Re: Meido (Play Thread)

[LightOfDawn]

A similar mark but yellow? That meant Flipper already knew another Sidereal. Interesting. That boded well for his ability to trust this Circle.

Shaking Flipper’s hand, Builder turned and seated himself across from the other two Exalts. “Strange events are afoot, and powerful essence-users may attempt to conquer the city soon as they spread across the East,” he said, “but I am still investigating that. Also, other Sidereals – others like me – may be here already, but they support the Dragons and will not be friendly.”

With a sigh, the young Sidereal added, “I’ve only recently arrived, though, so if you have any information of strange goings-on, I would appreciate having it. It might give me a lead.”

“In turn, I can provide you with aid. I specialize in investigation and infiltration, and-” Builder wrinkled his nose slightly- “in a pinch, perhaps assassination.”

[AlaskanWyvern]

Flipper nodded. "The Realm may be involved, but we're not sure yet. The air aspect recently - ahem - hired us to incapacitate two Realm military officers here under treaty violation. They're unconscious in the restaurant across the street. They seem to have been there at least a week, by my guess, judging by the amount of garbage in their room. They also had some letters, but I don't read Realm. If you do, perhaps you could enlighten us on what these say?"
He produced the letters from his poncho and offered them to Mouse.

[LightOfDawn]

Builder took the letters, mind already whirling. Realm military officers, here under treaty violation? THAT might have something to do with the Bronzes.

He browsed quickly through the letters with a practiced, bureaucratic eye. “Stay in Meido and keep an eye on things while waiting for further orders… some personal correspondence… not even a peep about why they’re here.” Handing the letters back, he added, “These soldiers seem to be very low-ranking.”

“Wait,” he said as he remembered one more thing that had caught his attention. “You were hired by an air aspect named Bobo? That’s not the Lookshy Immaculate’s name… are you sure we’re talking about the same person?

[AlaskanWyvern]

Flipper snorted. "Well, I was hoping the letters would be more enlightening."
When Mouse mentioned Bobo, he paused. "That confused me a little too; she didn't talk as though she were from Lookshy. We may not be. I'll point her out to you when next I see her. She didn't seem like she was acting particularly under orders; in fact, I think she might be acting without outside support entirely. She mentioned being cut off from her funds for some reason as well... So we're looking at at least three parties here, at least two of which are conflicting?"

He chuckled absentmindedly. "Come to think of it, I might not need to point her out at all, she seems rather inept, at least as spying goes."

[Ji]

"She also was alarmingly trusting of... mortals. Considering she gave us a job she as an exalt wouldn't even consider doing, without knowing we were well... stewards." said Glass, musing over the use of the word steward better. He did much prefer it to Lunar, it sounds substantially more formal, and it would be an easier word to get away with saying in public, considering how many normal people are stewards of something or another.

[LightOfDawn]

“We are not talking about the same person,” Builder said. “The air aspected Monk is male.”

The Sidereal took a moment to think. Bobo, an air aspect, hiring a couple mortals to distract several low-ranking, but nonetheless trained, Realm soldiers who were here in violation of the treaty… and doing so outside the normal chain of command for those soldiers? That suggested that she was normally a part of that chain of command, but objected to whatever it was they were there to do.

It didn’t make a lot of sense, just like Glass said. “Perhaps we should make sure she isn’t following you, then? She may not be as foolish as she seems.”

On the other hand, if she really was inept, and her superiors had wanted soldiers in the city for a reason… what might those superiors be up to? What might they be doing under cover of a festival? “Perhaps I should be at the palace ensuring the king’s safety…” Builder added, speaking half to himself. “What else would the Realm come here for?”

[eagle788]

After checking out the room, Shadow follows Flipper back to the cart. Noticing a newcomer when he steps inside, He decides that remaining outside of fate a little longer might prove useful. He stays near the door ready for any trouble that might spring up.

[AlaskanWyvern]

"I don't rightly know, aside from stamping out some assorted heresies," Flipper mused. "The Realm's hardly in a good position for conquest right now. We can check for Bobo if you'd like, though I've not seen her around recently. She seemed she might have an accomplice, though we don't know much about her yet. That's the one I might be worried about, if I had to guess."

[CodexGigas]

((Carl, roll Wits+Awareness.))

[LightOfDawn]

“I don’t plan to look for Bobo or her accomplice, but you may want to. It always helps to be sure you’re not being followed.”

OOC:

[The_GM]

The member 'LightOfDawn' has done the following action : Dice roll

'd10' :

[AlaskanWyvern]

((Thank heavens for essence 4.))

"Then we sure can once we've finished here. I want to get the soldiers stowed somewhere more secure."

[The_GM]

The member 'AlaskanWyvern' has done the following action : Dice roll

'd10' :

[LightOfDawn]

Builder nodded. “Go ahead and do that. I’m going to stay in here a little longer and gather some information, if you don’t mind.”

