Seas of Change

[Phasm]

The Teahouse

Renata shrugs uncomfortably. It's not as if she can talk to him about the issue that's driven half her surviving crew away, people she lived and worked with and bled alongside for years. "I've been worse." She leans back in her chair, dark eyes intent on her companion. "So, were you trying to flag me down for a reason, or is this a social thing? I'm fine with it being the latter; not much else to do today until the rain lets up a bit. But if there's a job in the offing, that would be mighty nice to hear."

[Beans]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

Jin inclined his head slightly to the woman, his grin widening further. "Vocusta, huh? That sure is a mouthful. I like Vo better." He chuckled at his own cleverness, but was suddenly distracted by Kaiden emerging from belowdecks over Vo's shoulder, surrounded by his soggy field of Essence. The first time he'd found out that the Dragon-blooded would be aboard the ship, he'd only just resisted challenging the man to a fight right then and there; Dragon-blooded he may have been, but he wasn't causing anyone any harm. That didn't mean Jin had to like him, though, and he failed to stop himself from scowling as Kaiden turned back to examine the storm line. He quickly wiped the glare from his face, hoping Vo hadn't noticed. "So, what brings you out to this neck of the woods? Or the ocean, I guess?"

Vo notices a flash of something unhappy on Jin's face, but she doesn't realize just who it is who caused it. Shrugging, she adjusts her glasses. Me? Oh, just a silly little archivist away from her library, out and looking for more tidbits to scrawl down... of course, one hears things about places, and Paraida has been spoken of terribly often in a few circles to which I claim at least a little contact...

[Amaril]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

Jin raises a curious eyebrow at Vo's answer. "You know, I thought you looked like an educated type. I don't know much about this place, what's so special about it?"

[ChaosArchon]

[Aboard The Leaping Simhata]

"Schneizel" had enjoyed the rain immensely being a Water Aspect dragon-blood after all. Zeras on the other hand did... not, the entire time he thought,"How in Creation do the mortals deal with all this rain, I'll have to have my suit cleaned once we get on the island but before I meet the others at the White Lotus."

Never-the-less, the young Sidereal stuck to his cover and feigned enjoyment in being showered with the water. However on the inside he praised the Maidens once the rain had stopped and he was able to change his clothes back into his suit, although thanks to his sorcerous disguise, nobody could see his true garb.

Upon hearing the captain admonish the possibility of one of the Maidens aiding them, Zeras smirked and thought,"He couldn't be farther from the truth, nevertheless this goddess does seem to be protecting her followers. I wonder whether she sometimes rescinds this blessing in order to force the mortals to worship to her?"

Despite all the talking going around him, Schneizel merely leans over the railing and watches the sea but continues listening to all the conversations that surround him, hoping to learn something more about those he had shared the ship with. He had gotten on the Leaping Simhata a few days ago after he had exited Celestial Gate Forty-One, the Pearl Gate and chartered the ship to take him to Paradia. But since then he had only spoken a bit with the other passengers and still didn't know them too well, although he would be meeting two of them at the White Lotus later in the day.

[Beans]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

Jin raises a curious eyebrow at Vo's answer. "You know, I thought you looked like an educated type. I don't know much about this place, what's so special about it?"

Vo simply shrugs. Not entirely sure, other than what I've beard about the goddess... speaking of which, do excuse me a moment---I believe the captain can supply a few more facts.

She glides over to the captain, smiling. What you said about the goddess caught my interest---can you tell me anything else about her?

[aetherialDawn]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

Kaiden turns his head slightly, listening curiously, then curses the reflex - it wasn't going to make the captain say anything more, and might make him say less... Nothing to do for it now but be attentive, anyway. Hopefully the man was good enough not to worry; the West seemed... less intimidated by the Dragon-blooded than his home. Or perhaps it was just this ship?

[OracleofSilence]

The Teahouse

"It's been going alright, but that question probably wasn't aimed at me. I'm just in it for the company" Caida puts on his most thoroughly disarming grin as he follows the Tya woman over to the other table. "Sunabi Caida, originally of Coral, as of a roughly a week ago, of Parai. You go by Yaiven?"

[Fortuna]

The Teahouse

Yaiven nods to Caida. "That's my name, the only one I have. You could call me an entrepreneur, or if you're feeling unkind, a jumped-up scribe. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Then he turns to Renata. "No good news, I'm afraid. Just the opposite. I've been looking into that matter, as we agreed, and I'm afraid it's just not in my power for the time being. My funds just don't quite stretch far enough. I could get you a ship, barely, but I couldn't provision her; or I could get you crew and provender, but not with a ship. I'm keeping my eye out for shipwrights willing to cut deals, or for sailors who'd be willing to accept shorter pay and dubious rations to get in on the ground floor, but you know what they say - good, cheap or fast, pick any three, and I can't afford the third. Now, if nothing else, there should be a cargo in in a few months that I can take a good profit from, and I could manage it then, but for the time being..."

