The Lotus Blossoms!

[Ascension]

The Lotus Blossoms!
Episode 5: The Death of a King!

Spoiler: In the Tent

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Harnapuul, sprawled across a futon, has his servants lay out a place setting for him and directs them to place one of the hearts plucked from the trees on his golden plate. With a thin, sharp golden knife and a delicate skewer, he carefully pares a thin slice of flesh from the heart. The liquid which swells from the cut is as red as blood, but has the thick, sticky consistency of tree sap.

"My servants?" he answers distractedly, sniffing at the heart meat. "They came with me from Ashertan."

A sparkle lights his eyes as he tastes the flesh of the tree's heart.

"Wyld-touched food never ceases to amaze me."

[Eurus]

Spoiler: In the tent

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With a faint smile, Ivory Knife steps closer to Harnapuul and delicately slices off a piece from the heart on his plate - with a tiny paring knife that's somehow appeared in her hand. Eyes twinkling as if daring the king to object, she delicately tastes the strange food. Her eyes widen momentarily, a brief reaction of impressed surprise that she calms after a carefully-timed instant, just long enough to be visible.

She glances at the servant now in the room, then back at Harnapuul, chuckling.

"I was referring to their... placid natures. Unless everyone in Ashertan is like that..."

[Sticks]

Brown Leaf watched the hubbub that had ensued following the divine departure. The boys were all off gathering fruit and...things...the nobility had retired to that gaudy tent. Just the two wounded warriors left.

"...So." She uttered the phrase as nonchalantly as possible, and waited for they Abyssal to look at her before continuing. "Why can't you tell me yer name? I mean, 'Mourning Blade' seems a little on-the-nose 'fer what you been doin' since you took yer second...un...breath...doubt yer ma' an' pa' gave you that name. My folks named me 'cause I was born in the middle of a bad harvest, an' took my mama outta commission when she was needed on the land. Never woulda seen my first Calibration if'n my master hadn't stopped in for a kip on a cold night. How' bout you? Got any folks what gave you a name?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Brown Leaf is going to take anything Mourning Blade says at her word. She knows she's terrible at reading people, and figures Mourning Blade has nothing to hide from someone who was trying to kill her an hour ago, and has since decided not to. So no rolls here unless you feel them necessary, Ascension.

[Ascension]

Ivory Knife:

"Ahh... yes," Harnapuul says, comprehension dawning. He takes a moment to prepare another slice from the heart on his plate. "Well, delicacies beyond imagining aren't the only benefit the Wyld offers us."

His manner is calm, matter of fact. He takes another bite of his food.

Brown Leaf:

Mourning Blade gets a far-off look in her eyes.

"I sacrificed my true name to Oblivion at the Mouth of the Void, standing in the shadow of the temple-tomb of the Perfected Principle of Consumption, whose deathless curse would blight this land for a year and a day were I to answer to that name again."

She turns to Brown Leaf and smiles sadly.

"But, you know, it sounds like you've had a hard life, too."

Wic, Risi:

Spoiler: OOC

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Valin, I assume Wic is speaking Old Realm because I thiiiiink he knows Risi knows it?

"What's he asking us?" Jai asks Risi in Flametongue, curiosity roused by Wic's strange behavior. "He doesn't want me to get in that sack, does he?"

[Eurus]

Ivory Knife seems equally calm, even playful, as she sips her drink. Mildly interested, perhaps, from the way she tilts her head at Harnapuul's comment.

"I hate to show my narrow field of experience, but I've never actually been anywhere that close to the Wyld. Do they grow on trees, out there?"

[Ascension]

Harnapuul chuckles softly.

"Oh, no... Well, maybe somewhere in the Wyld they do. Who's to say? But these specimens are a product of commerce. It's a mutually beneficial exchange. The Raksha are able to feed as far as they desire, and they leave behind a perfect servant. And what's more, they pay for the privilege! Beyond the Dreaming Sea, I understand the Guild monopolizes the trade, but here near the source it's much more profitable to negotiate your own rates."

