The kitchen is around the corner of a thin wall to the left and down an aisle, easy fro Wing to find. No one is watching him other than people at his own table, at least so far as he notices.
And the cat successfully sneaks into the kitchen with only a glance or so from patrons. No one gives it a second thought.
In the kitchen, there are a few ovens and stoves and pots and plates and sinks and knives and four people. The place is rather dimly lit by a chandelier with a loop of chain keeping it raised high to the ceiling.
Two of the people are currently preparing food, one a pot of soup and another chopping vegetables.
The third is the server who was at Wing's table who is being questioned in low voices by the same woman who was spotted by Amelia earlier.

No one responds to the telepathic message. The food is fine. Go ahead and eat it. :smalltongue:

[Tavar]

Wing moves closer, stopping once he is close enough to hear them. Then he begins grooming himself while he listens in.

If I need to, Perception+Awareness check to listen in[roll0]

[aetherialDawn]

Orchid happily eats some of the very-nearly-pizza. He's not particularly worried about poison, at least, and it's clearly not bad cooking either. So long as Wing is checking what's going on in the kitchen, it ought to be safe, though it would be nice to have his own excuse to look around...

"<If you're all so worried, I could just glance around for any active charms I can see. If the pattern holds up and it is another Earthling, then they're probably also Exalted.>"

[Recaiden]

Assuming anyone has active charms even if they are here. Not that I'm saying they don't. Or that anyone is here. Or that anyone isn't.

Wing is able to listen in. The server is being asked about what the group looked like and what they said in Flametongue and he's answering fairly well.

[Tavar]

Wing will wait where he is, continuing to groom himself, unless the questioning woman leaves, in which case he'll follow her.

[Recaiden]

That won't be long, given the English restricting her information. She'll thank the server and leave the kitchen, taking a seat at a table that just so happens to face the party, and lifting up a menu to hide behind.

[Tavar]

Wing moves out of the kitchen, and after he's sure that the lady is content to watch the table, he returns to his alley nook, untransforms, and reenters the dinning room. Once at the table, he non-chalantly talks to the others, in flametounge this time, but hiding his voice as best he can under the noise of the restaurant.

Hey, act normal, but there's a lady at a table over there, gesturing with a utensil, hoping to keep it concealed from watchful eyes.She was asking about us in the back, but the server couldn't understand most of what we were saying.

[Drascin]

Drake thinks a bit on what Orchid says, and then looks straight at the other man's eyes, serious. "<I will not tell of you people specifically, don't worry. I still have much to think about all this, and given the current god****ingdamn stupid faction civil war, some would probably try to kill you. However... you know, I know people who are in the demon-hunting business. Some of them are my friends. And now I find out that some of these disruption zones aren't caused by simple demons, but by people like you or Raziel - because, no offense, but you two mess the laws of Fate something fierce, seriously, I was sent here because you kept making all the grids go off the scale. Anyway, thing is, you two are nice and don't seem to be all that up on the "turn Creation into Hell" thing, but I can't have it in my conscience to have my friends going blind into some Exalted loyal to the Ebon Dragon if I can help it at all. So I have to say I'm going to see about making Heaven privy to the existence of Green Sun Princes>" he says, direct. Yes, he could have promised now and then just told behind their back, but Drake doesn't do stuff like that. He rarely promises, but when he does, it's never emptily. He just hopes the Infernals will see it the same way and this will not end badly. "<Don't worry, I can just sneak it into the archives anonymously. Gods of secrets add true but odd stuff to the files every now and then - it's not unusual. I just don't want people who go demon-hunting trying to help the humans of Creation to get ganked from an unexpected angle>"

After saying this, he leans back, waiting for the response - worried, really. But he also has his eyes alert. He's feeling a bit antsy, and Wing obviously was the same, given how he went check...

Can I roll Awareness to notice the woman trying the Classic Newspaper Disguise(tm)?

[Recaiden]

You could, but after Wing just pointed her out, it isn't really needed.

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus eats his semi-pizza quietly, observing the others. They certainly had a lot of hangups about inconsequential stuff...

[aetherialDawn]

Drake 'Sparrow' said things.