Without further ado, a small emerald-green spider came scuttling out of his robes and perched on his hand, blinking tiny mechanical eyes at its Sidereal master. Builder quickly switched to Old Realm. “How large is the largest concentration of essence-users in the East, where ‘concentration’ is defined as a gathering within an area of one mile and the expected answer is a number?”

OOC:

[LightOfDawn]

When the small spider came scuttling back through the side of the wagon, fading into visibility as it did, it whispered its answer into Builder’s ear. But, the young Sidereal already had another question ready.

“Where is the largest currently-mobilized army in the East, and how large is it?”

[LightOfDawn]

Builder pursed his lips slightly when he heard the second answer, staring off into the distance as he contemplated. He might have to access the loom directly, but that would be time-consuming and risky in the extreme. So, first…

He looked back to the spider. “Check for messages.”

[LightOfDawn]

Builder’s spine straightened a little. That was good news. As long as they can’t wipe out a city that fast, we’ll stand a chance… presuming I’m still alive, of course.

He shook his head. Why did “River’s Immortals” sound so familiar? What was Builder missing?

“Query: If the term ‘River’s Immortals’ appears in my library, in what context is it used?” As he asked it, the glittering mark on his forehead coalesced into a softly-shining brand.

OOC:

[AlaskanWyvern]

"Glass, could you pull the wagon around to one of the catacomb exits near the edge of town? I'm going to take the soldiers through there, and we can get them the rest of the way out of town with the wagon until we find somewhere better to keep them."


Flipper waited in the wagon until his caste mark faded, then returned up to his room. Keeping them in his nearby manse was a theoretical option, but that would mean keeping Realm soldiers in a sensitive location, and he'd rather not do that if there was an option otherwise. Ideally, it would be best to just keep them bound and gagged somewhere they could lock the door - in other words, anywhere but the Wok. It was cheap and convenient, but not ideal for staging a kidnapping.

[LightOfDawn]

Builder pondered a little more. This meant he was probably wrong – there was probably no army – but, as with every good mystery, each answer just raised more questions.

He allowed the small green spider to scuttle back under his robe, where it would hide immaterially on his body as it always did. He didn’t need it any more right now; what he needed now was to send another message. Normally Builder tried not to do that very much, because while he could get a message through the buzz of normal prayer quite consistently, the effort was still taxing. He needed to keep enough power ready in case he encountered some other significant threat, too.

But, here the message would hopefully be worth it. Pulling out his kit and another prayer strip, he scribed another message in Old Realm.

To Shan Kou:
Hey! I’m currently in the East on assignment, and I’ve gotten a tip that I should be on the lookout for “River’s Immortals.” The sobriquet sounds familiar, but I don’t remember exactly what they are. If you know something about them, would you please drop off an explanation at my library inbox? We’ll have a couple rounds on me when I get back.

Then, closing his eyes to concentrate, he set flame to the strip and prayed. When it had burned to ash, carrying away his message to Yu-Shan, he turned his attention back to the events going on around him. Glass was moving the wagon, as Flipper had requested, and Flipper himself was nowhere to be seen.

OOC:

[The_GM]

The member 'LightOfDawn' has done the following action : Dice roll

'd10' :

[eagle788]

((dex + stealth))

[The_GM]

The member 'eagle788' has done the following action : Dice roll

'd10' :

[LightOfDawn]

Builder scratched his head and thought a little. The Realm soldiers were unconscious and didn’t know anything anyway; the “danger” to the King was nothing more than a gut hunch. Even the Immaculates didn’t appear to be part of a plot – they were just wandering around disapproving of heresy, rather than acting like they were on a mission.

The Sidereal’s only lead on possible Bronze Faction activity, really, was this Bobo character and her inept attempts at stopping a covert mission she didn’t agree with. So, Builder decided, he should go find her and see what he could learn from her. Fortunately, while Builder couldn’t exactly become a fly on the wall…

…he wouldn’t need to.

“Glass, may I have the full name of one member of your circle so that I can find you all again later if necessary?”

[eagle788]

Shadow quietly steps out behind Flipper, and follows him to the room before returning to fate.

"Hey Flipper I don't trust that guy in the cart, do you?"

[Ji]

Glass had agreed with Flipper's plan, as he roused his horses, and began a slow, unassuming gait out of town. He hoped they'd find the same exit though, especially considering how little Glass actually knew of the city's layout, having just come into town within the last twenty four hours. Either way, this was the best plan they had, and he'd do it.

"I'm not in the habit of giving strange beings too much information. I'll be in town for a while, so if we run into each other again I'm sure we'll know it. If you really need to find me, I'll normally be near this wagon, it's got... special things inside, that the immaculates might not be fond of if they randomly checked it."

[Sponsored content]