[Confrog]

Wic, Jai:

"As funny as it might be to see you try, he's asking us if we wanted to join him in fishing," replies Risi to Jai's inquiry, also in Flametongue.

"I appreciate the offer," says Risi in Old Realm, making a short bow to Wirric, genuinely relieved that he doesn't show some of the previous tension from before, "but it would be a fruitless endeavor for me. It's been a long time since I've partaken of fish, and the last time I did it was both raw and rotten. You can understand if that put me off of it a little. If you have any requests as to what you might want from the trees here, I would be happy to fulfill them. It seems there are a plethora of options."

[Inspector Valin]

Wic blinks. There's still a distant look in his eyes, but the idea of someone not eating fish is a little shocking to the Whitewaller. After a second or two though, he laughs, "Fusspot. As you wish." There's warmth in Wic's gaze as he seems to regain a little focus on the material, and on Risi specifically. The southerner has been through a hard fight, injuries or no. He seems... a touch tired. With a sniff, Wic shakes his head. "No requests. If you can find some edible vegetation, fungi or the like, I'll cook you up a soup from it. I doubt there'll be enough for everyone but you've got a fight tomorrow. You deserve something more nourishing than berries."

And with that.... a hurricane erupts! A gentle breeze had begun to build in the centre of the arena while they were talking, but with a final brief hand gesture from Wic it solidifies into a mighty gale, outlined by the dust of the arena, blowing around the northern Twilight and holding him a few inches above the ground. Wic seems completely unphased by this turn of events. With a grin, he beckons Jai forward. If he chooses to enter the storm, he finds a pocket of air that is as solid as the ground beneath him to stand upon. Either way, Wic brings the storm about with a motion of his cane, and with nothing but a brief motion forward, they are flying straight up towards the stands.

In a matter of moments, the strange northern Solar stands before Brown Leaf and Mourning Blade; cane in one hand, bottle of wine in the other, surrounded by a gale and an empty pack hanging by his belt. With a grin, Wic gestures outwards, repeating a single word in Old Realm and Rivertongue, "Fishing?"

[Sticks]

Brown Leaf was...startled by the sudden arrival of Wic and Jai riding on a low-pressure zone that spontaneously formed on a clear dry day in the middle of the arena, but she rolled with it.

"Fishing? Hey sure!" She got to her feet, and made for the shore, talking as she went. "Used to not eat the stuff, monk,'n all, you know. But after I exalted an' realized 'hey, all that crap we was taught 'bout 'nathama was wrong, who's ta say I can't eat meat an' drink booze an' stuff?'"

Reaching the water's edge, she looked down into the shale-mud, and kicked off her weighted sandals. Wading in, she looked back at the others. "This is a lil' somethin' I figured out after I punched a sand-dune in two. I figure (pronounced 'fig-urr') if'n I break the water's resistance, then I kin...well, best to show ya'll."

With that she drew back her left arm and struck the water once, her knuckles raised. Before the water even had time to begin rippling, her fist was raised again and descended, the knuckles flat. A single ripple spread from the point of impact, and stunned fish began bobbing to the surface all around.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Rolling STR+Craft+Specialty+Stunt, spending 6m on Shattering Grasp
[rollv]12d10[rollv]

Edit: wrong format on the roll, doing that again OOC.

[Eurus]

"I figured it was something like that."

Ivory Knife stares at the silken wall of the tent for a moment, lost in thought. When she speaks, it's subdued, almost like she's talking to herself.

"I wonder if it's better or worse that you have no sense of shame about it. Is it worse to know right from wrong, and act out of greed or weakness? Or is it worse to have no knowledge at all? It seems, sometimes, like the worst acts are committed by those who believe themselves to be capable of no wrong, but... perhaps I should pity you, instead."

She flashes Harnapuul that same sparkling, easy smile as if she'd just told some amusing anecdote and shakes her head.