"<As far as information about us getting out, it's supposed to stay low-key. But it's out of the bag, so there's no use in me getting upset... yet I would very much prefer if you didn't specify yet. It might make things more difficult later. If it will be enough to get your friends on guard, say that the Primordials managed to capture a lot of Solar Akuma recently. If not... Then yes, slip it into the archives with my approval, though it won't make me happy. There is a third infernal here, a Scourge. Night-caste, to you. Don't know them well. That all goes for everyone; say what you need to keep your friends safe, but don't tell anyone everything before you're ready.>"

He leans back, considering. If these people are going to agree partly, then what will he tell Melodies? He could, of course, say everything, but that would be wrong... What amount of information is useful, won't come back to bite him too badly, and matches what Sparrow is going to send back?
Orchid smiles after a moment. There's a third option, of course... He simply won't say anything. Malfeas is aware of all the forces of Creation; anything new he could say would only put a big red X on people he wants to work with. Even if he says nothing at all, he still won't be at a disadvantage anyway.

"<As for turning Creation into Hell, I think I would call that the brute-force method for freeing a Yozi. I'm certain there are other ways. But as it's come up, and just as a sort of friendly warning... Do not talk about Hell, since I am certain you don't understand. I am fine with discussing it...>"
Orchid's tightly clenched fists, slightly strained voice, and suddenly tense bearing proclaim No, I am not, not at anything less than a scream, I wish that I had something I could just hit until all the bad things went away but there's nothing for it....
"<But I doubt you would want to hear what I have to say, and if I start it will be... difficult... not to shout. Maybe later, when we're friends, we can have a conversation about it instead of an argument. Not yet.>"


Calming a bit, forcing his emotions to slide back again and turning away from Sparrow and towards other concerns, Orchid simply murmurs, "So let her watch."
However, he thinks to Melodies As he said, not as I said. Make sure you're paying attention so I don't have to stare. and then glances around the room, twiddling a fork. He never lets more than his peripheral vision fall on the lady in question, but with Melodies watching that's more than enough.

Despite the 'Oh well', Essence-Dissecting Stare. For me, it costs 5m. Essentially, I get All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight for a full hour. I am specifically looking for active charms, artifacts or hearthstones, and Essence ratings of 4 or greater. If I see an artifact/hearthstone/high Essence rating then I get an Intelligence + Occult roll, difficulty 2, to gauge its rating. [Roll in OOC because I fail.]
If I see an active charm, then I'll probably have to go for Cracked Mind Insight since it's difficulty 5 and I don't much feel like failing.
Thus, currently I have:
Personal: 11/16 (0 committed)
Peripheral: 23/33 (10 committed)

[Leliel]

"<We, on the other hand, have already had an argument, I don't want to get into that again.>"

Arguing never works out...

...Why, oh why, did I have to bond to you?

...Shut up, Nutian

[Recaiden]

As Orchid looks around he will notice

Nothing! Make an awareness check against [roll0]
Unless he can see through walls or anything, but Keychain influences aside I don't think EDS works like that.

[aetherialDawn]

Orchid doesn't see anything in the immediate area, though he checks closely, just to be sure...

Doesn't see through walls, but it would be a cool charm to add later, perhaps.
[roll0] Zero Successes!
Perception+Sixth Sense courtesy of Melodies. If I had Awareness dots I'd add them, though.

[Recaiden]

There's no active charms in the room. But Orchid will just notice that the woman behind the menu has a hearthstone when she puts down the menu to glance around.

[LauWren]

Amelia says, "Hm. First at the motorcycle thing, now at this. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say she's following us," and then leans over to translate a brief and quiet summary for our Flametongue-less English speaker.

[Tavar]

Switching back to English, Wing raises an eyebrow at Amelia's words.You've seen her before? That's definitely suspicious. Perhaps we should try a more proactive method. Once you finish, we could leave, letting me and maybe one other slip back, and follow at some distance, and confront her if she continues.
A pause, and then almost as an afterthought.Or we could just go over and ask her right now.

[aetherialDawn]

"<Whatever you're planning, she has a hearthstone. Make of that what you will, but let's not let her slip away.>"
Orchid continues to toy with the last scraps of food. For as long as he seems to have no part in this, he can take advantage of a distraction if it arrives and find out what this woman really is.

[Tavar]

Well, let's do this the easy way, then. I'll just go over and talk to her. Anyone have a problem with that?

[LauWren]

"<Not I,>" says Amelia, finally taking some pizza. It's surprisingly good, if not quite what she'd expect if she'd ordered the same thing back <home>.

[Recaiden]

Trying to solve something with straightforward communication? That's a novel approach.

The server walks up and goes to refill Amelia's glass and then turns to Orchid.
"Are you done with your plate, sir?"

[aetherialDawn]

"<Go ahead. We'll be ready to help.>" He nods to the server... He doesn't look like a spy, but then again he wouldn't. "<Ye-> er, yes, thank you."

