Cradle of Gods

Kimiko

She watched the proceedings calmly, wrapping her tail around herself like a belt. An old comforting habit.

Though she hadn't known Aisha for long, Kimiko felt the weight of a life on her heart. It wouldn't slow her down, but she also wouldn't allow herself to ignore this pain. Even when she ended lives herself, it was an act of needed Justice, not a triumph to be celebrated.

Thankfully, between the alchemist, the djinn, and the doctor, they stabilized her. With help from, of all people, Muasa.

His presence made her quirk an eyebrow, but she realized quickly why he was here and not with his brother.

"Calm down, Mikias." Her tail unfurled, waving Mikias off as she stepped between the doctor and the burly man. "Look at his face."

It was obvious that Muasa was heartbroken. "Iande must have lied to you too, huh?"

Slowly, she stepped towards him, and wrapped her arms around his burly frame in a hug.

"I'm sorry." She released him and leaned back to look up at his face. "As one who seeks Justice, I promise he will pay for his actions. No sin unanswered."

It was a heartfelt oath. No malice, no thirst for vengeance, only the words of a friend who sought to set things right.

"If you'd like to stand with us, you may, though I understand if even now you would hesitate to fight your own brother. Still, I would ask you at least tell us anything you know of Iande that might help us defeat him."

Poppy Blake

Poppy remained in the background, not wanting to get involved in the brief conflict between Muasa and Mikias. Plus, she was not sure what else she could do, except to offer her sewing kit to Mikias to sew up Aisha's wounds once the treatment was done—whatever that healing happened to entail. She watched the silvery liquid with distrust, but maybe it turned into actual blood once it was inside the body. Should they really be putting that inside Aisha?

And then, it seemed to work as the color came back to the Nesiree's face. Poppy sagged in visible relief. Curious, she asked, "What exactly is Argenum?"

Edited by JumpingFruit on Feb 25th 2024 at 1:51:34 AM

Kiamwe's House

Slowly, ever so slowly, coloure began to return to Aisha's features. If one looked closely, her fluorescent light began to shimmer again under her skin, althought now with an almost imperceptible metallic hue.

Al-Amin clapped his hands together and stepped up. "Well, it looks like the worst has passed. I suggest, we let this be the last bloodshed of today.", he stated, giving Mikias a gentle glance.

Muasa meanwhile looked visibly distraught, seeing Aisha's state and made no attempts defending himself from Mikias' words. "This...this is not right. I didn't want any of this, I swear...", he just muttered silently.

"That actually is one thing I am certain of. Unfortunately, it does not change out current situation. While regret is a good first step, I suggest we don't remain stuck there.", said Al-Amin, patting the giant man gently on the broad back. The old man also gave Kimiko a thankful nod, for helping to de-escalate the situation.

"Shall we continue this inside?", he suggest to everyone.

Muasa then gently picked up Aisha and everyone followed into Kiamwe's house.

It was tight, with everyone inside, of course. But, for some reason, no matter how many people entered, the house seemed to always be able to just be able to accomodate them. Kiamwe quickly stumbled around, bring refreshments and offering rooms, that previously should not have existed, and in general being the image of a strange, but generous host.

"Well...I suggest we start sharing what we know. I suspect we all have had our own conclusions so far and it seems best if we take stock of what he have and then plan our next steps.", said Masaru, folding his legs, as he sat down on a nearby pillow.

The Onna-Musha was gently guided by Yvenyra to a nearby corner, where she obediently sat down, holding a hot cup in her hands without drinking from it at any point. She did dip her finger into it however, out of curiosity.

Masaru gave her a look and sighed. "Let me start first...", he said and recounted what he, Kimiko, Yvenyra and Nasira had seen.

Poppy Blake

Because her part had already been done by delivering the memory-mussels, Poppy excused herself and returned outside to tend to the ailing Lervondas, soothing its wounds and performing repairs as best as she was able to, which was not hard given her new powers. She directed insects to crawl into nooks and crannies to gnaw away at any pre-existing decay, and then simply caused new growth to sprout forth out of the scabs of sap produced by this form of debridement. Oftentimes, those very same insects served as fertilizer for those repairs. After metaphorically setting the ship's bones, she stepped below deck once more to scrape the remains of the mussels—shells and all—into the Kiln. Apparently, even living boats needed to eat.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Mar 10th 2024 at 1:00:49 AM

Mikias

For several moments, Mikias stood there, trembling slightly, sword pointed at Muasa. His eyes briefly flicked to Kimiko as she talked, but he didn’t waver. The silence in the air would require a sword to cut through.

Then, finally, he lowered his weapon—though a fire still burned in his eyes. "Natsumi is dead," he said, voice shaking just a bit, "because of Iande. So for your sake...you had better be telling the truth about knowing nothing."

And with that, Mikias spun around and headed off into the house. There probably wasn't much time; a spider knew everything that went on in his web. Valentin briefly hung back to give Muasa a sympathetic look and a quick "sorry" before joining the others.

"...so the Onna-Musha is a corpse-puppet?"

Mikias had taken a seat on one of the few chairs in the small abode, and had listened to Masaru's tale with rapt attention. Valentin, for his part, was leaning against the table, still standing; Mikias had to guess he didn't want to sit down and look even shorter.

"Makes sense. You can't have two Pretenders in one Shard." Valentin gave the former Pretender a curious look. "Though, wait, does she have a name? Would be weird to call her her Pretender title when she isn't a Pretender anymore..."

"Valentin. Priorities."

"Huh?"

Mikias's brow furrowed. "Iande has likely been doing this for ages now. Surely, he knows where we are and what we're doing. We need to figure out a plan now, before he sends anyone. And in order to do that, we need to know everything about what happened today."

"Oh yeah." Valentin paused. "You wanna go first, or...?"

Mikias's chest tightened. "You go first. Please."

"Okay! So, uh—ahem." Valentin straightened, clearing his throat for attention. "So it all started when Shadow Shadow walked into the clinic because they found Jing. By which we mean Jing's body. She was super dead, lemme tell you."