"Maybe it seems like an academic difference, to you. Pointless philosophy. I know I used to get impatient when my sifu said things like that. But I feel it's very relevant right now."

She takes a seat on one of the tent's many opulent pillows, her posture so proper and natural-looking that you could almost overlook the fact that she's just about within arm's length of Harnapuul.

"Would you listen, if I implored you to reconsider your ways? If I urged you to treat your subjects more kindly, to accept that your responsibility to them mirrors theirs to you? Or would you laugh, or rage?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I can think of a few different routes to potentially take this social action... the most versatile might be to give Harnapuul a second intimacy toward Ivory Knife, something like fear or awe as her dissonant tone starts to unsettle him. If possible, she's going to try to exploit his positive intimacy toward her in this process, with the theory that this little speech is more ominous and harder to laugh off coming from someone that Harnapuul has already let down his defenses toward. Hopefully this will work out alright, and I hope this is a good candidate for a manip+socialize intimidation roll.

One mote excellency.
Manipulation(5)+Socialize(5)+Stunt(2)+HPM(3)+Excel lency(2)
(17d10)[6][3][7][9][7][10][7][7][1][5][2][10][10][10][6][6][10](116)

[Ascension]

The Fishing Party:

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm just going to shrug and say that Shattered Grasp fishing works. It's fun. And not much stranger than what Valin is planning.

The muddy water (watery mud? mud-water? The Bordermarches are weird.) gurgles as gasping fish rise to its surface. Most of the fish are odd-looking but essentially mundane, such as sea robins, elephantfish, and lungfish, but one thrashing specimen is an unlikely fusion of crab and fish traits, so thoroughly mutated that it's hard to tell where its shell ends and where its scales begin.

"Oh!" Jai brightens, "Some people go spear-fishing, right? HYAAAAA!"

He charges headlong into the water, stabbing out at the crab-fish.

"He's still such a kid," Mourning Blade says with a sad chuckle, shaking her head.

He flails up out of the water a moment later, the crab-fish hanging from his nose.

"IT'S GOT ME!"

Harnapuul:

"What are you saying?" Harnapuul asks, discomfited. He awkwardly shuffles toward the back of his futon, his meal forgotten.

"The Sun chose me. He blessed my actions."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

You've got Fear, building off his earlier Respect, but he's not backing down yet.

[Eurus]

"Yes. The Sun chose you."

Ivory Knife nods with more gravity, and the circle-within-a-circle on her forehead glows to life.

"He chose you, as he chose me. As he chose all of us, no matter how unlikely that may seem. It is not ours to question His gifts; only to do our best not to disgrace them."

Memories swirl through her head, as she closes her eyes. A voice like smoke and honey spoke words to her much like the words she speaks now, reaching inside her and lodging a thought like a burning thorn inside her. She can almost feel it now, hot and painful in her breast; as hot as the fires that burned her, as sweet as the smoke she's smelled so many times, steeped in so long that she wonders why nobody else smells it. It hurts, but it's a hurt that she's lived with so long that the thought of going without it is like dying.

"The Sun gives us power beyond imagining. Power to reshape the world, if we wish it. Power to save, or to kill, such that no lesser man could dare to question us."

Her eyes finally open, and there are lights dancing in them, now. The blinding gold of the summer sun and the low red of flames rolling over dry grass chase each other in slow, hypnotic circles.

"What have you done with yours, your Highness?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Fear and respect intertwining, so let's see if we can use one to boost the other. Spending one mote to display caste mark, then attempting to increase the intimacy of Respect to Major.

Manip(5)+Socialize(5)+Stunt(2)+HPM(3)
(15d10)[8][3][7][2][1][6][1][7][2][3][9][7][3][2][10](71)

[pfm1995]

Tuoni shuffled from tree to tree, collecting fallen branches and breaking off nearly dead ones. As he did, he slurred the traditional blasphemies - he doubted the gods of these trees were as powerful as the ones back home, but it didn't hurt to ward against them anyway. Picking wood wasn't something ever done lightly, but as much as he tried to keep his wits about him he still found his mind wandering. Just too much had happened today.