[Tavar]

Getting up, Wing casually walks over to a table just past their observer's, seemingly recognizing someone. Just when he's next to her, though, he stops, and speaks in Flametounge.
You know, if you are really curious about us you could just come over and talk to us. No need to be secretive.

[Recaiden]

She sets down the menu gives Wing a shrug. "I couldn't know such was safe to do, could I? I still don't."
The woman stands up and smiles. <"I mean there you were speaking English, two of my fellows and all you unknowns; it's rather upsetting to one's worldview, and I've been taught caution well enough to not rush into meeting you.">

[aetherialDawn]

Orchid's head shoots up when he hears the 'two'. She's either a Lunar, or one particular Infernal... Staring at her, he checks just to be sure, eyes momentarily flashing with green light from within.

Insignificant Embers Intuition. 2m to tell me what variety of creature she is... and as a little bonus, how powerful Enduring Alloyed Laurel is, exactly.
Personal: 9/16 (0 committed)
Peripheral: 23/33 (10 committed)

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus walks over. "What's your name?"

[Recaiden]

<"Laurel. Were you planning to introduce yourself?">

[Tavar]

My names Wing. Would you care to join us, then?

[aetherialDawn]

"<Hello Laurel. I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting this. You've certainly been doing well since I last saw you. Though you've changed your look, of course.>"
For a brief moment, Orchid nearly says 'how much did you hear' - but that would be a horrible thing to say to an Infernal assassin, and at the moment that's the limit of his knowledge of what Laurel is like. Especially the fact that she's clearly a predator to his feeling - not a good sign. Silence will do, for now.

Melodies, this is Laurel, or so she says. As you saw, she's an Infernal, definitely. I want you to watch her. She knows English too.

More privately still, Orchid thinks to himself (rather grumpily) Somehow, I will find a way to set up telepathy, because clearly English is not secret enough.

[Recaiden]

Laurel smiles and nods. <Yes, that would be nice. Thank you.> She'll return with them to the table if they go, or elsewhere.
<It's good to see you again too, Orchid. Even if you've clearly had no luck destroying the city of gem either.>

[Tavar]

How did you learn English? And what do you mean, destroy Gem?

At this last part, wing looks at Orchid. This news seemed at odd with the face the man seemed to present, but it wasn't impossible that he was just trying to play the group for fools.

[aetherialDawn]

"<Well, ruling it would be fine too. It's a big city, anyway, blowing it up would be problematic - I don't exactly have Soulbreaker Orbs lying around. Perhaps we can discuss that more later.>"
Orchid speaks a little slowly at first... As he's partly stalling to think of what to do - all that he really knows about Laurel is that she's favored the Ebon Dragon, and that she may have heard far, far too much of what they said...
"<On another topic, though, which I'm rather curious about... How did you get to know English? An Earthling as well, or did you manage to learn it?>"
...Well, communication is the name of the game, right now. He now has much better wording than 'how much did you hear' at least.
"<Oh! And how rude of me - How much more do you still need to be told?>"

[Drascin]

Drake was about to answer Orchid's suggestions - who knows in which direction - when the conversation got to the spy, and then Wing went there and questioned... and the spy got revealed as annother Infernal. A more loyalist one, from the looks of it. And she understands English, so she heard everything.

Sh*t.

Drake decides to say nothing, and merely observe. This is looking grim. Half of his brain is telling him he's probably going to be assassinated before he can bring the info back home, the other half is paying absolute attention to the conversation for any valuable clues...

[Recaiden]

<I learned from my family, being, as dear Orchid says, an earthling. Now, 'destroy' is a pretty obvious word, isn't it?>
Laurel takes a seat at the table and smiles.
<Later, yes, Orchid. I need to be told who you all are, and what you're doing here.> The Scourge seems very much calm and open. She's looking happily and with interest around at the group, looks perhaps lingering on Amelia and Drake. They are of particular interest.

[aetherialDawn]

"<Well. I almost wonder; do Exaltations seek out Earthlings, or is there just something about us that makes us good candidates? Obviously, I am Orchid. I rather like Gem unexploded, and someday I will find out about your history on Earth, since it sounds interesting.>" He leans back, having scooted aside to offer more room. It's nice to see the two groups he'd like to consider himself a part of, not exploding upon contact yet.

[LauWren]

"<Hi, I'm Amelia,>" she says in response to the look. Eh, might as well ask... "<And if you don't mind my asking, have you run into any Earthlings who don't speak English here?>"

[Tavar]

Or something else is at work. Once is coincidence, twice is a pattern. Seven times? That's a conspiracy. And destroy itself is easy enough, but the context is...more complicated. Do you mean destroy as in raze it to the ground, or more figurative, as in destorying it's power, so it can be conquered, or something else entirely?

