War Council, Redux

[rassafraggin]

At the fourth level of the fort built into the side of a cliff is a room with a great window overlooking the sea. If you used a Begman telescope you could see all three Lighthouses in the distance. There is a round table with a large map spread out onto it. The map has various points of interest on it, some obscured. It shows the general location of Emor and surrounding territory, distance from Rebma, obstacles in-between and so on and so forth. There are little things all over the map, army markers, and city-markers, just like any War Map should be. Before coming to Gwynn Gaer, you have been sworn an oath of secrecy about anything revealed here. Yes, this means that essay-writing would be frowned upon. This is the location of her Majesties Navy, where flatlanders with partial Rebman blood serve their queen best. It is not a large force, and couldn't really be considered an army on its own. It's meant for defense only of the Triangle. Twilight bathes the Misty Isle in an eerie glow. Martin stands at a window dressed in his typical land clothing. There is a box on a chest to the far left, dagger sized and plenty of liquor, snacks and smokes.

Quinlan tap tap taps his way up to the fourth level, staff in hand, which is the closest he ever seems to get to 'ready for trouble'. Arriving in the room, slightly out of breath, he says, "Next time...definitely sailing here, not swimming. Or flying. You wanted to see me?"

Martin nods. "Hey, thanks for coming. I've been meaning to get in touch, but there's been a great deal going on." He looks less cheerful than usual. "Simply put, I'm in a very difficult situation. I've explained the whole thing to Maggie and Mr Merrisol yesterday. We have a small window of opportunity to rescue the children and victims kidnapped and brainwashed by Black Water Agents before I will be forced to deal with the Resurrected Witch's growing army of Cultists and apparently also an army of dead children." He gestures about at nothing in particular. "So we spent a little time yesterday planning but may need more time to plan today. In fact. I think we really need another fighter."

Quinlan sniffs the air curiously, looking around until his attention falls on the box. Frowning, he steps back away from it. "...Which doesn't actually explain why you asked for me, cousin...."

Several minutes after the Wave Dancer puts into the island harbour, Merrisol stamps on up the steps to the same room, having had to transfer a few items to the submarine that is also docked.. you may have seen the huge seahorse head and neck S-curving upwards from the water's surface, round crystal eyes staring out to sea. Entering the room in time to catch some of the latter bits of conversation, he takes up a leaning spot near the doorway and suggests, "Dame Taleyn? Having been on the previous excursion she would be familiar with the situation at least.. and she has that fine sword that works underwater. There's also... ah, Dame Tessa. She knows a bit about the abductions and demonstrated an unusual concern for the orphan plight.." That is.. unusual for Tessa.. she who would slaughter cute penguin armies!

The sound of leather shod booted feet comes from the stairway. Although Maggie makes it to the top with more ease than her magically inclined cousin she is still a bit winded when she strides into the War Room. She is dressed in her usual dry land clothing complete with a certain favored cutlass. Hey, if Quin can come in armed, so can she. Hearing more of Merrisol's commentary than Martin or Quinlan's she adds, "Or Moxon. He has been down to Rebma quit a bit and might be familiar with fighting under water. Though I do not know if he is aware of the situation exactly." She does not lean against a wall but walks across to the table with its map and toy buildings."

Liya follows after Merrisol, having little trouble with climbing the steps. She pauses a moment, as she gets there. She bows her head politely to Martin, and then just finds a spot to sit quietly for the moment, the Sukhoti able to fight in a pinch, but not necessarily up on fighting Under the water, just atop it more or less.

Martin looks a little more pleased when people start to arrive. "I'll get to your usefulness shortly, Quin." He smiles one of those randomesque expressions that indicate there's a really darn good reason for Quinlan. Really! "I believe Taleyn may be otherwise occupied. Tessa's a good sort, but she may have issues with keeping this place secret we could call her in after we've left Gwyn Gaer if she cannot swear an oath, thank you for the recommendation, Mr Merrisol, Maggie. If you have a way of contacting her, I would suggest talking to her as soon as you can. Moxon is also a good idea This represents the space in between Emor; The Witch's stronghold." He notes the location of several odd looking collections of creatures. "We need to avoid these." He explains. "We don't want the Submarine attacked." He smiles when he sees Liya. "Good to see you again, Liya."

Quinlan smiles a bit, nods, and promptly shuts up so that the debriefing can be handled with the minimum fuss.

Leaning a bit over, Maggie nods as Martin begins to explain the lay of the land, "Hmm. Okay." Moving around to look at the map from another angle, she glances up at Merrisol in his capacity of Captain of the Solar Flare, "Do you think the sub can get through some of these trenches? Though it may be better to sail beyond and come back from the other side. A rescue from the Rebman side would be expected." Looking back up at Martin, Maggie nods, "I think that I can find her, yes. Or Moxon. One of them. Robert can certainly find his wife if I can't and I can find him."

