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Mare Internum: An Exalted Quest

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How could we expect any other option to gain popular support, when it's represented by... numbers?! They've proved willing to change them before, so victory at this juncture was inevitable.
 
The next question is why is he pretending to be a legionnaire. He could be with the BoD and on mission, but he could also be a prodigal star that was just staying at the house when we arrived, then decided to join with us rather then leave.
 
Whatever Sidereal business he came for most likely either got heavily sidetracked by the Underworld invasion or is the information gathering on it.

Logris's place in the intrigue might be interesting.
 
Time to deduce the existence of the Sidereals from first principles. Let's see how far we get before carjack murders us.
 
Crumplepunch said:
He turns to you. Not to the reflection, to you. His eyes widen, sparkling with distant stars.

BRINDLE: "Oh, shit."
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Brindle has realized that he has to deal with the crazy lady who think through any plan of action for love or money. I think that's a kind of hell sidereals invent when they want one of their own to suffer the maximum possible amount.
 
Shane_357 said:
Time to deduce the existence of the Sidereals from first principles. Let's see how far we get before carjack murders us.
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...why would he kill Vesper? Putting aside that he's not particularly murder-happy and is super busy, why wouldn't he go "Oh, hey, someone potentially super useful" and try to snatch her up, if he's at the point where he's personally paying attention to something like "yet another DB manages to see through Arcane Fate for a moment", which I would generally suspect to be a self-correcting issue, if they didn't have much to go on.

The Sidereal masquerade isn't something they maintain violently, it's something imposed on them. Someone who can see through it is an asset to be cultivated, not inherently a dangerous threat.
 
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For A Better World 145
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    • You step onto the shore, bare feet sinking a little into the powdery sand. Seawater drips from you. You take a moment to part the lank curtain of your soaked hair from your eyes.

    HAWK SWORD: "Ahoy lady, did you have a fine swim this time?"

    "Yeah."

    Lacking a towel you resort to shaking yourself dry like a dog before replacing your white tunic, loosely tied with your moonsilver rope under your swordbelt, and slip your feet back into your sandals. You feel water dripping from your hair, plastering the tunic to your back and shoulders. Contemplatively, you test the heft of your mason hammer before tucking it back into your belt.

    The lift is ready to go up. This time it is thankfully empty. You spend a few long moments ascending alone.

    WAR: So, what's the plan?

    Plan?

    NAVIGATE: We're looking for Brindle.

    PRESENCE: We're going to need to talk to Fincher about this first. What do we even say?

    STEALTH: We need to keep this to ourselves. In fact, I think we should just go back to the water.

    EMBASSY: Well, we should try to avoid violence, first and foremost.

    PHYSIQUE: I think we should suplex someone.

    EMBASSY: Who?

    PHSYIQUE: Brindle. Maybe Fincher? I don't care, suplexing someone is its own reward.

    SAGACITY: We have no idea what Brindle is, except that he can change memories. He could be a sorcerer, a raksha, or a demon, or even an Anathema.

    WAR: It's true, we had best be prepared.

    EMBASSY: There's also the small matter that we're heading to talk to Fincher after Mei explicitly told us not to.

    PRESENCE: This is an emergency! We can get her to understand.

    The cargo elevator clanks to the top. Far to north, in the mountains beyond the encampment, the sky is afire. The vast radiance of Mei's released Essence illuminates the horizon like an afternoon sunrise. Crimson heat lightning crackles against the clouds. It seems she has begun White Coal's funeral pyre.

    INTEGRITY: Well, let's hope so. How should we approach this?

    [ ] We need to convince Fincher that Brindle is dangerous and back us up.
    [ ] We need to persuade Fincher to follow our lead and interrogate Brindle.
    [ ] We just need Fincher to tell us where he is, then we can take him on our own.
    [ ] We just need Fincher to tell us where he is, then we can talk to him alone.
    [ ] Let's just distract Fincher with small talk and then go after Brindle on our own.
     
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    • For A Better World 146
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    • TheMaskedReader said:
    [X] We need to convince Fincher that Brindle is dangerous and back us up.
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    Sagacity is right, we've got no idea what Brindle's deal is. We should get backup. And also prove to Fincher that we were right.