In the beginning, Wing seems carefree, almost as if just joking with old friends. But when he addresses this new player, he becomes much more hostile. Almost snarling the last part.

[Recaiden]

<"Thank you ... Amelia. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm afraid I have not found any others at all, in fact. Regrettable that I cannot be of more help to you."> Laurel looks truly chagrined, and gives a helpless shrug before adjusting the flowing sleeves of her shirt.

<"Perhaps we could speak more later, Orchid. It would be good to get to know each other, as fellows."> Her tone implies much doubt in the 'perhaps', but her look is playful and un-serious.

<"By destroy, I mean at least break the peace over. Ideally, it would then be remade, new in aspect, and more useful to me. Destroyed figuratively, ending it as a place of greed and bickering factions."> And as a bastion of peace, but that can remain unsaid. Her voice with Wing remains light and happy; she bears him no ill will for anything yet done.

[aetherialDawn]

"<How odd that none of us have; at least, I have not either. Perhaps that, too, is a pattern I should investigate, though the correlation between Exaltations and Earth-memories is more immediate.>" Orchid is a little rigid in his relaxed pose. With Wing's additional tension, his relief isn't gone, but it has tightened again - not difficult, as it was always based on a powderkeg not exploding, and there are now sparks... But at least it's not gone, right? Right?
His skills of self-deception are hollow.

"<Indeed, that would be good. If we meet again - and we surely will, even in so large a city - we can perhaps arrange an appropriate time and place.>"

He doesn't respond to her final words. There is nothing he can think to say that does not turn to foolishness as he starts to say it and holds his tongue. He simply, resignedly, updates Melodies on what has been said thus far. The absolute best thing, the most wonderful, that he can imagine is for Laurel to simply walk away of her own volition.

[Leliel]

Oh crap. Scourge, maybe Slayer. Keep calm, keep calm...

"<Actually, my mission was to convert Gem, not destroy it. Why they chose me for the job when I can't speak a lick of Flametongue is any guess...>

"<Any case, Raziel, Chosen of Cecelyne, Favored of Kimbery, at your service. Just don't expect any help with demolitions. I suck at fighting.>"

Yeah, that's it, emphasize you are not a threat...

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus observes silently, wishing he'd grabbed his lance off his bike before coming in here. But, it was right outside if he should need it.

[Drascin]

As for Drake, he's still observing, having noted the gaze lingering on him - not a good sign. The Ophidian's words are a matter of thought, though... it really doesn't fit. The only way the Ebon Dragon would enjoy "ending it as a place of greed and bickering factions" is by turning it into an open conflict zone. He loves misery more than victory, from everything Drake has read.

In any case, Drake has some ideas on the Exaltation/Earthling correspondence thing, but he'll wait until this woman is a good hundred meters away before saying anything.

[Recaiden]

Laurel raises her eyebrows in mock curiosity. <"Pleased to meet you Raziel. They probably mean to teach you some lesson about a message transcending barriers or perseverance or something.">

Wing gets an encouraging smile, urging him (daring him?) to answer as she stands up from the table, intending to leave.

[Tavar]

I'll keep that in mind. If you're leaving, well, I'm sure that we'll run into you again. In the mean time, may the gods look upon your works.

There's a bit of narrowness to his eyes, but otherwise he manages to sounds somewhat playful.

[aetherialDawn]

"<Do have a nice evening, Laurel. Keep in touch, I'm sure I wouldn't want to lose track of you. After all, there are so few of us Earthlings - or, so I thought. We might as well stick together.>"
Orchid's glare is nonexistent, but he's starting to be fairly sure that it's the same Laurel from his welcoming. Certainly just as quietly hateful, though she's being friendly this time, so there's no need to be rude back.


(Internal Dialogue)
I feel that I ought to inform you, in a sort of calm and collected way, that I have renewed my semi-secret hatred for Laurel.

Funny, she doesn't bother me that much.

You are safely inside my head, and so probably haven't had to deal with the stress of worrying about a probably-more-extreme-than-I Scourge who has a high chance of being soulbound by her Urge to ruin the city I wish to use even as you watched her with appropriate paranoia.

So find another city. Earthlings or not, I'm not sure you can trust an agent of Yu-Shan, and working with a Dragonblood will bring you little except opportunities for Torment. And as you ought to know, the best way to deal with Adorjan and her favored is to stay out of their way.

I was assigned to-

Assignments can be changed. If you're so worried about change, I'm sure that Raziel wouldn't mind coming with you. And Amelia. Melodies has a slightly uncertain tone on the last two mental words, as he always has when discussing Amelia.