Merrisol is wearing a wool-knit coat that suits foggy clammy climates like those of lonely rock islands and lighthouses. He raises his hand in greeting to Quinlan once Martin has answered the mage's question, partially anyway. As Maggie and Liyandra find their space within the room, he un-leans from his wall and looks to the undersea map once more, the passes that are effectively blocked. "It can.. assuming those approaches marked clear have been thoroughly and accurately scouted for terrain," he says to Maggie. "Could I get a copy of this map..?" He looks to Quinlan, batting his eyelashes. Like they have 'history' now.

Liya smiles at Martin, at his greeting. "It is nice to see you too, Your Highness." Her gaze goes over to Quinlan, with a warmer smile. "Hey, Quin," she says, obviously more at ease with the mage than with Martin. Liya is wearing a cotton lace up shirt and a pair of grey leggings, looking very sailorish indeed. Merrisol's eyelash batting gets an odd look from Liya, but then, she simply turns her attention to the map. "How long is it going to take to get to where we need to go? And should I be prepared to fight or just to look out for ... assistants?"

"We do need someone who can deal with the dead." Martin smiles ruefully. "Izett says that she will be available if possible, and really, anyone who can fight is good. We need to be focused on getting the victims out and to the safety of the sub. So pretty much we're going to need a diversion, a snatch and grab and a way for our diversion to get the heck out of dodge before the big guns come in. The problem is going to be us getting close enough to the children to snatch them without someone noticing." He looks around at everyone and looks fairly amused at their attire. "You all realize... there's going to be a change of attire for all of us. Don't worry, I've got the costumes. And the mage." He jerks a finger at Quinlan. "And the thing that will mask us." he jerks his finger again at the box. "I'm sure there will be time for kissing, too, Merri...."

Quinlan seems only to be half listening to Martin; that box has more of its attention than even he seems to be happy with. But he's staying well away from it - well out of arm's reach. And the hand that isn't holding his staff is firmly in his pocket. "Hey, Liya. You're looking well. Merri. Nice to see you too." He glances toward Martin at 'and the mage', somewhat puzzled.

Maggie looks up in time to see Merri bat his luxurious lashes at Quinlan and can't stifle the chuckle that begins within. Yes, the moment is serious, but hey... She winks at the men yonder, then nods to Martin, "I can manage a diversion, actually. If I can reach Taleyn or Moxon that makes it easier, but if not I have a few ideas along those lines." Looking down at her clothing then back up, she grimaces, "We're going in minion chique, aren't we?"

Quinlan frowns. "Martin," he says slowly, "if you've got something living locked in that box, and it's not just Chaos playing with my head, you want to *sit on that lid right now*."

Liya blinks, as she looks over at the box, checking her own senses. Not that she can tell Chaos, but she surely has some others that she's not really been paying attention to, up until now. "Wait - what?" she asks, startled.

Merrisol pauses, then straightens away from the map, gaze dropping to the markings again. He'll ask for a magical copy of it again later.. more stodgily.. for better results. After following Martin's gestures from box to mage back to box, he turns his head the other way to study Maggie, frowning. "What did you have in mind for diversion? I'd like to know beforehand so it doesn't become a distraction for the rescue team as well." The mention of The Box and its possible contents drags his attention back the other way then.

Martin glances at the box, then Quinlan. "Huh? Oh...it's a dagger. It's not alive as far as I know. There is a piece of the black road in it, shiny mirror-like gem of some kind." His attention turns to Merrisol. "Well, turns out Princess Miriam saw a colliseum in her dreams and the people dress kind of like they do in Aegis. Ancient roman, greek, that sort of thing. The cultists dress differently but the general ghost populous have that kind of look. I thought maybe Quinlan could use his magic to make us appear to be ghosts as well. Traveling minstrels so we could get through the city and create a diversion. We could get the attention of the people... I could...uh sing. While you all get dressed up as the cultists and rescue the children." Flawless plan! What could go wrong?

Quinlan mmms. "...I can make us look like magical constructs. Unless this place is a fair distance from Amber, anyway. Good ways past the Golden Circle, that kind of thing. Otherwise the Pattern's reality just ...screws with my illusions almost as badly as a Karm's bedtime candle."