[Lanaya]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

She glides over to the captain, smiling. What you said about the goddess caught my interest---can you tell me anything else about her?

The captain thinks for a moment, stroking his grizzled chin, before responding. “If you’ll be staying in the city, the most important thing for you to know is that she’s got a powerful ego. Her name is The Most Glorious Parai, and shortening that to just Parai is a criminal act. You probably won’t get in real trouble for it, but if you’ve irritated her she might use an act of blasphemy as a justification to get you locked up.”

He takes a moment to race over to a few mysterious ropes and adjust them, shouting orders at his crew that might as well be in another language as far as the landlubbers on board are concerned, before continuing. “Most worship her because they’re forced to, but they’re not too upset about it. There are some true believers, though, especially after her chosen priests showed off their supernatural abilities. There’s a lot of people out there who will worship anything as long as they think it’ll give them power. Anyway, all her priests wear hoods and cloaks most of the time so you can’t see their faces. I think it’s something of religious significance, they give up their individuality to become members of the cult. Don’t call it a cult where they can hear you though.”

[Rhyvurg]

The Docks

Kel walks along the waterfront, keeping an eye out for any ship that looks at if it has been in port a long time, or has recently seen battle. Something that either is in need of a crew, or someone that might welcome a chance at some payback but could have lost their nerve.

[aetherialDawn]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

Listening to the captain, Kaiden suppresses a grin. A mystery cult with lost identity?... Probably easy to impersonate, if things come to that. An easy way to jab at Parai's generous ego. He moves up closer, and nods politely, extending his disguised shield against the rain to Jin, Vocusta, and the captain. Closer to, it has a bit of a watery chill to it... but enormously less than the pouring rain does.
"Quite fascinating, Captain. You seem to be well-informed indeed; If we're not too close to shore yet - can I ask what sort of supernatural powers are these priests supposed to hold? I'd heard whispers of a coup, but not... details, so to speak. Plenty of rumors of magical clashes, past and soon-to-come, just not much about how it happened. The tales are usually more colorful than the real thing anyway."
After a brief moment's pause, he nods also to Jin and Vo and adds, "Ah, apologies, sir and lady - I'm Kaiden. I don't think I've spoken with either of you much, despite sharing a ship. I might have asked you about a spare book to read, when I thought I'd lost mine?" He addresses the latter part to Vo specifically, and has the grace to look a little sheepish for being unsure whether he's forgotten her name or never knew it.

[Lanaya]

The captain gives Kaiden a grateful look as the shield covers him. "Now there's a useful trick. Feels a bit strange, to a common man such as myself, seeing the power of the Dragons being used like that. Not that I'm complaining. And yes, I am reasonably well-informed; it pays to learn the local customs of any port you plan on visiting, especially those that might get you imprisoned or burned at the stake. As for the priests, though, I haven't heard anything but tales either. I was a few hundred leagues north when it happened, so any rumours that reached my ears were doubtless warped by a hundred retellings."

[Amaril]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

Jin's glare returned as Kaiden introduced himself. Quickly stepping to the side, out from under the Dragon-blooded's shield against the rain, he rounded on the man. "Save the courtesy, Dragon," he growled. "I ain't your friend, and you ain't mine. Tell me, are you a noble? Any peasants you keep in a village somewhere, working their hands to the bone for you?"

[ChaosArchon]

[Aboard the Leaping Simhata]

Schneizel continued to watch the sea as their ship said towards their destination, where hopefully everything would go smoothly on his first assignment, but with Solars in the mix he doubted that heavily. Still this was an opportunity to bring them into the fold of the Gold faction, so their presence wouldn't be a total loss regardless.

As he sees no rain fall upon Kaiden he thinks,"what interesting trick indeed it seems not just gods can rebuff the rain. Perhaps Kaiden is not what he might be a first glance, a sorcerer too perhaps?" This Kaiden would hopefully prove to be an interesting side-query as Zeras tried to uncover irrefutable evidence that the goddess would found wanting of a a celestial audit.

As Schneizel continues to listen to the talk upon the deck, he hears the man whose name was Jin declare his displeasure about being in the presence of a dragon. If need be Schneizel could step in so as to prevent violence, but hopefully that will not be necessary.

[Lanaya]

The Teahouse

The door to the teahouse opens, and through it strides a group of people, very wet but nonetheless looking serene and well-composed, as though getting drenched had been their plan all along. They number eight, and each wears a simple, belted robe of some kind and sandals - recognisable to most as the clothing that marks a monk of the Immaculate Order. Once again the patrons of the teahouse gradually fall silent and begin to stare at these new arrivals, though the curiosity with which they had regarded Kel has been replaced by cold dislike mingled with traces of fear.