"Not just dead, Mikias murmured. "Desecrated. Her eyes had been gouged out, her tail was skinned...it was awful."

"Yeeeeeeah, anyway. Thing is, she wasn't propped up near Iande's keep or anything, but instead Vlavuel's resthouse, which as we all know, was abandoned. Soooooo I broke in, Poppy accompanied me, and we found that memory mussel plate she showed everyone. I'm not...entirely sure what happened, I haven't asked him yet, but according to the plate Vlavuel killed Jing—"

"WHAT?!" Mikias shouted, standing up so quickly he knocked his chair over. "V-Vlavuel was the killer?! But how— no, why would he—?!"

"He panicked," Valentin said, shrugging. "And if it's any consolation, he didn't mess her up after death so badly. That was the Hunter...whoever that is, I dunno, Vlavuel's somewhere in here so you could probably just ask him..."

Mikias stared at Valentin blankly for a few seconds...then slowly facepalmed, now realizing how actually idiotic he had been. "Of course," he groaned. "Of course it was the Hunter, how did I not notice? What happened in Hinanosu is exactly what he does!"

"..." Valentin's head tilted. "Who's the Hunter again?"

Mikias sighed, righting his chair so he could slump into it. "Nise-no-Tengoku's resident serial killer. If the Ronin—" and here, he cast a wary glance at said Ronin— "—fights for the sake of it, the Hunter just wants to kill. He has a penchant for displaying the corpses...so again, I should've seen it sooner."

"...riiiight. Okay, moving on, we then learned Iande sent the Hunter and Vlavuel had fled because he knew what had happened, began our escape from Hinanosu, town started flying, Vlavuel turned out to still be there and flew us out with magical food wings, and we ended up here."

There was a prolonged silence after the explanation.

"...is that it?" Mikias finally asked.

"Yep, that's it!" Valentin chirped, smiling brightly (though Mikias couldn't help but feel it looked a bit strained). "But what I wanna know is—" And here, he looked at the Onna-Musha. "Who killed you the first time? And more importantly, how?"

And Mikias had to admit, that was a pretty good question.

Nasira - Kaimwe's House

"A corpse-puppet, maybe," Nasira emphasized, glancing at the Onna-Musha. "After the collapse of the tower, there didn't seem to be an ample opportunity to question her more thoroughly. And presuming there can only one Pretender to a given Shard is a dangerous assumption, even if it fits into the pattern we've seen before. Given that a number of Contenders have either embraced or at least acquiesced to the roles Iande granted them, thereby surrendering their claim for the Thrones, we may consider them to be Pretenders as well, if not in the metaphysical sense then at least in spirit, and perhaps even potential successors as well. In either case, Iande is not the only threat we need to consider, even if we manage to sla-" Nasira stopped, reminding herself of Muasa's presence. "...defeat him."

Tearing a piece of paper from her journal, Nasira began writing a list of names. "Blossom. Sen. Hou. With Jing dead, that's three of Iande's Four Black Lion Captains remaining - though Hou appears to be somewhat of a wildcard. There's the numerous guardsmen, the Hunter... That's everyone who serves directly under Iande, or otherwise serves a role in maintaining the Shard for him. This previously included the Ronin and Onna-Musha, but they've effectively resigned from their roles. Without knowledge of who Iande has influence over, we could very well be facing the sum of Hinanosu as our enemies. That is the worst case scenario, anyway."

Kiamwe's House

The Ronin was poking at his nose, before flicking away whatever he found in there. When Mikias mentioned the Hunter, he leaned back and hummed as if he just name-dropped an old friend.

"Ah, yes. That one. Creepy ass, if you ask me. But a lot of fun to go up against. Never knew when he was gonna strike. Got me like...I dunno...a dozen times?" The Ronin briefly counted down on his fingers, before just giving up and chuckling. "Honestly, fighting this guy was like the greatest cat and rat chase, no offense Nezingen, I had. One mistake and you got your spine broken or your skull crushed. Loved it!"

A mad grin crep onto his lips, as he mentioned it. For some reason, the Ronin seemed to almost appreciate the danger the Hunter represented. "And knowing he is in Hinanosu...yeah, one more reason to join you folks. I would love another fight with this guy. Maybe I actually win for once!"

"You might be the only one looking forward to this.", came Vlavuels voice from a nearby room. The elf had quickly moved into the kitchen, as soon as they arrived. He and Joru only exchanged brief glances, before both visibly agreed to let bygones be bygones.

Joru had not approved of Vlavuel just meekly following Iande's commands, after he had split from Hinanosu. While Vlavuel himself did consider it foolish and risky to oppose Iande's machinations without an actual plan. But right now, past disagreements mattered little.

"It is not just the Captains we have to look out for, though.", added Vlavuel and stepped out of the kitchen, with a tray of baked pastries that resembled brown swirls and tasted of cinnamon and sugar. He also had managed to whip up a cream-cake, that had been drenched on the brown liquid that Kiamwe had brewing seemingly all the time.

Putting it all on the table, Vlavuel sat down and looked at Nasira with a grim expression. "Expect any notable Contender in Hinanosu to be either hostile or at least opposed to us. Iande tempted a lot with whatever he offered. Be it love..." He gave Joru a look. "Or glory." He pointed at the Ronin, who smiled self-aware.

"They are not going to give up those desires. And some of them follow him simply, because they believe it is their best shot at godhood. I should know, because that was why I agreed to all this initially."

Joru nodded and a shadow traveled over his face. "Izua...when we confront her, I have to be there. I am the only one she will possibly listen to."

"Then there is Gan Ye. After the Captains he will likely be the biggest issue for us. Divine armaments can make even enable mortals to pose a danger to Gods.", added Vlavuel. He sighed. "The only saving grace so far is that Shadow Blossom is wounded. Otherwise, this would be impossible. It might still be..."

"Don't say that!", snapped Joru, but Vlavuel just ignored him.

Masaru said nothing during all this. He instead was writing down on a piece of parchment and his brow furrowed deeply. Alamin sat next to him, gleaning a look over the generals shoulder and what he saw made him raise an eyebrow and then chuckle.