I'm afraid that, even admitting my previous argument flawed, Gem is still supremely useful as a base. Adopting your rather distant view, it is rich, it has a great variety of magical materials, and in fact the infrastructure for Orichalcum on top of that, and it allows rapid societal movement without upturning and thus weakening the ordered society that I plan to use.

Very well. But always remember that while you might be able to beat my reasoning *in debate*, that doesn't make your reasoning *right*. Consider it.

Of course. How could I refuse my shoulder demon?

Please don't call me that.

Fine, I'll stop for now.

[Leliel]

Surprisingly, neither Nuitan nor Corona particularly urge Raziel to respond, and he takes their prerogative.

OK, not that surprising that they actually can guess this is not a woman you want to talk back to, but that they agree on something.

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus doesn't look up at her as she gets ready to leave, keeping his voice low but carrying an air of authority. "<Sit down.>"

[Recaiden]

"Whatever for, dear? The conversation is nice but I do have place to be, you know?" She turns to look at Pyrus before speaking. Even he deserves a little respect. Or rather, doesn't, but gets it anyway.

[LauWren]

Amelia sighs and takes another slice of the pizza, hoping to get in a little more food before someone starts a fight. As she chews, she wonders about trying to find any significant difference in how foreign Earth languages sound versus the ones from here. Granted, Japanese and Chinese might be a loss at this point unless someone starts discussing one of the three animes she'd recognize, but French or German should be easy enough to locate if she's listening for them...

[Rhyvurg]

"<Our position in this world is...tenuous, we do not know enough about our circumstances and situation. So, for the time being, you and yours will leave us alone, or bad things will happen to you. I know as a Dragonblood I'm supposedly not equal to whatever the rest of you are, but back home I was not a person to be trifled with. Staff Sergeant Alexander, United States Marine Corps, retired. Gem is ours, you will stay out. Or I'll give you a war like you won't believe.>"

[Recaiden]

Laurel looks at Pyrus just long enough for the silence to get a bit awkward before bursting into sudden peals of laughter.
"That's funny. Tell me your name, Dragonblood."
She sits back down and reaches to take a slice of Pyrus's pizza.
"Believe me, I don't intend to trifle."

[Rhyvurg]

"Chathak Pyrus. Remember what I told you, just leave us in peace, and we'll all get along just fine."

[Recaiden]

"I came in peace, and I was threatened. All that follows is on your head."
With her pizza in hand, she stands a second time and begins walking away.

[Tavar]

You came in peace? No, you did not. You told us your goal is to destroy this place, a place we are going to protect. Moreover, you spied on us. Not too successfully, but you did. Hardly an inoffensive action.

[Recaiden]

<"Yes. The place is to fall peacefully, and sight is no attack. Offense, I do apologize for, but it was needed."> She gives the group a wave goodbye.

[Tavar]

Wing opens his mouth to reply, but stops, thinking for a second before replying.Then I accept your apology, at least as it applies to me, and offer one myself. I have been hasty in my judgement.

[aetherialDawn]

"<I'm glad that everything worked out.>"
In truth, Orchid isn't certain he believes that. But at least there's real disengagement, which is absolutely wonderful from his point of view.
"<Have a good day, Laurel. Do try to warn us next time you want to drop in, now that we know each other a bit, alright?>"

[Recaiden]

"Thank you, Wing." Laurel smiles and turns away.
<"Perhaps, Orchid. The best people are as free and unfettered as the wind.">
Then she is heading out the door, wondering how to find one Chathak Pyrus when she needs to.

[Drascin]

Drake waits until she is well out of earshot before saying anything.

He then sighs.

"<Well, that could have gone better>"

[Tavar]

Wing lightly pats Drake on the back.
Cheer up. It could have gone much, much worse. But I guess the operative question is, now what?

[Leliel]

<"...Request that we are transferred and never look back?">

<"No...actually, that would leave the cult behind...">

[Tavar]

Just because someone else is at cross purposes to you, doesn't mean you have to let them walk all over you. Just means you should account for them in any plan you make.

[aetherialDawn]

Go ahead...

What?

Laurel just left a wide open silence. Fill it, or else your plans are going to waste away already!