Even after Risi's ministrations his hands and ribs still ached; he was still shaking slightly from Ivory Knife's foul essence. Where, he wondered, snapping a branch with his elbow, had she learned moves like that? An entire style, based on exploiting bonds of trust... soft surfaces, and poison beneath. He cracked another branch, and shuddered at what the training must have been like, and what could have made it worth it. And what kind of monster would teach a style like that? Twisting students into something that vile? He lashed out, shattering the twisted bole of the tree and bringing the whole thing crashing down. And I lost to it. I lost.

Stinging sheets of sand, kicked up from Wic's spell, blew into Tuoni and forced him to turn his back. Hm. He does love to show off. He took a moment to breath, to collect himself, before stooping and gathering the fallen wood. With a pile under one arm and his staff in the other, he heads back to the arena.

[Inspector Valin]

The Fishing Party
"Nicely done!" Wic whistles at Brown Leaf's move. Not just the power of it: her strength was something well established by now, but it stands as one more example of the homespun monk being smarter than she likes to act. His pet storm whistles as it cuts above the mudwater, Wic picking up and bagging the fish one by one after a token effort to clean them. A little concern flickers across his face at one or two parts of the 'catch': eating Wyld touched food is not the finest idea, but a touch of self confidence helps the sorcerer rally. He's the cook today after all: he can purify the fish with a few little 'additions' to the campfire. And he has his own plan in mind for the second part of the catch.

He's about to respond to Mourning Blade with a chuckle when he hears Jai's perhaps inevitable cry. Trying very hard not to laugh at the younger Exalt's misfortune, Wic moves to assist him with the removal of the crabfish, slowly guiding his air current across the water. "Hold on, Jai. I'll get it off. Just hold still..." He's raised his cane, seemingly intending to use the artifact to lever the offending quasi-crustacean from Jai's fizzog.

Spoiler: OOC

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Originally intended a more 'advance the plot' type post but I kinda like the four of us mucking around a bit as a story beat. I just need one more post before we go cook dinner and I'll be fine.

[Ascension]

The Fishing Party:

"I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" Jai screams at Wic in a broken mixture of Low Realm and Flametongue, but he gives the alchemist a grin and a bow as soon as his nose is freed from the dastardly crabfish's clutches.

"Is he maybe not a villain?" he asks Brown Leaf. "Did we ever get that figgered out?"

Harnapuul:

Harnapuul is moved by Ivory Knife's words, but his personal respect for her is not enough yet to drive him to abandon his stubborn pride.

"I... I have secured my rightful inheritance!" he insists, voice and temper rising as he begins to notice the corner into which Ivory Knife is backing him. "My family's legacy... my kingdom's prosperity... my divine mandate to rule. If the sacrifice of peasants' fleeting lives in pursuit of those goals is a tragedy, where are The Unconquered Sun's tears?"

Spoiler: OOC

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So, this is a fun situation. You've raised his Respect for Ivory Knife to Major... that's not something I'm even allowed to oppose with Willpower... but the intimacies you've created have all been focused on his personal opinion of Ivory Knife: none of them have directly altered his opinions on the issues on which you're pressing him. That's a great formula for driving him to become more defensive.

[Sticks]

The Fishing Party:

"Is he maybe not a villain?" he asks Brown Leaf. "Did we ever get that figgered out?"

“Aw, it don’t matter none anymore.” Brown Leaf said in low realm. “If’n he’s tellin’ the truth, sounds like he weren’t gonna do no more ‘monster makin’. ‘Sides, he done been sentenced by a court’a law that even I’ve heard of, an he’s serving his sentence. Can’t ask no more o’ a man than that.” She did not translate any of this for Wic, but gave him a reassuring smile.