"I don't know why you all seem so sullen about this.", said the Ronin. "The way I see it, we have the odds against us and a flying castle to assault. Glorious defeat or magnificent victory. Either way, it will be tons of fun."

He pointed at Sword and Caitlin. "I would say those two are pretty much as strong as me. Why not simply go, pick our opponents and let the best Gods win? Seems easy enough to me..."

Edited by TheNohen on Mar 6th 2024 at 10:40:52 AM

Kimiko - Kiamwe's House

"If they're following Iande because they believe he can help them reach the Thrones, then it seems like they either don't know he's the Pretender, or assume that they can somehow move on from the Shard without killing him." Kimiko mused. "Either way, it might be possible to reason with them. Though our best bet is just killing Iande. Even if they aren't being outright controlled by his 'story' or whatever, once he drops they won't have reasons to keep fighting us."

Of course, there was a good chance they might decide to keep fighting anyway, but surely not all of them would, not if they still desired to reach the Thrones. "Also, if he can revive the dead, he can presumably heal their injuries, so we'd need to eliminate Iande first anyway."

She glanced towards Muasa, at that. Unlike Nasira, she hadn't sugarcoated what their mission was; this was something Muasa would have to come to terms with if he still had any desire to become a god. "On that note, I was curious about the Onna-Musha. She seems... off. She doesn't smell like a corpse, and she clearly went against Iande's wishes, so I don't think corpse-puppet is accurate. What I wonder is, well, whether she's still the same person she was before she died, or just an empty shell playing a role."

Striding over to the woman in question, Kimiko knelt so she was face-to-face with the Onna-Musha and met the false pretender's eyes.

"I know you didn't answer me before, but... do you have a name?"

Mikias

For a few moments, Mikias stared at the Ronin, eyebrows raised. "You...fought the Hunter? And...he didn't break your neck immediately?" Valentin made an odd sound like he was choking on his own spit. "Well, if he's still in Hinanosu—and we have no confirmation he is—that just isn't good for anyone. Either way, just rushing in screaming seems...unwise."

Mikias set his hands down on the table, eyes regaining that ever-burning fire. "Still, wandering through the forest has given me time to make a plan. So...I suppose I should tell you what happened at the cli...nic..."

He caught sight of Valentin, and his voice died out.

The small boy stood there frozen, face even paler than usual, looking like he'd just been told he would die in an hour. He was actually trembling, staring off into space. "...er...Valentin?" Mikias tried. "Are you—"

In the blink of an eye, Valentin rushed up to the Ronin and grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt. "What did he look like?!"

Mikias stared. "Er, what—"

"You've seen the Hunter before, you were the last to fight him so you gotta know you gotta tell me—" Valentin was talking a mile a minute, eyes wide with panic. "What does he look like?!"

Edited by LilyTheLitten on Mar 6th 2024 at 2:58:02 AM

Captain Holloway

"Either that, or we ruthlessly gang up on each of the Captains and defeat them through sheer overwhelming force," Caitlin remarked, taking the Ronin's compliment in stride with a short chuckle. "Truth be told, when I was a humble captain and even up to this very day, one-on-one bouts have never been my preferred method. At least two or three others to outnumber and backstab. It would make the whole venture more time-consuming, unfortunately. That, and easier to wipe us all out in one fell swoop if we're grouped together. Though if we're truly faced with that sort of power, then we'd be hardly better off split up either."

She mulled it over for a moment more, before her eyes fell on the falchion at her hip, and her gaze softened with reminiscence as she drew it from its scabbard and traced her fingers over the flat of the gilded blade.

"Gan Ye... poor darling. I agree with our lovely rat-maiden. If there's a way for us to reason with the Captains, perhaps break them out of their control or some other means of rendering them harmless without harming them, then I'd rather that than slay them. I'm ashamed to say I grew attached to some of them, even a little. Or perhaps I'm only being sentimental. Gan Ye did forge this blade into divinity using my own mother's precious ornaments... and this is my father's sword. I suppose any association would've inevitably made me feel rather... well, raw about it."

She shook her head slightly, looking up again and giving the group a tight smile before shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

"Oh well. Shouldn't matter, either way. I'll close my heart to whatever we have to do. If being kind means losing our chance, then forego it. We've gone beyond mandatory courtesy, now. We've lost an ally to one of these bastards already. Might as well return the sentiment. Cut them down, fill their hearts with horror. Either or. Could be fun, even, if you let your heart be blackened in the moment. Forget you ever loved them."

The tight smile she had been wearing had relaxed to become more neutral, now. The lack of tension only made it more unreadable.

"But of course, Iande's our man. Stepping stones or no, we will spill his guts in due time. It's an inevitability; someone will. Might as well be one of us."

Her eyes flicked over towards the spiteful Mikias.

"Probably him, thinking about it."

The morbid train of thought she was having regarding Mikias killing Iande with his bare hands was cut short by Valentin's... explosive reaction to the fact that the Hunter had apparently been seen by the Ronin. She couldn't recall if she'd received that information before, but then again things had been rather hectic, so she found herself waiting with bated breath for the Ronin's answer, despite the lack of context she had for his involvement with the serial killer.

Edited by Enirboreh on Mar 6th 2024 at 10:52:32 AM

Man... shit. They got Natsumi? That was brief. Really showed how in deep they were now. No room for mistakes. And no room to be fucking around with honor and fairness and pathing. This was a fight with a dirtbag, and they had to meet it with deeper dirtbaggery.

"When I see this list of threats in front of us, I see a front door. I see an obvious entrance." She said, looking around the room at everyone, holding a hand up to try to get their attention. "I only got Ronin here with us because I wasn't playing the game as it was laid out to me. Just saying, you don't win shell-games on the street by finding which cup's got the money under it. So we talk down the lieutenants we can, and we make a play on Iande directly. But we get the hell out if his goons try to actually face us, I think. I don't really have any mobility powers, and my Yank is one-way, so I can't use it as a grappling hook, unfortch. I wanna try to jump this asshole."