Maggie nods to Merrisol's question, "Well. It depends. I can bring the Weve Dancer in from the Rebman side to..." Before she can finish, Quinlan speaks and she plays the ping-pong spectator between Martin and Quin, then Martin and the box, then Quin then Box. Maybe it is more a spectator at a Rocky Horror Picture show. You know the scene. The one when they bounce back and forth between certain cast members right after Janet and Rocky are caught... Right then. When her gaze finally settles on the box, she cautiously inhales, the snif brief and exploratory. She cannot sense Chaos, nor can she sense Life. Her senses are the more mundane Pathian 'hey. It's magic. Over there!' kind. When Martin supplies both an answer to whether the box needs to be converted momentarily into a bench, and a plan of sorts, Maggie focuses the majority of her attention to her musical cousin, "For one thing, do traveling minstrals even know about the city? Or, do you mean traveling ghost minstrals?"

Liya can sense life, actually. Though she rather just stares at the box, then over at each of her companions in turn. "Travelling minstrels - that is something I could help with, I suppose," says the bard with a bit of a smile.

Merrisol half-sits on the table in his somewhat slack-jawed astonishment for Martin's devious deception caper... and can now more easily see how Aegis is one of Martin's favoured shadows. "Does.... that mean everyone in the city is able to see ghosts, so we can be a viable distraction to both the living and the dead? Or that we'll be invisible like ghosts, but visible to ghosts? Or... what?" he wonders, logic circuits frying already.

"The animal that Liyandra trains can be used to identify hthe location of the children and bring back the information so tha we have a clear idea of where to go." Martin continues with this glorious plan. "It's just outside Rebma waters, Quinlan, it was a crossroads city. It is one of the Lost Cities where only Ghosts walk, much like the empty city.. yet not completely empty. The dagger will help the rescue party pass themselves off as the cultists. The rescue party's leader can carry the dagger. The city has been magicked so that ghosts can see humans and vice versa and interact per our prisoner."

Quinlan nods slowly. "So all we really need is enough magical shimmer to look less real than we are, to minds already prepared to believe. Good. That should make it possible for the illusion to work."
Tessa has arrived.

Martin adds, "of course, I do warn you, Caine stated that whomever carries that thing." he indicates the box. "will need to be very wary."

Liya nods to Martin, as she listens. "Though - I cannot see what said fishy can see, not unless I can see the critter," she says softly. "Though I think we've identified a couple good candidates for such work." She looks at Merri, and says, "And I have to admit, Kerf picks up on things pretty quickly." Some top secret place, who knows where, with a map in the middle, a scary box, and a group of folks kibitzing, that's what it is.

Maggie says, "Okay. So. Quin, do you need to see whomever wears your illusion? Martin, are we all going to be hidden by illusion or only the distraction?" She nods to Liya's mention of the fishy, then shadowa a grin Merri's way. The grin slips away as she contemplates the box. "Nasty piece of work that one. So, do you want me as part of the stage show or in the group finding the kids? I doubt that I can... Oh, wait. Yes I can. You can have fire in bubbles for your stage show, Martin. If you want them."

"I need to see them," says Quinlan slowly, still keeping well away from that box. "Because it isn't real, you see. So its existence isn't in any way dependent on anything actually going on. I have to manipulate the illusion to match what you're doing. So...yeah. I need to be able to see you, to do that."

Merrisol absorbs the response, nodding slowly, although he soon comes up with another question from the Big Book of Costume Caper Troubleshooting. He smiles briefly to acknowledge Liyandra's good will, listens to the rest, before saying, "And.. all these soldiers in the Dragon Queen's Army, from ghost to live recruit.. they all bear that mark of Black Water, like our escapee bears," he gentles the word used for what is effectively a Rebman citizen abducted by cultists and tainted, then recaptured as a prisoner of war. Tough, but true.. and he has seen how it bothers Martin. "What is the risk on our being pressed into service as well, upon entering the city under whatever pretense?"

"Only the distraction." Martin nods. "Quin will be with the Minstrils while the people dressed as cultists will not need the illusion so much due to the cultists not being ghosts. The dagger will help give them credibility. Liya if it can find the children, it can lead the group to them. Unfortunately, it seems we can't really use the mirror. Only a mirror mage can and that will be very obvious to whomever is there that someone came out of a mirror. The soldiers from ghost to live recruit do, yes, all bear that mark. There's always a risk. We have an entry plan.. but Mr Merrisol's right, no exit plan yet."

Tessa, let through a trump call a moment ago, looks out the window toward the distant lighthouses. Or would be, if it wasn't for the wide band of black cloth that has effectively blinded her. One can assume it probably has something to do with the sensitive information contained on the war map and the general high-security nature of her locale. Apparently the oath to secrecy is not quite enough security for someone who is mostly unaligned with Rebman interest.

Martin thumbs up when Maggie mentions lights.

Liya glances over towards Tessa, but she stays quiet for a moment, listening. She nods to Martin. "True that, they should be able to, yes." The mirror mage concept and the thought of getting conscripted - does not really appeal to her, but this is definitely worth quite a bit of risk. "Alright, we can see if we can find the children, and get them back out. but - I think you just hit the best note for a bit. Let's say we have the children, and we get back to Mr. Merrisol's submersible. Then - what?"

