The Ruins of Iselsi IC

[Anarion]

[Be good to me, Dice.

[roll0]]

"Nothing's better than my ocean waves, and don't you forget it, clowny!" She gave the sword a last reluctant pass and handed it back to Aurala. "But I want one of those if I help you. My own big jade sword, a skirt of the finest fabrics, the kind you water aspect sailors use for going underwater, and an offering of new materials, maybe a bunch of marble. You know, clowny, just fill up a whole ship with marble and ram it against a reef here and I'll get it. Give me all that, and I'll help you out. Deal?"

[Deadly]

The good folk of Iselsi weren't much for keeping their best interests at heart, but they were good followers once cowed. Their response to all this was to bow and place their foreheads against the sands, murmuring their thanks for the generosity and benevolence of their lords.

A voice caressed Inamori's ear, seeming to come faintly from a distance, yet she could almost feel the breath upon her cheek as it spoke. "An interesting choice," said the Lady. "Ease their pain now to prolong their suffering later. You are such a wise woman, Inamori. Far more wise than your sister. I shall return here soon."

Inamori smiled. "I shall be sure to roll out the red carpet for you, my Lady," she thought back.

Haruto indeed jumped when a familiar voice spoke up beside him. How she managed to get here when he had his flying machine was...probably a question he was better off not knowing.

"Good, orderly form everyone. March by the gods, and your pains will be washed away." He gave sufficient, clear marching directions for the peasants, and bade the line with the priest go by first. When that was done, he turned to Inamori. "We have to get these people warm. I may have some blankets for the most needy aboard my ship, but for everybody else we had better get some fires going."

Sure, fires were easy enough. The people marched through the waters and the coughing lessened. Their pain seemed reduced as well. At this point, not one, but two exalts had shown up, taken over from their priest and brought the gods themselves to ease their pain. If the two wanted a fanatical cult following, this was the right way to get it. So, the next question is, what did they do with it?

"I work a forge," Inamori said and patted Haruto on the back. She may be a Water aspect, but she knew plenty about how to work a fire ... and she had helpers, just like at her forge. No problem. "I'll take care of the fire, you deal with the people." And so she did, all the while taking stock of the village and how she might incorporate it into her plans.

She now knew the Lady would be here at a later point. That gave her a place, if not a precise time to work with. Inamori had practice being in the right place at the right time, however. She just had to make sure everything else fit the timing, and the equation would take care of itself.

[Balmas]

"I wouldn't dream of anything less," Bato smiled easily as she held out her hand for the sword.

[What does that translate to? Four, six barter? I'm under the impression that the jade sword will actually be more expensive than the ship full of marble.]

[TheAmishPirate]

Sure, fires were easy enough. The people marched through the waters and the coughing lessened. Their pain seemed reduced as well. At this point, not one, but two exalts had shown up, taken over from their priest and brought the gods themselves to ease their pain. If the two wanted a fanatical cult following, this was the right way to get it. So, the next question is, what did they do with it?

First priority was the people. Haruto helped Inamori whip up some good, roaring fires to ward off the chill, and distributed blankets to those most in need of care. If the people were warm, well-fed, and at peace, then perhaps their frail bodies could fight off this plague better. Mother and Bato would be back soon enough with a cure anyway. He just had to hold down the fort for them.

Speaking of holding down forts, there was the matter of that foreign agent. Would they dare strike at them while both he and Inamori were here, or would they cause mischief elsewhere? The best he could do was keep his eyes open for anything suspicious while he did his rounds.

[Thanqol]

After all the talk about play the goddess had just turned into a simple mercenary. Huh. Gods. This was why they didn't really rule the world, she supposed.

[Anarion]

Okay, so let's take stock. Haruto and Inamori had a village filled with people who were now dying more slowly than they used to be and were fanatically loyal to them as a result. Bato and Aurala had the allegiance of the goddess of shipping in the northern sea, at least temporarily and if Bato kept her word. Keeping that word would surely raise some eyebrows at court, though. It was a great deal to offer a single goddess, no matter her standing, especially without consulting the Immaculate Monastery.

So, what did Bato and Aurala want from the goddess? And where did Haruto and Inamori go from here? Among other things Scalth, their doctor might be available to consult, they'd left their Peleps "captive" entirely alone in the Giant's Stair (he had sworn his loyalty though...) and, of course, there were still armies gathering at their borders, though perhaps that didn't seem very pressing at the moment.

[Balmas]

Speaking frankly, information. And maybe a bit of tough times for the neighboring holds. Where did the ships carrying the disease come from? Who sent them?

Any other ideas, Thanqol?

[Thanqol]

Speaking frankly, information. And maybe a bit of tough times for the neighboring holds. Where did the ships carrying the disease come from? Who sent them?

Any other ideas, Thanqol?

Aurala isn't interested much in the disease. She's setting up banners outside the Stair, laying the ground work for a recruitment camp. She figures she's got as much stuff on her side as she's going to get and the next move is to strike decisive in battle.

[Balmas]

Alright, then. What Amish said in OOC makes sense. Everything she can tell us about the disease: who sent it, where it came from, where it is right now, how to cure it. And since we're paying her so much, she ought to be on our side for the upcoming conflict of houses.

[Anarion]

The goddess pouted when they went back to the disease, but shrugged and answered. "They're crates of grain, filled with poison. Closest thing is like a jellyfish: the poison numbs the muscles, they stop working. It's subtle, it starts with minor upset stomach or pain, works it's way through the body. Coughing means it's starting on the lungs, death soon after that. You're immune, clowny, just like the anemone's sting, and so's crabby and all your family. It's just normal people, the weak little fishes who can't stand it. I don't know how to cure it, I guess however you cure jellyfish poison. Or, like, I dunno, find the god of curing jellyfish poison and ask him. Beats me where he is. Sorry, little ones. As for who it's from, the ships that delivered them all had this symbol on them. She fished around through one of the wrecks and pulled up a board of wood with a house sigil on it. The symbol of house Peleps.