"<Laurel is probably not lying that she prefers being free as the wind, but I'm fairly certain she's Ophidian - so she takes indirect orders from the Ebon Dragon. She probably won't focus on us - or on anything in particular - but I can try to keep her pointed away from us, so we shouldn't let her stop whatever we decide. I think that we probably have some more to discuss, after that, but this place apparently isn't private enough.>"

[Rhyvurg]

"<I don't care what she is. If she tries to make good on her threats, I'll make good on mine. On the Isle, they teach us about the Perfected Lotus. How us Dragonbloods can learn to move from the root to the bulb of the metaphorical flower, the level of skill of you Celestials. And that's just what I did. We might really be weaker in Essence, but celestial martial arts can level that playing field.>"

[LauWren]

Amelia says to Orchid, "<To solve that, someone's going to have to define 'enough'.>" She checks around, realizes there are people everywhere and gives up, then adds a little more quietly, "<Also, unless Laurel ducked back into the kitchen, for some baffling reason--a possibility--someone else probably speaks English, and was close enough when we ordered to relay and describe. And if it is our waiter, then either the guy doesn't want anyone to know that he speaks English, or took the excuse not to play spy on us.>"

[aetherialDawn]

"<I could check everyone here for Essence if you want to look for an Exalted... Or someone could poke their head in the kitchen and ask. The latter should probably go first, actually, and I'm inclined to think that the former isn't going to turn up much... I don't think I can detect 'Earth Essence' if there is a difference.>"

[Tavar]

It seemed to me that she had been tracking us before hand. She was interrogating our server, but she wasn't able to get any decent answers out of her, cause she couldn't speak the language. That's why she came out.

[Drascin]

"<Well, personally, I'm mostly worried she'll try to gank me. I don't think she liked my working for Heaven and knowing about you guys. But I guess mortal danger comes with the job. If you don't see me in three days, assume I got "dissappeared">" Drake says, sighing again. He seems a bit scared, but determined.


"<I don't care what she is. If she tries to make good on her threats, I'll make good on mine. On the Isle, they teach us about the Perfected Lotus. How us Dragonbloods can learn to move from the root to the bulb of the metaphorical flower, the level of skill of you Celestials. And that's just what I did. We might really be weaker in Essence, but celestial martial arts can level that playing field.>"

"<Well, we Sidereals know of a third level of the Lotus, which would be that flower... but trying to learn it too soon apparently makes people explode, very much not in a metaphorical sense, so let's just say I'm not too hasty about it all>" Drake smiles, ironic.

"<But, talking about Martial Arts - I'm no fighter, but I know a couple tricks, myself. I've been learning a Guardian style, so maybe we should perform the atuning ceremony together if you don't mind. It's really a pretty simple set of katas, and it would give us a little edge - mostly, while I'm set as your Guardian, I'd know if any of you were attacked, so it'd be harder for this Laurel to gank us one by one without anyone knowing. Plus it helps give some mental clarity - I've always taken it as a bit of a statement of how Sids are supposed to be that the whole thing gives many perks to the guarded people, and few to the guardian himself>" the Sidereal chuckles a bit.

Of course, Drake is not using the term the current sifus use ("shadow fingers") because, well, not only would that sound horrible to the others, but as far as he's learned the style, he's correct, too. Fate's Guardian Style is a style custom-built for teamwork and organizing, and it speaks entirely too much of current Sidereal arrogance and paranoia that they would try to term those helped by it as dupes of all things.

[Leliel]

"<Teach us how to fight, in other words?>"

<"Sure, anything to survive. Besides, I'm kind of useless in a battle right now, and I hate being 'the load'.">

[aetherialDawn]

It takes Orchid a little agonizing, but when Raziel makes his decision, he becomes more sure.
"<I think I will have to opt out of this. I can fight in my own ways, and more importantly, I do have a charm which might cause serious problems if I became directly linked to a Sidereal that way. We can test it later, perhaps.>"
Besides, someone should stay separate just in case. Sparrow appears to be a wise adviser instead of a cunning backstabber, but caution is hardly ever out of place. It's not as though he can't join later on, if it's safe and has no problems with compatibility.

[Tavar]

That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Of course, we'll need some place to actually do the ritual, in that case.

[LauWren]

"<Sounds good to me.>"

[Rhyvurg]

"We can use my townhouse."

[Leliel]

Raziel chuckled darkly at that.

<"Heh. Guess I'm okay with that. You can use my spot.">

"<I mean, there's already a hobo living there. Don't want it worse than it already is.>"

[Drascin]

Drake nods. "<Sounds good. I sure don't have much in the way of house as Sparrow - the wandering bard role calls for a lack of housing, you know how it is. We'll just say you hired me for a couple performances>" he says, agreeing. "<Hell, if you actually ever need a performer for a party or something I can make you a bargain, even!>" he chuckles, winking, recovering his good mood a bit. "<I can't exactly play Stairway to Heaven without an electric guitar, though, sadly - at least not without feeling I'm commiting heresy - but I'm sure we could find something>"

"<And now if you'll excuse me,>" he adds, smiling and leaning over his plate again, "<I'm going to tackle this before it goes cold. I haven't actually eaten today, and I'm hungry as ****>"

[aetherialDawn]

"<If we're all okay with what Sparrow's suggested, then I'd still like to tag along. I won't interrupt, I'll just try and imagine an electric guitar design until I know enough to start the real planning, perhaps? All after you're done eating, of course. No rush just yet.>"

[Leliel]

"<All right.>"

A decent meal...thank Cecelyne.