[aetherialDawn]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

It wouldn't do for Kaiden to show as much surprise as Virgil would, and so with the help of his false self, he doesn't - although he glances apologetically at the captain for causing a disruption, and tries to convey that there's no problem. The West is definitely not the same as back home when it comes to the Dragon-Blooded.
"I was exiled, so no. No nobility, no peasants, and as yet no home. I have myself and the things I carry." He glances at Schneizel... Having an Immaculate decide that anything important was happening here could be bad, but trying to pressure to man to stay quiet would probably have the opposite effect, if anything - and the idea of applying that sort of pressure doesn't appeal, anyway.
"As for keeping the rain off, it's not a common talent, but it's hardly sorcery. Thank you for the compliment on my skills, however, honored Peleps."
I can think of at least three other ways to do this, although one of them would be difficult to grant to others... No, it must have been just an odd way of expressing surprise, that's all.

[Aevylmar]

The Teahouse

Mnemon Varias's first feeling is a combination of happiness and irritation; happiness, because she was about to have eight monks' worth of charms and armed backup, and irritation, because she would have to deal with eight uppity Princes of the Earth trying to enforce very literal interpretations of scriptures talking about how they were much more important than she was, despite Imperial decree.

A fraction of a second later, her mind triggers. She is Saria Silverscale, not Mnemon Varias. They are hunting an Anathema; almost certainly, the armored one who just left. Though not certainly, she reminds herself. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, and they might be hunting her. Her precautions - swimming, false names, different clothes, different hair, randomly choosing which of twenty islands to visit - should've been sufficient, but you never know what clue you leave behind. A perfect crime is a result of chance, not planning. And, of course, there is a vanishingly small chance that one more Anathema is on the island, that he has a partner.

Or, she realizes, they could have arrived after he left deliberately, to arrest all of his associates before they had their master to support them. She had heard that some Anathema had such charms, though she certainly didn't.

She needs to take an action. The sensible action for her cover identity... is to react the way she's seen people do. She's seen how criminals shiver when justice walks in the door, but she wants the variant where heretics and heathens without Essence powers respond to an Immaculate's monk presence. She imitates it as best she can, magnified appropriately for the number of monks.

[OracleofSilence]

"Huh. Think they were after tall strong and golden back there?" Caida continues wringing out his cloak, and orders a pot of tea from a nearby waitress. "So, I don't mean to be rude captain, but what is your name? I didn't hear it before, and I'm running out of polite ways to refer to you."

[Fortuna]

The Teahouse

Yaiven pointedly ignores Caida's remark - the stranger seems as dangerous as he might be useful, but he bears the Immaculates no particular love either, and there's no reason to foster a conflict that might be useful later - and calmly rolls up his scroll, exchanging it for one written in Rivertongue rather than ciphertext. On the off-chance that the monks are interested in him, this one will be easier to explain. Hopefully they won't notice that despite the rain remaining in his hair, his cloak is already bone-dry.

[Lanaya]

The Teahouse

After a long moment, one of the Immaculates - a short, dark-skinned woman with a linen robe and silken belt - beckons to the hostess, who hurries over. There is a brief and quiet conversation, then the hostess leads the Immaculate group over to an empty table, where they seat themselves and begin to order refreshments.

[Phasm]

The Teahouse

"Eh, much as I expected. Thanks for trying, Yaiven." The Tya shrugs at Yaiven's statement, trying to hide her worry. She got most of Albatross' cargo off before the ship sank, but the real coin from that voyage was to come from the messages they were carrying from Azure to Gateway. She has twelve people to feed and house, and the Tya guildhouse in Paraida doesn't have much in the way of funds to lend them. "I'll figure something out."

Renata scowls at the monks' entrance. She doesn't bother to hide her disdain; Wavecrest may be a Realm satrapy, but there are plenty of Wavecrest folk who aren't happy about the arrangement. Turning back to her companions, she takes a sip of the rather nice tea that a server brought. "Ah, sorry about that. Thought you would have heard me introducing myself to Master Golden back there. Name's Renata Swiftblade, formerly of the Tya schooner Albatross." She offers a large, callused hand to Caida.

[Fortuna]

The Teahouse

Yaiven grimaces. "I'm sorry. I'll keep working on it. I have a few things in mind that I can try still. And in the meantime, I can offer you a retainer."

[Beans]

Vo steps up next to Jin, looking up at him and face obscured by her hood from those not looking her in the eyes, mouths 'calm down'. She's not at all comfortable with the idea of getting caught up in a fight like this.

