A Dream of Quiet (IC)

[Rhyvurg]

Pyrus heads into his lounge. "So, where are the others?"

[Leliel]

"Uh....

Here. Including Masque.

...is that what you meant? Sorry, I can be a bit unclear on meanings at times."

[Recaiden]

"If you perhaps mean the other deathknights, well, Walking on Laughter is down in the necropolis and the Lion's others are working on the fleet or being reincarnated. Across the world though, we've suffered some really embarrassing failures, so don't expect to see too many of us."

"Thank you Raziel. I can't say that I know anything of them though. If your servant here is right that it is connected to Heaven, that would be ...bad."

"I had planned to go back into the Underworld to slow and stop the Lion's attempts."

The cook emerges from the kitchen and sets a covered platter before Shadow Dancer, then retires from the room with a bow.

[Leliel]

"Thanks. After the hell we went through, we need all the help we can get.

We'll talk of the Underworld during the meal."

[Scarlet Dragon]

Dancer uncovers the platter before him and spends a moment taking in the wondrous scent before deciding what part he should eat first.

[Recaiden]

And if a table suddenly comes up with all seated around it as food is brought out for the others, that's just to be expected.

The food, to the newcomer, probably looks pretty strange. There's bread and all manner of odd things like that. Stew, and spine lettuce leaves, generous amounts of meat covered in some of the milder peppers of the region, a small portion of rice.

Masque glances at the food distastefully. "Shall we begin then? There is much to tell of the New World, but little I'm sure would be useful."
"But maybe background will help. It now mirrors Creation in Form and the Foundation/Hollow/Absorption/Origin<she struggles to find a proper Flametongue word here, and fails> in structure. Its principal architect was He Who Holds in Thrall, first of the Neverborn."
"It was created somewhat different from how it is now. But then it became filled with mortal ghosts, who sought to reshape it in Creation's image. They built a Sun and a Moon and Stars and a flow of time and cities and artifice."
"It has three forces in it. The Dead, mainly, wish to relive their lives, care for their descendants, and build a world. The Deathlords wish to relive their lives, rule the universe with an iron fist, and take their revenge upon the living, but they have made a terrible deal. They get the power to do so, but they must end the world. The Neverborn, mainly, wish for an end to all things, but they are so few and so alien that they are most varied. There are times when they recall the glories of Creation and wish to preserve it, or work secretly to aid their living siblings in hell, or dream of Lethe instead of Oblivion. And, if you believe the whispers of the Maw and the Spectres, there is the Void itself, the End beyond all things."
"Ask more, and I will tell what I can."

[Leliel]

Sometimes they would find it to preserve Creation, hm?

That was interesting. That was really interesting. It seemed they weren't completely mindless forces.

But for the more pertinent question:

"The Deathlords. I know of the Lion, the Bodishattva, the Dowager, and the Lover, but I know there are others. Who are the ones you know?"

[Drascin]

In the meantime, Drake is mostly listening carefully. He has one more idea for something they should do, but he's saving that one for after Masque is gone. Being on team Neverborn probably won't make her entirely sympathetic to people stockpiling anti-ghost and anti-shadowland supplies. He's also wondering about the other Abyssal.

The bit on the Neverborn is interesting, though.

"Dream of Lethe? What little I've read of them pointed to very reason the Neverborn wished for Oblivion being precisely that they were too grand to... well, for lack of a better word, "fit" into Lethe. Like trying to get a camel through a cat door. I guess the books dealing on world-sized eldritch creatures from before time were not entirely exact. Big surprise, I suppose" he comments.