    EMBASSY: Is that really necessary?

    INTEGRITY: Yes.

    Well, let's get going.

    NAVIGATE: Fincher was assigned to farm the forest region to the west.

    Your senses strobe strangely as you move through the camp, your mind focused distantly on your goal. The clank of iron chains, the strumming of a zither, smells of sweat and fried dough, flashes of orange and blue, someone saying "lady" in an increasingly insistant voice.

    It's only when someone grabs you that you start thinking about that last one.

    You look down at the hand grasping your bandaged shoulder, then follow it to the person attached to it. It's Lily, your new aide. Her freckled face holds an expression of mingled frustration and concern.

    LILY: "Lady, are you alright?"

    Am I alright?

    INTEGRITY: No, not really.

    "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

    LILY: "You just look very pale. And also like you just crawled out of the sea."

    "I didn't crawl, I walked."

    LILY: "Right. Aren't you cold? It must be almost freezing."

    "I didn't really notice."

    LILY: "Maybe we can get you some dry clothes?"

    "I don't know, maybe."

    LILY: "I'm your aide now, right?"

    "Yeah, I guess so."

    LILY: "Dragonlord Mei said you picked me."

    "I did, yeah."

    LILY: "Why'd you do that?"

    INTEGRITY: DIFFICULT
    6 3
    CHECK PASSED

    INTEGRITY: She's not angry about it. She just wants to know what you're thinking.

    What am I thinking?

    INTEGRITY: I don't know.

    [ ] You seemed nice.
    [ ] You were the last eligible person I spoke to.
    [ ] I need a medic on standby.
    [ ] You already saw me naked so it seemed like the least awkward option.
    [ ] You seemed like you could use a break.
    [ ] I'm in a hurry, can we talk about this later?
     
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    • Oooh yeah, Fincher and Vesper (and Lily) time to get the gang back together and root out someone nefariously unremarkable.
     
    For A Better World 147
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    • zxzx24 said:
    [X] You already saw me naked so it seemed like the least awkward option.
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    "You already saw me naked so it seemed like the least awkward option."

    LILY: "What?"

    She turns to follow you as you continue on your walk through the camp.

    "You're probably going to see me naked at some point. That's just how it goes."

    LILY: "You sure that's a good reason to pick an aide?"

    "What do you mean?"

    LILY: "Well, three things. First, that doesn't seem like a great reason to pick an aide to start with. Second, lots of people have seen you naked. Third, you're not exactly wearing much right now."

    You look down at yourself. The linen tunic is plastered to your damp body.

    "It's okay, the bandages are concealing me. What do you mean lots of people have seen me naked?"

    LILY: "Look, that's not important. You're really pale and you're shivering. I think you might have a fever."

    SAGACITY: DIFFICULT
    4 4
    CHECK PASSED

    "Don't worry, I don't have a fever. This is the opposite of a fever."

    LILY: "Yeah? What's that?"

    "Hypothermia."

    LILY: "Okay. Alright. Listen, maybe you should go lie down for a bit. I'll make you some tea."

    "I already had tea. I've got places to go. Important objectives to fulfil."

    LILY: "Right, okay. Where are you going? I can bring you a blanket or something."

    "Out to the forest. Mei said Fincher is working out there with her talon."

    LILY: "Uh... dragonlord Mei said to remind you to stay away from her."

    "Don't worry, I've got a good reason."

    Lily glances towards the conflagration of Essence that is igniting the northern hills. A hole has opened in the clouds, parted by the intensity of the heat displacement, bathing the area in an ethereal shaft of sunlight.

    LILY: "Well, let's hope so. What's the good reason?"

    [ ] I need to tell her that I was right and she was wrong.
    [ ] I think her aide is an Anathema infiltrator.
    [ ] I think her aide has been doing number crimes.
    [ ] I think her aide has been messing with everyone's memories.
    [ ] I want to tell her I'm not mad that she poisoned me again.
    [ ] It's a secret reason.
    [ ] Honestly I just want to catch up.
     