[Eurus]

As the king's temper flares, Ivory Knife... smiles. Soft, and slightly melancholy.

"You misunderstand, your Highness. Even among kings, there are hierarchies."

Calmly, she stands up and takes a step forward, standing next to the king's futon. She's not a tall woman, but in this position, she looms over him impressively enough. Her voice remains soft and soothing, but the light on her brow does not die.

"You are a naive king of a backwater province, and you believe this makes you the lord of creation? You use the blood of royalty as your justification, but such is irrelevant before the majesty of the Sun. No ruler has mandate except in His name, and it is we, the Solar Exalted, that bear that mandate."

"And it is I, young king, who hold that mandate over even you."

"Did your blood make you strong, in the end? Did it elevate you when that demon brought you down like a cow swatting a fly? No. You were not merely beaten, but beaten disgracefully."

"A failure of strength, I could forgive. But you use men as livestock because you are too weak to survive any other way. The weakness of your heart matches the weakness of your martial arts, and from such a weak king, only weakness and corruption may flow forth."

"You ask where are the Unconquered Sun's tears? I am here to deliver them, young king. I am not just Ivory Knife, but the Daughter of Elegiac Winds, and I will establish the rule of law, the dynasty of the Sun, that this world requires once more. Perhaps you have heard of me, or perhaps not. But since you cannot be trusted to your own judgment, I must trust to mine."

"You will swear an oath this day, Harnapuul. An oath to respect and love your subjects, to tolerate no cruelty or corruption in your domain, to compose yourself not with vanity but with dignity, and to work with me to establish the new age of the Sun, lest you find out exactly how much of his grace the Unconquered Sun bestows on oathbreakers. You will swear this oath to me, because weakness can only be saved by strength. You will swear this oath, or I will end you here that you do not corrupt your gifts further. And not a single person on this island will mourn or avenge you, because they know what you are."

Ivory Knife's voice drops lower yet, a soft murmur that nonetheless carries through the tent's dim, flickering confines. She speaks as if halfway in a trance, some strange side of her bubbling to the surface like the poisoned essence that drips from her hands. The cadences of her voice seem subtly different, now and then, as if she were channeling the words of another.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Ivory Knife is trying to do two things here, which might be a stretch, but since Harnapuul doesn't seem to be trying to influence her back I figured I might as well just go for it.

First, she's attacking his intimacy of "royalty is sacred", using his major intimacy of respect for Ivory Knife as a catalyst. I could see her smack-talk here working just as well for an attack against his vanity, but since she can only pick one, it'll be the royalty one. One mote excellency, for a roll of...

Manip(5)+Socialize(5)+Stunt(2)+HPM(3)+Excellency(2 )
(17d10)[7][1][10][5][7][3][5][8][1][8][6][5][4][3][8][7][1](89)

Damaging that intimacy doesn't necessarily help her next move at all, since he probably has other intimacies to use to resist... but it seems like a sensible direction for this to go. If I really can't get away with trying to do both, it'd make more sense to drop that aspect of it than the other one.

For the main event, she's trying to Persuade him to swear an oath which she can sanctify with Eclipse powers. An oath to be a less terrible king... and also swear his aid to the revolution, as a sort of fine-print addendum. I'm actually not entirely sure if a major intimacy is even enough to persuade someone to take a permanent oath like that, but on the other hand, she's also threatening to kill him if he doesn't? That might do it, if the intimacy toward her doesn't. A four mote excellency on that one, and ten motes if he actually swears the oath.

Manip(5)+Socialize(5)+Stunt(2)+HPM(3)+Excellency(5 )
(17d10)[3][8][10][1][4][7][3][1][7][2][4][2][3][3][9][3][2](72)

[Inspector Valin]

The Fishing Party

Wic seems merrily oblivious to the conversation of his fellows, still buzzing across the mud-shore and picking up the last few of the stunned fish. He returns the smiles Jai and Brown Leaf give with gusto: the longer this continues, the happier the sorcerer seems to get. He starts to hum a little as he goes, looking between his three comrades with a warm glow in his eyes. The Whitewaller even starts twirling within his construct, revelling in the moment and his speed.