She sat back on her haunches, blew out her lips, thought it over. They'd need negotiators, and they'd need jumpers. Iande was all about trying to tell them what to do, and if he was raising the stakes she suspected that getting back onto his path for longer than a second would be an instant loss. "So talking to the goons isn't really about sending the cutest of us here, or the best-spoken. Sorry, Poppy." She clicked her tongue and winked at the girl. "It's not charisma, it's who can disengage if they get rowdy, preserve their strength to rejoin the main force trying to jump Iande. I feel like as soon as it ends up with us in a flat arena throwing hands one-on-one, it's over, right? Like, we've gotta stay as off the path as possible."

Kiamwe's House

"Hooo...calm down, girl...boy?" The Ronin didn't seem so much offended by Vals outburst as more surprised this effeminate young man had actually grabbed him by the shirt. "How he looks like? Well, colourful clothes, that weird hat with the bells, red curved shoes and all that. About the only thing that doesn't look like its fallen out of a bucket of dye is his mace. Nasty looking thing, like a iron star. Even if he doesn't hit you cleanly, you start bleeding like a stuck pig. Then some throwing knives, that needle in his wristband..."

"I think, we get the picture.", Masaru interrupted, finally speaking up. He threw Valentin a look and gestured for him to sit down. "It's clear that Val is not the only Assassin around here. Given the description and your reaction."

The undead general rose up from his seat and folded his hands. "It changes little about what we need to do, which is to win this upcoming battle. This won't just be a fight against a Pretender, but against Contenders who match us in power at the very least. A strategy is needed."

Alamin smiled sagely and leaned back. "And I assume you have one, my lord?"

Masaru nodded slowly. "To an extent, yes. First, we need to designate our priorities: Take out Iande. Defeat his Captains. Obtain the Book." He raised a finger for each one. "Now, either way this means we have to assault Hinanosu. Which is currently afloat and has a long-range threat, due to the beam of light from the fort."

"That comes from the Suniada Disk.", explained Muasa, wiping his cheeks a bit and slowly calmig down. "Its a divine artifact I found back home. Iande figured out how to use it."

"How does it work?"

Muasa tapped his chin, clearly unsure. "I think it uses the light of the sun. I am not sure, really. Very complicated thing with lots of old symbols. Iande said its a remnant of the Wars of Ruin. But I know it needs to charge for a time, after it gets fired."

"I see..." Masaru closed his eyes and thought. "Our foe is greater in numbers. If they congregate and organize we will lose. As such, I propose that we isolate and defeat Iande and the Captains in detail."

He cleared out the table in between them. Sheva realized what he wanted to do and helpfully put several small, silver figurines on it. Masaru gave her a grateful nod and started arranging things. "From strongest to weakest, we have Shadow Blossom, Hóu, Sen and Gan Ye. Now, the Oni is wounded, so that is in our favour. Our unpredictable factors are the Hunter and Izua. And the opposing leader, Iande."

Masaru arranged the captains and Gan Ye as the frontline, while the Hunter and Izua were off the to the side. Iande was placed in the back, like the metaphorical king.

"Caitlin is right, of course. In order not to get overwhelmed, we need to hit each of them with concentrated force, before moving onto the next one. That means groups that handle each of the Contenders."

Alamin leaned forward, stroking his beard, as he looked upon the table. "Hmm..that is well and good, but won't avail us if Iande decides to shoot us all down."

"Indeed" Masaru nodded and grabbed figurines that morphed in his hands into Alamin, Almamun and Nasira. "That is why you three will go and assault the tower from above, as soon as the battle has begun. While we distract Iande's forces, you will silence the Disk and, should all go well, end Iande as well."

Masaru gave Alamin a meaningfull look. "The disk is the most important thing for now, however. If it remains in enemy hand, any hope of victory will be for naught, as Iande can just torch us. Take it out first, before handling him. Given your knowledge of magic and the divine, you are best suited for this, Master Alamin."

Joru furrowed his brow and scratched his cheek. "What about Shadow Blossom? As someone who holds the dominion of War we cannot afford him to get too involved in the fighting. I know you might not think much of him, but he is arguably the strongest servant of Iande."

"I will handle him.", said Masaru, with surprising confidence. "You focus on Izua. If possible, have someone accompany you, in case things go wrong."

"Understood." Joru nodded. "Next one...Sen is all about honour, if I remember correctly. He will likely insist on a duel, so that might be useful."

"Oho! I take him! Always wanted to punch the little goody-two-shoes!", barked the Ronin.

"That leaves Gan Ye and Hóu. I don't know much about the latter, but Gan Ye is dangerous. He likely will have any number of weapons at hand to deal with our defenses. I once seen him cleave apart a man made out of solid iron.", explained Joru.

Masaru drew a circle around the figurine of Gan Ye. "In that case, we should avoid a direct confrontation. Missiles, harrassing, magic...those would be most useful." He then pointed at the Hunter. "We also need a counter for him, in case he gets involved. I know this is asking a lot, considered he might be an old comrade of yours, but I believe your skills might be the most suitable there, Val." Masaru gave Valentin a long look, before moving forward.

"Which leaves Hóu as the last obstacle. Her loyalties are unsure, but in case she truly is hostile, we need someone who can handle her. We had a run-in with her at the Tower and she is a dangerous adversary, who could handle Nasira, Kimiko and Yvenyra. In fact, she might be a truly bad match-up for all three.

So, we need someone who can handle her martial arts and stall her. Frustrate her, if possible. Preferably away from open space, where she could make full use out of her divine staff."

Masaru stopped and then finished his presentation with one final look at Sheva. "And we need an army. A big one."

Sheva nodded. "I will need time to create more Silver Warriors, however. My supplies are dwindling and our forces have taken a beating through the last few times."

Masaru finally gave a small smile. "Creating...we might be able to help you there."

Lervondas, outside Kiamwe's House

The ship shuddered and whined, every time Poppy closed another crack or plugged another hole. Like wounded animal, it groaned under her touch, but almost breathed out with relief by the time she was done. The worst had not been the wounds carved by Sen, but the strain of having to fly against the natural forces to reach Poppy and the others in time. The wood was cracked and torn at multiple places and Lervondas had been close to falling apart under her own weight.