"A more important question, though, is... how do you think other Deathlords will react to the Lion's bid for Gem? From what you've told us, he's already pretty much the biggest guy in the Underworld. If he also gets a great position in Creation like this one, within a few years he's going to have access to enough resources and advantages to get their collective balls in a serious vise. I don't know them, but most mortal kings definitely would not take to such a thing lightly"

[Recaiden]

"They are thirteen in number. Apart from the ones you know:
The Silver Prince, lord of Skullstone. He's actually promoting some ancestor cult he calls the New Order, but we have no idea what he's hiding with it."
"The Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible, the most devout man you will ever find, living or dead. He appears throughout the north, spreading knowledge of the end in the form of a harmless old man."
"Crown of Apostasy, who vies with the Bishop for the philosophy of the north and has a stronger ability for prophecy than any in the New World."
"Eye and Seven Despairs, the only Deathlord not to be killed in the Usurpation. He is almost a mortwhight, a pathetic, broken creature that is no thrreat to the world."
"I think you also know of the Mask of Winters? You have heard of the fall of Thorns, have you not?"
"The Princess Magnificent with Lips of Coral and Robes of Black Feathers; a coward through and through, she has but one deathknight, and has been enslaved to the Lion for her past failures."
"There is Mirror Armoured Crecelle, probably the greatest artificer in the Underworld. Turns most of her energy against the Raksha."
"There is one called the Walker in Darkness, who I know little of, and there are two others."

The Deathknight nods to Drake. "No, they were believed unable to pass through Lethe, but it is not necessarily impossible."
"They will not wish him to succeed, as you say. But...The Lover will not intervene; it is against her beliefs, and she has her hands full defending herself.
Eye and Seven Despairs is a frequent ally of the Lion and a madman besides, he will stand aside.
The Crecelle hates the Lion deeply over the fae. She will do something to interfere. Princess Magnificent will likely do the same if she can, but she has few ways to act.
The Prince might act; he is a mystery, and his Neverborn, the Principle, is the most secretive. But if he has a scheme, I expect he would unfurl it just after the Lion's bid. The Dowager is the Lion's principal rival, but her sole deathknight (she only ever keeps one, and it's always a little kid called Shoat of the Mire) just got killed and she doesn't exactly get out much to acquire allies or servants. Her acts are devastating but glacially slow; she may not be able to ready anything to stop him.
The Mask of Winters won't let him succeed if he can prevent it, which he probably can. The Bishop and the Crown and the Walker...they could do anything."

[Tavar]

"So, essentially they either can't or won't act. Not good, but at least they aren't actively helping each other. Are there any soft targets of the Lions that we could hit, or is it pretty much just his fortress and army at this point?"

[Recaiden]

"The Princess is a less hard target, and I could guarantee that it would divert him from Gem if something were to happen to her. She is not always behind Merciles's defenses."
"Then there is the secret Maelstrom construction site. Also not the easiest target, but not a hundred thousand ghostly soldiers either. If one could destroy the ship in construction, or, say, get the flight systems operational, I think you can imagine the ruin of his plans."
Everything else is within Merciless."

[Leliel]

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about more Deathlords then we already have-the Silver Prince, from what I've read, is the Bodhisattva after reinventing himself for his Great Big Undead Second Coming."

Out of sight of the others, however, he whispers something in Old Realm.

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"Beheris, did you get those names?"

"On it, sir. I'll research them as soon as we get back to base."

[Tavar]

"So, either a Deathlord or storming a secret base. I think the latter holds more promise, personally."

[Drascin]

"Among other things because if we do manage to do that, we might be able to keep the Maelstrom, which if it's as powerful as you imply, might be of help with, you know, dissuading the whole hundreds of thousands of ghostly soldiers marching on us thing" Drake points out.

"<You know, when I said I really could do with a destroyer I didn't actually expect an actual destroyer ship to figure in this>" he chuckles half to himself in English.

[Recaiden]

"Really? I suppose it fits in, doesn't it? He certainly made the 'silver' thing sound more literal in the books."

[COLOR="DimGray)"]"I agree it would probably be the best diversion; left to her own devices the Princess might even do something that helps us and we wouldn't want to antagonize a potential ally, no matter what they are, would we?"