After most of the catch has been returned to shore, Wic pauses for a second, still standing in the midst of his sorcerous storm. He goes to Brown Leaf, Mourning Blade and Jai, offering each of them his hand in sequence. Any who take his grip are able to join him in the swirling winds. Once he has assembled those willing, Wic fixes his eyes on the horizon. With a simple nod of his head, the wind jets away from the shore with a boom: making for a clearer patch of water some ways off the isle's shoreline.

Once they're out at a patch of dark blue water at least approximates a sea, Wic takes a knee while standing in the midst of the swirling winds. Closing his eyes, the sorcerer intones in Old Realm. "Lady Vivi Allegro: I, Wirric Stanton, Journeyman of the Guild, give thanks to you for your duties in protecting the fish of the Dreaming Sea. I give unto your domain this gift, and this prayer, in the humble hope of receiving the bounty of your charges for myself and my companions. May the wind be ever at your back, and the duties of Heaven treat you well." Rite performed, the sorcerer gently drops the bottle of wine into the blue depths, cork and all. Not even a bubble emerges as the glass vessel sinks down beneath the gentle tide.

Spoiler

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(12d10)[10][4][10][8][4][7][6][8][4][9][5][2](77) Lore to Introduce A Fact: in order to ensure their caravans and ships are able to find edible fish on the Dreaming Sea, the Guild have a contract with Allegro, goddess of minor fish within the Dreaming Sea. In return for a route prayer, an offering, and regular appeasement at her city-shrines, she answers their invocations by directing a portion of local fish towards the supplicant Guildsman, leading to an easy catch.

Sidenote: I figure relationships like this are pretty standard across the sea with a number of Fisher Gods for individual settlements. Allegro is the goddess of fish caught away from home, worshipped by travellers and Guildsmen. Hard work, and not glamorous, but gets quite a bit of worship. And to answer the question 'why does a goddess with a music name oversee fish'? Divine Unemployment. Deities have to take the jobs they can get, right?

[Ascension]

The Fishing Party:

Spoiler: OOC

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That is an odd name for Exalted, but I'll let it fly.

It takes a few long moments for the fish and their goddess to respond, but soon the water beneath Wic's personal hurricane is teeming with sardines and pilchards.

"Huh. Fish summoning," Mourning Blade observes, with a note of curiosity. "Back in Wu-Jian we just had a couple of fish-themed holidays on the Immaculate calendar and that was that. Most people spent more time praying over the pork buns..."

Harnapuul:

"I thought better of you," Harnapuul seethes, though even as he says it some small part of him wonders if that's true. He admires Ivory Knife, but he also fears her, and he watched her fight long enough to have an idea of what kind of predator she is.

"At the very least, I thought you wouldn't be so unsubtle as to give me a life or death ultimatum."

He makes himself look at her, really look at her. His eyes trace over her scars.

"How... ugly of you."

With a suppressed groan, he pushes himself up into a sitting position. His far arm comes around almost as if he's planning to fight even in his weakened state, but the motion instead resolves itself into a commanding finger pointing past Ivory Knife's shoulder.

"Go," he commands his servants, "and tell everyone else that I have been murdered."

Unquestioning, unhesitating, the four slaves turn to leave the tent.

Spoiler: OOC

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Mm... I spent some time mulling over how to respond to this.

I'm spending WP to protect the sanctity-of-royalty intimacy, and I'm treating the persuade as unacceptable influence on the basis of representing a life-changing task without a Defining intimacy to support it.

I want to make it clear that I'm not opposed to the idea of you moving NPCs' hearts, but in this case... Ivory Knife pushed someone too stubborn too far too fast. But I hope the result is dramatic enough not to be too displeasing.