It was clear, that the ship was in no condition to pull a feat like that anytime soon. Poppy was able to deal with the surface wounds, but it was clear that longer repairs were needed before the Lervondas was battle-worthy again.

"The result of your carelessness. None of this needed to happen, if you had just stayed your hand and resisted the urge to poke your nose where it does not belong..."

The thought crawled through the young girls mind, like a centipede. It felt alien and angry. But the anger was inward, not directed really at anything in particular. An old frustration...

"Poppy? That's...your name, right?" A voice pulled Poppy back into the here and now and when she look down from the railing, she could see Sheva. The daughter of Alamin gave her a friendly, somewhat shy smile and stroked back a strand of her hair from her dark, beautiful face. "Your friend Masaru said you might be able to aid me in crafting an army. We are going to need one soon and he mentioned this ship of yours has a peculiar artifact?"

Edited by TheNohen on Mar 15th 2024 at 2:23:47 PM

Mikias

Valentin's face had gone pale. So incredibly pale he could be mistaken for a corpse himself. For a few moments, he just stared at the Ronin in quiet terror.

Then, he let go and nearly fell backwards, wrapping his arms around himself and shaking like a leaf. "Il était là...il était toujours là..nous n'aurions jamais dû venir..."

Mikias stared at him blankly, then cleared his throat. "Right. All in favor of avoiding the Hunter, say aye?"

Then, Masaru spoke. The undead spoke of storming Hinanosu, of taking on all Iande's subordinates, of confronting the man himself. Mikias's brow furrowed. His mouth twisted into a frown. And then, he spoke.

"No."

He was looking Masaru directly in the eye as he said that, voice firm. "No, as in, 'no, that won't work'. And I can explain to you why."

Mikias pointed to Aisha, who was lying on a couch, still unconscious. "Iande took the Nesiree, specifically for this situation. If we attack now, he'll likely give the order to kill them all. Since I actually do not want the Nesiree to die unnecessarily—and their existence is a point all of you seem to have forgotten—we will need another plan. Luckily, I have one."

He paused, then took a deep breath. Come on. You can do this.

"Back in the clinic, Natsumi used...some sort of charm, on Shadow Blossom. He spoke of a magical book, one that almost everyone in Hinanosu is in, and one that binds us to our roles in the story. He said he wanted to take it and make this world his playground. Natsumi was immune for whatever reason, so she had to..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence.

"But the book is the key to everything. Based on what I can gather, if we can get it, Iande has no power over us. Considering that myself, the Ronin, the Onna-Musha, Joru, Vlavuel, and Kiamwe are all in it, our top priority should be both getting the book and rescuing the Nesiree. So my proposal—" Mikias held up a finger. "We use Alamin's magic to sneak back into Hinanosu, free the Nesiree, and steal the book."

Kiamwe's House

Masaru shook his head, as Mikias proposed his own plan. "I understand what you mean, but we don't know the extent of Iande's powers and how many eyes he has in Hinanosu. Sneaking in, while he is aware of us opposing him is too risky."

He then thought a bit and rubbed his chin. "But you are right in that we do need someone to free Aisha's sisters. Now, they likely will be kept close by. I can't imagine Iande letting them out of his immediate reach, so they will probably be in the fort."

He looked at Mikias. "In that case, you could join the group assaulting the fort. This would give you access to the cells and the Nesiree in there. I trust you can help them get out?"

Mikias

"And here I was certain you'd all forgotten them entirely—"

"I can get it!"

Mikias yelped in surprise. Valentin had spoken up quite suddenly, hand raised in the air, smiling brightly...face still corpse-pale. "I can— If you need someone to get the book, I can do it! I'm an expert! I'm a master of stealth, he won't even know I was there!"

"...question," Mikias said, holding up another finger. "Is this just to avoid fighting the Hunter? I certainly don't blame you, no one's defeated him yet, what I don't get is—"

"Whatever gave you that idea?!" Valentin's eye twitched.

Edited by LilyTheLitten on Mar 15th 2024 at 6:42:35 AM

Poppy Blake

It was all Poppy could do to brace the more affected areas, causing roots to grow out and down into woody scaffolding, like the tendrils of a mangrove, supporting the Lervondas so its weight would be evenly distributed somewhat off the ground. It was almost like splinting broken bones, if the metaphor had not served for the surface wounds. She had not ever seen a shipyard in her life, but she had seen fishing skiffs brought in for repairs, and she supposed that the principles could be carried over here. Maybe the Captain could give additional directions on repairs once the discussion inside Kiamwe's house was over.

She resisted the urge to curl up below decks and rock back and forth and was rewarded by the sight of a friendly face appearing. "O-Oh, yes, the Kiln. We found it in the last Shard, and it powers the Lervondas here," Poppy said, giving the living boat an appreciative and soothing pat. "She strained herself a lot just getting to us, so I don't know if using the Kiln is alright in her state. But I suppose you can come below decks and take a look."

Once below decks, Poppy would point out the Kiln, which should have been obvious since it was shaped like its name suggested. "I don't really know how it works, to be honest. Nasira created the Nesiree, so she'd know how to use it better than me," she explained, rubbing her hands anxiously. "But I think you start by putting some kind of base material in, and it's better if it was part of some living thing before. You get beings that are themed around your chosen fuel in return, but you shape them with your...thoughts? Wishes? Something along those lines. And you'll have to teach whatever comes out how to live, so we have to choose wisely before and after creating a new being, since they'll be people, too."

Edited by JumpingFruit on Mar 31st 2024 at 2:40:56 AM

"Hou's had a prior dustup with other members of the crew? Call it—do we want a rematch, or do we want a fresh start with her?" Sword asked. The other thing was that Hou hated fighting in punching and biting range, and had some kind of magical treasure. Something to add to the hoard. And something that could be taken from her to limit her abilities.