[Aevylmar]

The Immaculates aren't looking for a fight? Good. Still, they might be saying something useful; this far west, everyone speaks Seatongue, or, if priests, Old Realm instead of the more common languages of the Blessed Isle. They might get sloppy, and assume that they could discuss important matters without anyone being able to understand.

She hunches closer to the warmth of her teacup, incidentally turning her ear towards the monks, and listens, tuning out the background noises to focus clearly on the words of the monks.

Spoiler

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Rolling Perception+Awareness, spending two personal on the first excellency and getting them back with a 1-die stunt.

(9d10)[6][2][10][10][10][6][5][8][1](58)

[Lanaya]

The Teahouse

Gradually everyone in the building relaxes as it becomes apparent that the Immaculates aren't here to stir up trouble. There are still occasional suspicious glances thrown at them from all corners of the teahouse, which is a strange sight indeed for those who are accustomed to regions more loyal to the Realm and its religion, but otherwise things settle down. The monks themselves appear to be enjoying themselves, reclining in comfortable chairs and chatting to one another, totally oblivious to the Anathema presence in this very room. After serving them, a blue-haired lad with heavily tanned skin and a cheerful smile walks over to Renata. "Sorry to interrupt, but the monks over there wanted to talk with you about something. They said your friends can come too," he adds, gesturing at Yaiven and Caida.

Spoiler: Eavesdropping

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The Immaculates are speaking in Seatongue. Anyone who got 2 successes to eavesdrop will hear this:

Spoiler

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in golden armour - of the Anathema? - quite good tea - voyage over was - should talk to - this uppity god - the Tya woman?

Anyone with 3 or more will hear this (paraphrased, because eight people conversing amongst themselves is far too much for me to type out in full):

Spoiler

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Initially, the group is discussing the man in golden armour who was present earlier. It's implied that they deliberately entered after he left. They aren't sure what he is, but consider it sufficiently unlikely that anyone other than the Solar Anathema would wear that armour and bear that daiklave that it's worth the slim risk of accidentally attacking an innocent. They're enjoying the tea and the warmth, although one mentions that these Western barbarians are ruining the atmosphere with their suspicious glances and long stares. Two of the monks are discussing the god of the city and when she will agree to meet them, while the others talk about the Tya who was speaking with the Anathema. When the server comes over to give them their tea, they ask him to ask her to talk to them.

[OracleofSilence]

"Well big surprise. They are talking about Goldenboy. I'll join you if that's alright. Can't have some monks talking down to my new Captain." Caida's smile remains, but its tone changes, becoming colder, a little more hungry. He quietly fiddles with his belt a bit and slips on his gauntlets, stretching his fingers and adjusting a few straps as he does so.

[Fortuna]

The Teahouse

Yaiven reaches out and carefully dips his brush into the ink dish. "You go ahead. I need to finish this." This Caida person is far too indiscreet. It could be a problem if they are seen to be associated more than very loosely. Better to stay apart.

[Amaril]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

For a long moment, Jin keeps his silent glare trained on Kaiden, warring with himself over what to do. Sorely tempting it might be to make trouble for the Dragon, but still as foolish as when they had first set sail, and even less warranted now that Jin could no longer hold him personally responsible for any wrongdoing. Vo's silent warning made up his mind, and he stepped back, un-clenching the fists he hadn't realized he'd been making. "Hmph. Well, you're better off exiled than helping the Realm. But I still don't like you, so you just stay out of my way." He stalks off back to the prow of the ship and leans against the railing, watching the island slowly grow larger on the horizon.

[Beans]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

For a long moment, Jin keeps his silent glare trained on Kaiden, warring with himself over what to do. Sorely tempting it might be to make trouble for the Dragon, but still as foolish as when they had first set sail, and even less warranted now that Jin could no longer hold him personally responsible for any wrongdoing. Vo's silent warning made up his mind, and he stepped back, un-clenching the fists he hadn't realized he'd been making. "Hmph. Well, you're better off exiled than helping the Realm. But I still don't like you, so you just stay out of my way." He stalks off back to the prow of the ship and leans against the railing, watching the island slowly grow larger on the horizon.

Vo glides after him, looking around before sighing gently.
While I am no greater proponent of oppression than you, one must sometimes hold back one's indignation---however righteous---at least until leaving the boat.

If he's the one, he's going to need a bit of guidance... but that's my job anyway, isn't it?

[Amaril]

Aboard the Leaping Simhata

Vo's approach shakes Jin out of his foul mood somewhat. He glances over his shoulder and flashes her a cocky smirk. "Holding back is for men too afraid to fight for what they believe. Anyone tries to make something of it, they'll get a lot more than they bargained for...." His smile lingers as he watches the horizon. That's right, bro...I don't have to be afraid. Not anymore. I'm gonna do you proud, and it all starts on that island.