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    • Fantastic. The writing is so... cinematic? It's paced so that it's way easier to picture the pauses and intonation of the lines than in most stories i've read.

    And the comedic timing for things like 'hypothermia' are so on-point.
    "I'm worried you need to be supervised so you have someone who knows what's going on and can stop you from making bad or dangerous decisions."

    "That's ridiculous, I know exactly what's going on! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make an exceptionally dangerous decision because no one has stopped me."
     
    For A Better World 148
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    • Past Dreams said:
    [x] I think her aide has been messing with everyone's memories.
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    "I think her aide has been messing with everyone's memories."

    LILY: "Is that what happened to you?"

    "Oh, I guess you heard about that."

    LILY: "I think everyone has heard about it at this point."

    "Well, it might be. I don't know. I can't remember. I'm going to go fight the red-eyed guy now."

    You gesture vaguely towards the amorphous mass of colors ahead of you. You notice your hand shaking uncontrollably.

    LILY: "Yeah, okay, that makes sense. Listen, I'm going to go and get you some blankets and maybe some hot soup or something, okay? Please don't attack anyone in the next couple of minutes."

    "I'm supposed to resist the Anathema. I'm sure I read that somewhere."

    Lily has already jogged off in the other direction. You continue your passage towards the western palliside.

    SAGACITY: Resist the commands of the Anathema to the fullest degree of the abilities of your present incarnation, and do not fall into despair.

    What?

    SAGACITY: It's the Fifth Dilligent Practice of the Immaculate Philosophy.

    Well, I guess I'll try to do that. And not do that.

    Someone says something to you as you walk through the gates out of the camp, but you aren't really paying attention. The world is streaked with overlapping greys, like charcoal smeared on a page, dappled by the distant orange radiance of Mei's anima and the lingering embers of the burned forest.

    Ahead, distantly, you see a flash of green. It seems so far away, and you are very tired.

    "Hey, Fincher! Hey!"

    Someone responds but you can't really make it out. There are other voices, but you are focused on your goal. You bump into a tree stump and stumble to the ground. There's a sharp whine in your ears.

    ORISON: "You attacking me again, lady?"

    "Hey Orison, I thought you were a tree stump."

    He helps you to a sitting position.

    ORISON: "How are you wet, lady? Did you just crawl out of the sea?"

    "No, I walked. Listen, where's Fincher?"

    ORISON: "She's right there. Are you drunk?"

    "No, I'm just going into shock. My eyes aren't focusing all that well, can you point me?"

    LILY: "Here, put this around her."

    "Oh, hey Lily, you came back."

    You feel something heavy being draped around your shoulders.

    LILY: "Horse blanket is all I could find in a hurry. At least it's clean. Here, take this, hot water."

    Something warm and metal is pressed into your hand.

    ATHLETICS: EASY
    3 2
    CHECK FAILED

    Your shivering hand immediately drops the steaming cup, which splashes on your legs.

    LILY: "Shit!"

    "It's okay. I feel nothing. Where's Fincher? I've got to talk to Fincher. It's about the numbers."

    You hear Orison groan.

    LILY: "She was talking about someone changing memories."

    ORISON: "I'll get the talon, I'm not going to deal with this again."

    You hear him stomp away. The green and red swirls in your vision.

    LILY: "Hey lady, there's still some in the cup, you should drink. Warm up your insides a bit."

    "I hate water." you slur. "I don't know why I do water stuff."

    Lily presses the cup into your hand again and this time is careful to hold it in place. You take a gulp of it. It's tasteless, but warms your throat and belly. You can very faintly feel your nose again.

    "You guys are so nice."

    FINCHER: "Hey boss, what's going on?"

    She sounds wary.

    "Fincher! Fincher, I've got something to tell you!"

    [ ] I'm sorry I got blood on your tunic.
    [ ] I want you to know I don't mind that you poisoned me.
    [ ] Mei seems nice, I think.
    [ ] I think Logris might have seduced me.
    [ ] I need you to join me on a wyld hunt.
    [ ] I need to talk to you about the numbers.
     
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