"Because if we want someone up-close I'm your girl. But ideally like I said, we wanna talk them down. Keep word from spreading to give the Nesiree more time to get freed. What was your read?" She gestured to Nasira, Kimiko, and Yvenyra. "Would it go straight to fighting if they saw you again, or do you think a reunion would buy you a sec to talk? I'm thinking I could tag along as muscle or ah, insurance, just in case things get spicy either way."

Kiamwe's House

"Yes, that would be best." Masaru looked intently at the figurine of Hóu, his brow furrowed. "She seemed reasonable, but we don't know how deep Iande's influence over her goes. Clearly she did find a loophole in her role to talk to us, but I am not sure she can do it again. And just in case, it would be best to have someone available who can at least stall her."

"Hóu is a nice girl."

This came from the Onna-Musha. Sitting in the corner, next to Kimiko, she had barely reacted to anything so far. Largely absentminded and easily distracted, she resembled more of a child or, perhaps more accurately, a mentally drifting eldery woman. But the mention of the Sages name had drawn her attention.

Reaching out, until her hand found Kimiko's, she held onto it like a lifeline. As if she was unsure of herself. "She always had been polite to me. Did not try to fight me. I wish...I could have talked to her. But...I did not..."

It was only then that she seemed to remember Kimiko's question. "My name....I don't...I think it escaped me. Time has ground it down. I am Onna-Musha...", she mumbled, before her attention drifted off again and she was back to idly stare back into her cup.

"I am a Mansa.", said Kiamwe, scooting up next to her with a slightly crooked, absent smile.

"Mansa?" The Onna-Musha tilted her head.

"That means king. I am a King. I think a good one. I assume at least. Can't quite...can't quite remember, admittedly." Kiamwe scratched his head, before letting out a chuckling laugh. "Oh silly me, your coffee has gone cold. Let me get you a new one!"

He took the cup and hastily stumbled away.

"Thank you...", mumbled the Onna-Musha.

Masaru watched all of that and frowned. "She is losing herself. Her soul is deteriorating.", he noted.

"What do you mean?", asked Yvenyra, holding her comparatively giant cup with both arms.

"The Onna-Musha is an undead, similar to me. When one dies, the soul gets dragged to Hawaiki by the Realms force. However, if one acts quickly enough or the soul gets retained somehow, you can force it back into the body.", explained the Nenmo. Holding up his own hand against the light of a lamp, one could see his veins pumping eerily with a unnaturally intense red hue.

"If the body is restored fully to function, it is possible to resurrect. Or, if the original body cannot be saved, you can build a new one. Either way, the soul can enter the container and live again. It is how I was resurrected. And, I assume, it is how Iande keeps everyone alive here."

Yvenyra nodded. "Okay, but what has that to do with her state?"

"Souls are not eternal. Over time they degrade, get lesser, lose parts of themselves. The ego, not matter how strong, eventually lessen its grip. Given enough time, a soul slowly falls apart and so does ones mind." Masaru gave the Onna-Musha a look that bordered on pity. "She has been in this state for how long? Even before she got killed by Iande, I mean. Decades, centuries even?"

"What about you?" Yvenyra now looked at Masaru a bit worried.

"Oh, I scarcely reached my fifth decade, counting my living years. I am fine." Masaru assured her.

Then, going back to the table, he summarized his thought for everyone. "Ultimately, we have two major tasks. We need to assault the fort and take out Iande. And in order to do that, we need to tie up his forces. One follows the other and cannot succeed, if either fails.

That is why we need to cover the Captains. Their presence alone can make things difficult, if not impossible, should they try and protect Iande. A Pretender on his own is already powerful enough, nevermind allies."

Masaru looked around the room. "That means we need not just powerful fighters against Iande and to rescue the Nesiree. Even more importantly, we need tough, capable fighters that can persist even against nominally mightier foes. Resilience and...I suppose what Panthalassians like to call Grit is what will decide our fortune here."

Kimiko - Kiamwe's House

It was sad, watching a woman fail to remember her name. Hopefully, when Iande fell, the magic binding her soul to her body would fade, and her spirit would find peace.

"I'm all for overwhelming force." Kimiko said, rising to her feet and nodding with Cait. "Assuming they can't be reasoned with, which it's starting to sound like is the case. For all but one, anyway."

She tilted her head, considering things. "Hou... I doubt she'll try to fight us again. She seemed to know more than she let on, and once we matched her in strength, she let us pass. And when Iande attacked the tower, she didn't stop us from fleeing. I don't know if she'd be willing to help us, since she seemed unwilling to tell us about Iande's machinations, but I think she was just afraid of his reprisal, not actually protecting him."

Kimiko punched a fist into her palm. "The others, I'm sure we can overpower. In particular, if that Hunter is really an unrepentant assassin, then I should be able to defeat him myself; as one who seeks Justice, I won't fall to someone with bloodstained hands. Shadow Blossom didn't seem like a very nice guy, either."

Then she grinned. "As for Gan Ye... well, the thing about weapons is that they can be stolen and used against you. Socchan, you think you can yank a few of them for us? Should be a great force multiplier."

Kiamwe's House

Masaru nodded at Kimiko's suggestion. "That would not be a bad idea. Of course, rarely a plan survives the enemy unscathed, so I am certain something will go wrong or present new circumstances to us. So, be prepared for that.

But as long as we have our primary goals in mind, we will be a step ahead from them. The enemy fights in uncertainty, having to react to us. That is our one advantage. We know them. They don't now us. Not truly."

As he finished, Kiamwe clapped his hands in a singular and somewhat awkward applause, that caused Masaru to give him a sharp look. The mad king ignored it, or likely didn't even notice it, as he got up and nodded. "Splendid! Splendid! Exactly my thoughts. I could have come up with something similar. Maybe add flowers to it? Looks so much better. But...BUT..." He took a deep breath and then grinned around the room. "Enough frowning and brooding. I could make something to drink and eat for you all!"

"Very gracious of you, Mansa. But I believe we just ate." Alamin smiled gently and put a hand on Kiamwe's shoulder.