[Recaiden]

The meal is decent, and probably couldn't be called better than that. Not good, not bad, just decent.


Orchid does know that he'd need electricity for that guitar too, right? :smalltongue:

[Tavar]

Well, whenever you're ready to go, then. I guess We'll all follow Pyrus.

[Recaiden]

The waiter comes by to leave the bill - a bit higher than might be expected, with all the special orders, but not bad - and wishes the group a good day. The breakfast crowd is starting to filter out of the restaurant by now, and darkness has fully fallen outside.

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus just passes the waiter his letter of credit from the Despot's back, he doesn't even look at the check.

[Leliel]

Raziel, however, does.

Great...even more jade I owe Pyrus...

...Or is it Sergeant? Whatever. We're in this together, actually trained military personnel or not.

[LauWren]

"So...I'm ready whenever you are. <And Raziel, unless you request otherwise I think I'm only going to translate important stuff. That work?>"

[Leliel]

"So...I'm ready whenever you are. <And Raziel, unless you request otherwise I think I'm only going to translate important stuff. That work?>"


"<Sure. Thanks.>"

[Recaiden]

The despot's money is certainly good.
The waiter takes the letter and clears away the empty dishes.
"Do come again." he comments, even if they do order strange things.

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus leads the group to his townhouse, and assuming they arrive unmolested, shoos his servants out. "You have the afternoon off, go find some prostitutes, my treat."

[Drascin]

As for Sparrow, he follows with a merry step, not having a trouble with letting Pyrus pay and humming a tune (that the Earthlings might recognize (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmCCQxVBfyM)) under his breath. Really, if you saw him now, you'd never suspect he's anything other than a bohemian performer and a really big fool.

When they arrive, he waits by, looking around the Pyrus Estate (and inwardly mapping the place n case someday he needs to hightail it out), as the Dragonblooded dismisses all the servants and everyone regroups.

[aetherialDawn]

"Interesting way to send them off."
Orchid doesn't particularly add more. He's here to see a Sidereal ritual, for now, and maybe learn something about his new potential companions. His mind is occupied more with that, and the occasional distraction in imagining a magical electric guitar. He really will have to build one, just so he can stop thinking about it...

[Recaiden]

The Exalted work in mysterious ways. The wise do not question them, and the servants scurry off, out of the property, over the next few minutes.
Except for the cook, who does not seem to be present. Perhaps he's in some far corner of the Estate, or has left on some errand.

[Rhyvurg]

"<My common sense is tingling, we need to confirm the cook's whereabouts and activities before we discuss anything sensitive.>"

[aetherialDawn]

"<Think he's been working on the side at the restaurant we happened to go to? Or just a conspicuous absence? I don't exactly know your servants by heart just yet.>"
Not that knowing who serves under a Terrestrial wouldn't be useful. Perhaps he will memorize some of those servants, get some eyes and ears on the member of his party who seems least stable... And with his resources and leadership, too important to allow such instability in.


(Internal Dialogue)
The cook appears to be missing. Pyrus is worried about it. Keep an eye out, Melodies, would you?

Obviously. Does that come before or after looking for any... leverage?

Assassins with butcher's knives who might know too much.

Before, then?

I don't think I'll need to blackmail Pyrus, just keep an eye on him.

You say this, and yet if you would simply accept a little more responsibility for intrigue I'm sure your situation in Malfeas would be easier.

I don't have any problem with being in Gem, so I'll stick to intrigue when it's fun or useful, thanks. I don't like the subterfuge for its own sake, and even if some of us aren't on the same side, we're all facing the same way.

Clearly you will suit yourself. Still, think about it... in light of Laurel, if nothing else.

...You say that the Primordials didn't know about me when they sent you?

Even if I was only the judge, Exaltations seek out their matches, Orchid... And you might want to think about that, too, when you work with the new Lunar and the twice-Usurpers.

Yet, we know full well there are some stronger bonds. Family, in Amelia. I am sure that salvation for the world, as well, is a cause few would refuse if they could only understand. And I think they can.