[Eurus]

Ivory Knife smiles again, as if she's not capable of any other expression in this moment.

"Beauty is a luxury. For what it's worth..." she stops, considers, and shakes her head. "...No, I'll patronize you no further. Good luck in the next world, your Highness."

She waits for the slaves to leave, then nods one last time.

...

Ivory Knife takes a moment to ensure the young king's body is presentable, not sprawled or disheveled in any undignified way. She's not insane enough to think that qualifies as mercy, but it sets some little, squirming voice in the back of her mind at something like ease. Then she walks out of the tent, savoring a breath of fresh air. She wanders down to the island's edge, feeling an odd urge to look at the water. She's humming to herself, as she walks, the same simple melody she sung for Mourning Blade.

[Sticks]

"Damn son, that worked good!" Brown Leaf shouted above the gale. "Glad to see there's gods you don't gotta intimidate to git them do their jobs."

She looked around, taking in the island now that she had a different angle. She spied something headed their way. "Hey, ain't that Ivory Knife? HEY KNIFE! LOOK HOW MANY FISH WE GOT!"

[Inspector Valin]

The Fishing Party

Wic smiles as the fish begin to pool, finishing the invocation briefly. "Thank you, mi'lady. You are welcome at our table, should you ever wish the company." Rite concluded, the sorcerer takes the empty bag from his side, lowering it into the water like an impromptu net.

He keeps his eyes on the fish as the bag begins to fill, but chuckles at Leaf's remark, and manages to respond to Mourning Blade with a grin. "Wallport has a whole succession of ocean deities, and temples for sailors to seek their blessings. Everyone likes to feel that the gods are on their side. I'd never heard of Vivi before, but I dined with Factor Hundred Teeth in Champoor and he told me about the contract we struck with her. We can't make that public knowledge, in case it's abused, but it's best not to keep something like that too close a secret with Tenepeshu watching over your shoulder."

The mention of the Tyrant Dragon makes Wic shudder even as he pulls his bag up for the moment. He'd caught a glimpse of her once, while walking the Nighted City's streets. Even with his Exaltation, the great wyrm that towered above the city was a figure that inspired fear. He's broken out of his reverie by Leaf's cry, and laughs, waving the now full catch of fish in Ivory Knife's direction. It was nice to see her not just lounging at the king's side, but mingling with the rest of her peers. He starts to bring the enchanted wind around, pulling the group back towards the shore and their fellow Exalt. As they go though, Wic continues to speak to his compatriots, pondering the Queen of Champoor has made him pensive. "Was I the only one impressed by the guests in attendance today?"

It was surprising how little reaction or reverence Lupo's comrades had gotten from the assembled Solars. At least, it was surprising to Wic. As they go he gestures with his cane, describing the group with verve and reverence, "Five Days Darkness! The God of Calibration! He's one of the oldest deities in Heaven, he fought by the Sun's side in ancient days. And the Golden Lord! I thought he'd retired from the Celestial Order, judging cases brought by petitioners in An Teng. And Kokage..." The fire in Wic's eyes fades a little, as he reaches the one member of the group he wasn't familiar with. He chuckles, "I suppose he's not a god I grew up with. But he must be an important deity to be in the company of Five Days and the Golden Lord. And they are all the friends of Lupo..."

The last statement feels like a question. Wic hums to himself. Just who was their mystery benefactor?

[Ascension]

Shortly afterward, Tuoni and Risi are each approached by one of Harnapuul's dream-eaten slaves. The usually listless men are moving with purpose now, and when they come to a halt they begin, with some effort, to speak.

In voices gone raspy from lack of use, they cough and stammer...

"King Harnapuul has been murdered."

[Eurus]

Startled by Brown Leaf's call, Ivory Knife turns to look just as Tuoni and Risi are receiving their messages. When she realizes what she's seeing, she laughs, and seems surprised by her own laughter. The smile fades quickly, but she nods a silent congratulation to the pair.