"We did? Oh...must have forgotten..." For a moment the old lemurian king looked genuinely concerned, almost crestfallen. Then the shadow left his features and the same dopey, oblivious smile returned. "Oh, Alamin! My friend. You're back! Should I make something to drink and eat?"

Alamin closed his eyes, but then gave him a friendly smile and a nod. "Of course, Kiamwe. Go ahead."

He watched Kiamwe scurry into the kitchen, before turnning around to everyone else. "Still, he has a point. I believe we talked a lot and done very little. I suggest you go out and prepare yourself. Test your gear, get some rest, prepare some spells. When we start, all of us need to be at our best." He said.

The Ronin rose up to his feet and stretched his arms. "Alright, I will go and loosen up. If anybody wants to spar, you are free to join. Even...no, especially the strong ones." He gave Sword and Caitlin a wink.

Alamin nodded. Then his eyes met Nasira's and his calm features became serious. "Najl—Nasira...do you mind accompanying me? I would like to talk with you. In private."

The Kiln

Sheva ran a hand over the Kiln, tracing a finger along the runes etched into the fire-hardened clay while Poppy explained how it worked. "I see...I don't feel any magic or enchantments, though. It must be a divine artifact then, right? And a powerful one, if it can create life."

Her eyes had a glint to them and Poppy could see that the young womans bashful nature gave way to barely constrained curiosity. "From the way you describe it, it likely works on alchemical principles. But does it adhere to Equal Exchange? Surely that cannot be the case, else the creation of a single entity would demand so much energy it would kill the creator. Does it ignore the fundamental laws or does it circumvent them? Could it be tied to a Throne and draw its power from it?"

The rest went down in a low murmur, as she muttered to herself and her question became ever more complex, with words and terms that Poppy never even heard of. Sheva was animated, almost downright excited and a smile illuminated her face.

For a brief moment, she seemed genuinely happy.

Then she remembered she wasn't alone and blushed embarrassed. "A-Apologies, I got...distracted." She pulled back an errant strand of hair and gave an awkward smile. "Back home, I mostly spent my time with tomes, you see. I had little talent with magic, but my father was kind enough to forgive me that failure."

She looked at the Kiln, but her eyes grew distant as she thought about something else clearly. "He is a good man, you know? He didn't punish me for not being a good daughter. Someone else would have rescinded my education, since I couldn't inherit the estate now. A Sufa needs to be a master at the arcane arts, otherwise they won't be able to command respect or power. It was bad enough that I was born a girl and then without talent..."

She stopped, taking a deep breath. Just thinking about upset her. "But father understood. He saw how much I loved my books and tomes. How much time I spent with them. Spent with Nasira. There were times where we would spent hours in the library, just the three of us. I would read out of a book I found and they would listen. Sometimes it went all the way into the night. At the end, she would sing and I would asleep in her lap and father would carry me into my bed."

Sheva trailed off, staring into the empty air. "Those were the good days, before..."

She blinked, looking back to Poppy and flinched, as if she had forgotten the young Scion was there. "Oh, apologies! I got sidetracked again. Here I am babbling about my childhood, as if it mattered. I must seem so spoiled to you!" She shook her head.

Spoiled, indeed. At least the rotten princess is aware of it. Bet she never went hungry in her life. Not like you. Not like us...

"Back to the present." Sheva told herself and focused back on the Kiln. "I can very much work with this. If you want, I will help you in putting it to use. If my calculations are true, we can raise a veritable force with this artifact in less than a day. All I need a raw materials, a clear outline of intent and power....lots and lots of raw power."

She turned to Poppy. "Do you think you and your friends can help there?"

Don't you dare! Find someone else!

Poppy Blake

Poppy tried her best to follow along, but for an uneducated peasant girl from Arcada, the concepts that Sheva was examining tended to go flying over her head. She tried to tamp down the jealousy she felt at the other girl's opulent upbringing, since it wasn't either of their choices to be born the way they were, but Poppy still felt some lingering bitterness well up from within her. However, she did not show it, instead largely being caught up in the window to the wider world which she had never been afforded before. Sometimes, Sheva had to explain a concept to Poppy multiple times, so curious was she.

It was then that they turned back to the matter of creating the Silver Host. "The people back in Hinanosu seemed to be afraid of the idea of the Silver Host, even if it's never really existed before," Poppy offered, thinking hard. "Maybe because it was demanded of them by the story. But maybe we could take advantage of that if we can make their fears real. So, whatever material we use, it should be able to gleam silver from a distance. Something that would be truly worthy of the title 'Silver Host' and herald their arrival, if they're to be a powerful distraction."

"I can supply the intent, but my friends will need to supply the power," she added hastily. "My magic only drains and rots, and I've been exhausting its potential to cause growth by repairing the Lervondas. It's best if I don't push myself too soon. Maybe Nasira can help, since she made the Nesiree last. Or Kimiko, since we want to have them seek justice. Or Sword, since we seek a silvery, eye-catching shine..."

Edited by JumpingFruit on Apr 21st 2024 at 4:48:11 AM

Kiamwe's House - Eines al'Maelenn

Eines nodded along to everyone's battle plans, though most of the discussion flew over her head. Strategy was not her forte; she'd leave that to people who knew better. However, Masaru's talk of the Onna-Musha's soul deteriorating caught the edge of her heart, a second reminder in this same household of the looming deadline she faced. If she failed to make the journey, would she too lose herself, memories falling apart until not even her mother was left? Eines choked back a sob; the more she let her emotions get caught up in fear and regret, the more difficult her journey would be.

Eines fluttered over to the ageless warrioress as Kiamwe handed her another cup of coffee, sitting beside the Onna-Musha's palms as they held the drink. "Ah, no, you're actually not supposed to dip your finger in it- It's a drink, you see, you drink it like this-" The fairy produced her own little cup and took a sip of coffee in demonstration, before doing little pants and blowing on her drink and tongue. "Ah, but it's hot, so be careful-!"