"The place is warded against teleportation, but we could surely enter the Underworld very close by. We'll probably need a few more people to fly the thing than are in this room."[/COLOR]

[Tavar]

"There might just be a way to get that: Laurel. Though, I am hesitant: the enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy, nothing more."

[Drascin]

"Plus, do we seriously want to put someone with Laurel's casual attitudes towards killing anywhere near the controls of what is likely to be the ship with the most gun to exist in Creation since the First Age? Because I'm seeing how the collateral for that could get real messy.

Perhaps spirit help? Raziel can summon demons, and otherwise there are always summoned elementals"

[Leliel]

"Indeed. I'd like to keep the uncontrollable psychopath away from something dangerous, thanks."

[Recaiden]

"As you think they should be brought in, or not. I can supply, most likely, zombies and minor undead for any brute work, but they lack any understanding and by all accounts it's a very complex machine."

[Tavar]

"If we want to wait, I might be able to bring in some of the Silver Pact, though doing so might require favors or the like. Otherwise, we're only left with mortal men and women and those options we've said before."

[Leliel]

"We should probably get some help ASAP though, just so we aren't unprepared.

"Which means..zombies. Joy.

"I'll summon some demons first thing. Probably an erymanthus or two, maybe a tomescu. Though if it's complex devices, maybe a naneke..."

[Recaiden]

At a pause after Raziel speaks, the chef will come by and ask (of Shadow Dancer) how he finds the meal (in Silent Crescent-speak which might well be lost in the confusion of languages involved here).

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"I would wait not too long. The Lion has had the advantage of time and planning. We need to keep him off guard."

[Scarlet Dragon]

Shadow Dancer ears momentarily rise in surprise and he responds in Silent Crescent as well "It was delicious my compliments to the chef. I must say I am surprised that you know my native tongue, I hadn't thought to meet anyone here who could speak it." A tinge of sadness colors his voice. "It's good to hear it so far from home."

[Tavar]

"Well, I'm pretty much ready to go whenever the others are. I assume a day or so to prepare, and then we head into the Underworld?

Pyrus, you have any suggestions?"

[Drascin]

"So we're leaving the whole investigation on Saigoth thing for other time, then?

Still, I should probably poke some people to keep an eye sharp while we're gone, then. Shouldn't take more than a day or two."

[Leliel]

"So we're leaving the whole investigation on Saigoth thing for other time, then?

Still, I should probably poke some people to keep an eye sharp while we're gone, then. Shouldn't take more than a day or two."

"If you don't mind, I'll stay up here to coordinate the demons.

My kind...doesn't agree with the Underworld. And since I can't respire motes down there anyway..."

[Recaiden]

"What better way to learn about the Underworld than in person, now? Besides, don't you think we'll need you?"

"Ah, I had not thought to hear it spoken since coming hear either. What has brought you so far East?" The chef speaks it, he can tell, with an accent(one near enough to the area, though I doubt Dancer knows it well enough to tell exactly where.)

[Leliel]

"What better way to learn about the Underworld than in person, now? Besides, don't you think we'll need you?"

"I'm not saying that wouldn't be the case, but I need to tend to the cult after leaving it behind so long anyway."

[Tavar]

"And you Don't want to make sure the cult is still alive? Remember that out of all of us, only Masque is really at full capacity in the Underworld."

Wing arches an eyebrow at the Infernal's somewhat odd priorities.

[Leliel]

"And you Don't want to make sure the cult is still alive? Remember that out of all of us, only Masque is really at full capacity in the Underworld."

Wing arches an eyebrow at the Infernal's somewhat odd priorities.

"Precisely. They are my pod, and like any patriarch, my pod needs me to protect and guide them. Particularly after disappearing for a month or so."

He was apparently unaware of the cetacean metaphor he just made.

"Wait a minute, of course I do! What are you getting at!?

...Sorry, that was rude of me. I misspoke, apparently, of course I want to stay here."

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Bit of Kimbery's influence showing here.