[Sticks]

“God’s is gods.” Brown Leaf shrugged. “They got wants an needs an Friends same as the rest of us, they’ jes more particular ‘bout their work than most. If’n they don’t like workin’ no more, or feel they deserve more thank for their work, we make a deal.”

There was a far-off look in Brown Leaf’s eyes as she grabed the stunned fish and placed them in Wic’s bag. “Problem is, they’s strong enough that they think they kin tell everyone what to do. So we gotta be stronger than them, tell ‘em ‘No’ when they get outta line, but also get ‘em the rewards they earn. Festivals an’ offerings an’ all that.”

[Inspector Valin]

The Fishing Party
"You wouldn't get a good reception in Whitewall, with talk like that." Wic does seem a little dispirited at Brown Leaf's words. He's always found joy in the tales of gods, and it is strange to think from the Immaculate point of view, to look at them as another group that must be brought to heel. But a mischievous grin creeps onto the sorcerer's face as he continues, "I mean, the way you're describing them, the gods almost sound like... Dragon Blooded."

The sparkle in the Whitewaller's eyes make it clear he's not intending a serious insult. Wic fights back the urge to laugh with all the force he can muster before finally coughing and shaking his head. "Let's leave the talk on the rights of the divine vs those of humanity for another day though. My point is that those three are powerful gods. Celestial Mandarins, likely straight from the halls of Yu Shan. They're the sort of gods that are even a match for princes of the Earth like us, who wouldn't normally concern themselves with affairs of Creation. What does it mean that beings like that not only accompany Lupo, but seem to largely defer to him?"

It did not fit one bit with Wirric's past model of how the world was supposed to work. And thus he's trying to turn it over in his mind still, trying to find a way to have this make sense. He seems more focused on that problem as the storm finally comes to rest on the cliffside by Ivory Blade. He still manages to bow to the southern noblewoman though. Even while distracted, old habits die hard.

[Eurus]

Ivory Knife's mouth twitches in a brief smile as Wirric lands, and she returns the bow. Though she knows he can't understand him, she comments on his mode of transport.

"It certainly would be convenient to have a trick like that, if our esteemed host tries to make me swim home..."

[Sticks]

"Hey, them dragon-blooded got some things right. A dry clock's still right once a day." Brown Leaf laughed at Wic's jibe, but let it slide as he asked.

"So, Knife, what're you up ta? King Mucketymuck chase you out, or you 'jes givin' his servants time to remove the royal stick-up-the-butt?" She laughed, before realizing that perhaps a refined lady doesn't like hearing peasant humor, and gave a quiet cough before adopting a more formal posture.

[pfm1995]

"King Harnapuul has been murdered."

Visceral approval softens quickly; Oh, really? Good. And... a shame. His art was beautiful, while it lasted. The creature in front of Tuoni, though, brings that approval rushing back.

He gulps, fighting back revulsion at having to speak with the Taken - for that is what they were, taken by the things that own the sunless forest floor never to be returned. He had avoided them until now, uncertain of how Lupo and the other exalted would react to his prejudices. But now it had come to him.

"Point towards his body." He won't look it in the eyes.

Its malnourished hand pointing him towards the King's tent, Tuoni nods. "Thank you. I'll see that you get a proper burial." With that he stepped up to it, dropping the firewood and, in a single horribly well-practiced motion, snapping its neck.

Not bothering to pick up more than his staff, he plants it firmly into the ground with each step as he goes to look in the tent.

[Eurus]

Ivory Knife tries, with little success, to suppress a smile at Brown Leaf's admittedly crude joke. On some level, she wonders if it would be more appropriate for her to retreat and sulk for a while, regret her choices, wait to see how things will fall out now... But on the other hand, it's a beautiful day. She shrugs, instead.

"We had an argument, and I'm afraid I lost my temper with him. It's probably for the best."