Putting her cup down, Eines laid back and looked up at the Onna-Musha from the tabletop, pondering her age, wondering how old she was compared to Mother Maelenn. She wondered what life experiences she had - or at least, still held. "You know, I gotta ask- why'd you let Kimimiko and company know about yourself instead of keeping quiet? Obviously letting the truth slip would be something big bad Iande wouldn't want, and you seemed partially compelled by his powers, or you wouldn't have kept up this role. But you have enough of yourself left to go against that- what pushed you to share the truth? Is there something there that drove you, that you could hold onto to hold onto yourself...?"

Nasira

Nasira kept quiet while discussion was had; for the first time since she arrived at the Cradle she felt unsure of what to do. Even with all the unknowns of the sea shard, there was always some plan of action to keep her moving forward. Find the rest of the group. Determine the circumstances. Recruit. Build an attack plan. Adapt. But here in Hinanosu- no, what did Hou call it? Nise no Tengoku? Nasira found herself at a loss. The trail with the Unspoken ran cold, that which turned out to be a distraction, a red herring leading her away from the true Pretender. The ones that she had allied with had turned out to be her enemies, enemies suddenly becoming allies. While she had assembled some facts correctly, the image behind them was wrong - fundamental misconceptions that opened room to doubt most anything previously held established about the Shard and the Contender system as a whole.

And here she was siding with her former slaver, calling out to her familially to her consternation. Her unease crept along her spine like the thousand legs of a millipede, prickling her discomfortably, whispering about the wrongness of the situation. Still, she nodded, throwing a glance at Caitlin that spoke of a well-spring of conflicting emotions, before returning her gaze to Alamin. "Alright. I'm sure there's a lot you want to discuss with me, after all. And I have many thoughts as well."

Kiamwe's House

As the others finished up their meal, indulged in their own conversations or went out to prepare for the upcoming battle, Alamin walked into the kitchen. It was a small place, just big enough to be cozy and invoke a sense of familiarity, even though neither he nor Nasira had ever seen it before.

"Alright. I'm sure there's a lot you want to discuss with me, after all. And I have many thoughts as well."

Alamin said nothing at first. Standing with his back to Nasira, he fiddled around with one of his rings, turning it over on his finger repeatedly. It was the only sign of any nervousness on him and only because Nasira knew him well enough to perceive it in the first place.

Eventually, he sighed and tapped his ring. Like on command, slight wisps of smoke and embers emanated from his robes and grasped the dirty dishes and used cups. Floating them over to a basin with water, they slowly gathered everything and began cleaning it. Nasira had seen this fascimile of djinncraft, conjured by the Binding Ring, many times, although rarely used in such a domestic fashion.

"I was prepared for this. At least, I knew that our reunion might not elicit joy in you." Said Alamin finally, watching the spellwork. A slight, rueful smile was on his lips as he gave Nasira a sideglance. "Still, I am a foolish man and perhaps a part of me...had hoped to see you smile, just as I would have had you returned to us. A silly hope, of course, and entirely my delusion, so do not take this as an admonishment, Naj..." He caught himself and quickly corrected himself away from the disliked term. "Nasira.."

Taking a deep breath, he finally turned to face her. "I simply want you to know, that I undertook this journey in part because of you. Because of Sheva and what we both mean for her." He explained and for a moment he did not seem like the wise, eternally at ease wiseman, but rather as a concerned and ever so slightly tense father.

"When you esca—no, left would be the better term, she was sick with grief. A sickness that none of my gold or magic or knowledge could cure. She had only you, remember? She refused to come out of her room for weeks. I had to order her to see sunlight, and you know me well enough to know that this pained me deeply." His voice quivered ever so slightly with emotion, but Alamin quickly had himself under control and avoided the indignity of losing his composure.

"This journey had seen her animated to a degree I hadn't seen in years from her and I suppose that is why it has kindled this hope in me, that would could return to how we used to be. You. With us. As a family, such as it was." He explained, gesturing between him and Nasira.

"Sheva never understood it and even I sometimes have trouble conceiving it. You lacked for nothing, my dear. I know, many djinn even resented you for your station and for my favour. There were Moradin who lacked what you had. The affection of a Sufa. My affection.

Why did you give it up that night? Why...did you leave me, Nasira?"

Kimiko - Kiln

With battle plans made, in as much as they could do so, Kimiko left the house. She considered following the Ronin to spar with him, but her power wasn't something used on comrades in spars. Her true strength was to defeat the wicked.

Her feet carried her to Lervondas, and she found herself in the Kiln in short order. She'd never really interacted with it, but she was curious about it. Not everyday you saw something capable of fashioning life out of meat scraps.

"Hey," She greeted, "I couldn't help but overhear that you need someone to power this. I wanna give it a shot."

With a grin, she raised a fist. "Let's make some warriors of Justice!"

Truthfully, she had no idea how the thing worked, but Kimiko was never daunted by the idea of running into the unknown with nothing but courage and justice on her side.

Mikias

Mikias quietly watched the others leave the house, to begin preparing for the invasion of Hinanosu. He wasn't quite sure what to do, himself—his only real skill in the field of combat was to hang back and bandage anyone who got injured. He had weapons, but little actual experience using them. And yet...

Suddenly, he was resolved. Despite his common sense shrieking what are you doing, Mikias stood up and walked over to the Ronin.

"I'd like to take you up on that offer, actually," he said, voice a bit tight. "I have...a score to settle with Iande. And it's probably best I get in some practice before that."

Yes, this was probably an extremely poor idea, but if it meant he could land even one hit on that son of a bitch, Mikias would consider it well worth it.

Val

Val, for his part, had wandered outside, to sit on the ground and stare up at Hinanosu.

The thought of returning made his stomach turn. Not because of Iande, or the Captains, or the thought of fighting any of the people he'd come to know...but because of who was waiting for them, up there. Who was waiting for him.

He's not going to just let Kimiko fight him alone. Val drew his knees in close and swallowed. He's going to look for me. And if anyone gets in his way, then...

It wasn't particularly useful, this line of thinking. But Val couldn't get his mind off it.

We have to finish this quick. Beat Iande, get through the Doorway before he finds us. Probably easier said than done, but...