That trust will do, but it remains my job to watch out for you.

And I would never refuse that, my little shoulder demon.

[Tavar]

So...where does he live? And where else might he be? I hardly know where your servants go, either.

[Drascin]

"<I might be able to help with that. What is this cook's name, again?>"

[Rhyvurg]

"Jing-Se, he's from the Lap, I picked him up on my way south. I knew he was a great cook the moment I saw him, people who have bad taste in food don't get that fat." He sticks his head out the door and calls after the departing servants. "Hey! Has anyone seen Jing-Se recently?"

[Drascin]

"<Alrighty, then, I can work with that. Can't promise results, but it's worth a try. Excuse me for a second - hope you'll understand, but after this Laurel thing I'm kind of on edge about people spying on us. I'm not supposed to let anyone see any tricks of mine, and while I trust you guys to not blab, I can't say the same for anyone watching...>"

So Sparrow steps into the closest shadow, gives a quick check to any possible hiding places, and then crosses his arm in front of him facing the wall. And from his sleeve, a little green spider skitters onto the back of his hand. Drake smiles. In his opinion, this is one of the perks of the job - he rather likes the Pattern Spiders, and being able to trot around a chibi facsimile is great. Plus, of course, it's cute as a button.

Still, to business. He thinks for a moment, then lowers his head and mutters to it in Old Realm "Query: What is the current precise location of the being who works at this palace and goes by the name Jing-Se?" The question is carefully worded so that the facsimile spider will have the least trouble - asking for current location, double identification, and worded in such a way that even if Jing-Se isn't his real birth name but an alias (not unusual in Gem), the search of the unintelligent construct should still bring up some pings through the Loom association with all the people who called him by that name. It's really not unlike a different kind of Google-fu, Drake thinks, amused.

Then the spider skitters off through the threads of fate back to the loom, dissappearing into thin air.

Using Efficient Secretary Technique for 2 motes

[Leliel]

Raziel raises an eyebrow.

<"A Pattern Spider? Seriously?">

<"Yes, please ignore the two people that exist outside fate when you're summoning a steward of the Loom...">

Yes, he thinks that was an actual pattern spider.

[aetherialDawn]

"<... Well, you could always shout it out in case we're being watched and they didn't hear it clearly, Raziel.>"
Orchid shrugs apologetically to Sparrow.
"<I didn't see it, if it makes you feel better.>"


(Short Internal Dialogue)
It was a pattern spider, or so Raziel says.

Be careful about how you move in and out of Fate, then... You don't want him to realize how that works, so the less information he can grasp, the better.

I'm not sure it would work if he tells the Pattern Spiders, the charm might fail, too.

An extra reason, then.

[Recaiden]

A departing maid pauses and steps back towards the estate. "Yes, sir; he was in the kitchen working on a new soup recipe. What's the problem?"

[Drascin]

Drake's expression goes into a frown for a moment when the spider returns and skitters up his sleeve again, before turning back to the others, back to a calm face - can't break character in front of the maid.

"<Point the first, Raziel, I'm not irresponsible enough to doom someone, somewhere, to a horrible nonsense death, which is what would happen if I took a spider off the Loom. And second, Pyrus, sorry, but apparently your cook is... dead. He's down in the cellar>"

[Rhyvurg]

"Nothing, go away now."

[Recaiden]

The servants do as they're told and head off.

[Rhyvurg]

"Well, let's see if we can figure out how he died, and if this is something we should be concerned about." He heads for the cellar, dire lance in hand.

[Recaiden]

The cellar is deserted but for a single figure, too still, in the far corner. On closer inspection, it would seem to be a basalt statue of the cook, perfectly carved, as he reached out to take a jar from a shelf.
But with the spider's information, it clearly once was the cook. Poor Jing-Se.

[aetherialDawn]

Orchid doesn't comment otherwise, not yet, since Pyrus hasn't asked and it is his house... but... after a brief time combing his memories, he does come up with something the dragon-blooded does deserve to know.
He coughs politely. "Basalt, uh, <Basalt is associated with Scourges. Like Laurel.>"

[Rhyvurg]

"Of course it is. I'll give her points for punctuality at least. We should check around, see if whoever did this is still here."

[Leliel]

"<You also may want to consider my application for reassignment. I don't know about you, but ever since I was sent here, I've been getting this general sense of doom pervading Gem. As if Samsara itself-yes, I know about that Drake, you can't talk about Sachaverell without it entering the conversation-has decided the city is an eyesore. Yes, I know it's cowardly and selfish, but seriously, Scourges are even more homicidal then the Silent Wind herself. At least she avoids killing some people.>"