Flickering a glance toward Merri, Maggie listens as a certain question goes unanswered, "None, then. Though... I can leave my trump with someone on the sub and the children can be taken there as they are found. Then the rescue party can trump out. Martin, Quin and I can leave after the show is over. Drift in ghostly fashion to a building on the edge of 'town' and leave that way. We could trump back once we are no longer within visual range of anyone, I suppose." She smiles at the thumbs up. Martin does like his fire and dancers. Or, fire anyway.

Merrisol looks at Tessa's creative headgear of can't-keep-a-sekrit, and frowns over at Martin. "Dame Tessa, it's Captain Merrisol.." he informs her before walking in close to pull a chair for the sightless woman. "Would you like a seat while you wait to be cleared? I can get you a drink as well." He looks around towards the others, catching up with the discussion. "Am I going cultist with Liya then? As for exit strategy.. Martin. How do you feel about a monster mash to bring the house down on your performance? The Solar Flare has powerful external sound amplification and can emit sonar." He points at the spots on the map that are annotated for the presence of dangerous creature clusters. "We could force a stampede of sorts, and leave amid chaos." Well.. obviously Chaos.

Martin nods slowly at Merrisol, approving of this plan. "I like that idea. Prince Benedict gave me the pass-codes for his armies under the sea that I've been made aware of." Martin tells the group. "Once we have freed the hostages, they will wipe out the cultists or at the very least send them fleeing far from here." He glances at Quinlan. "You may remember seeing them in the water at the island that isn't always there. Well, we could also use my jellyfish army to mask our escape at the same time." When Tessa is settled he nods to her presence. "Good evening, Dame Tessa and thank you for coming. I apologize we were caught up in planning. Here with me are Captain Flame, Liyandra and you know Mr Merrisol and Quinlan. You are in the Rebman Triangle. I believe it may be some conflict of interest for you to swear the oath so if you don't mind we will leave the blindfold on until we get to the sub. Is that alright with you my lady?"

Tessa shuffles her stance, as if plagued by an itch that society deems to be of terrible manners to scratch at. At Merrisol's question, she shakes her head. At the offer, her upper lip twitches in a subtle upward manner. "No, I'm fine. Just waiting to be useful. Just a thought, providing distraction to cover a retreat is a sound strategy but causing panic can be a destructive one. Unless everyone involved is of nefarious behavior, or you don't mind collateral damage, it is better to downplay your exit strategy instead of making a grand gesture. In my experience, people get stampeded in stampedes." This entire train of thought is obviously left less valid since it was obviously meant for Merrisol's benefit, and she's facing entirely the wrong direction for that. At the mention of Benedict's underwater armies, she tenses slightly. "I would consider that fair, Regent. Thank you for having me." Still facing the wrong way, idiot.

"Hi, Tessa," Liya says, though she then turns to look at Martin, Merri, and Maggie, as she listens. "Seems that we have the plan more or less in place," she murmurs softly. "Just a matter of figuring out how to execute it, without getting into too much trouble. At least in theory. Alright, I'm game to give it a shot, at the very least."

Quinlan smiles a bit. "I'll do the ghost illusions when you ask, but I'm not carrying the box. I'd sooner give Caine a handjob."

Maggie puts a smile into her voice, "It is good to see you, Dame Tessa. It has been a long time. Thank you for being willing to lend a hand." And a sword, or whatever. She considers Tessa's comments and begins to attempt an answer. "The city is one of ghosts, primarily. It is unlikely that they will be bothered by the stampede. Once we extract the children and other kidnapped citizens, those remaining alive are all loyal to, and fight for, the Witch Queen." Nodding to Martin, she asks, "That is fair to say, yes?"

Merrisol puts the chair out of the way again, and since Maggie is addressing the collateral matter well, he returns to a spot further along the conference table. He says aside to Liya, "For the purpose of this mission, it sounds like Mimic is best suited for the complexity of instruction for advance scouting and searching the barracks, where the children are housed." He looks up again, gaze trailing from Quinlan over to Dat Box. "I missed something. Which party does the box need to be with? I can hold on to it, if it's dangerous to magi." Which everyone else here is, right?

"I thank you for having me, but I should return and put all my affairs in order if I am to be involved with heroics." Tessa interrupts, blindly reaching into pockets for her trumps. "If you will all excuse me?"

Quinlan considers. "...I think I'd best get some sleep. I'll...head out of here, actually, and come back tomorrow, because I think trying to sleep near the creepy box is probably not a healthy idea."

Martin nods to Maggie, "Yes." and considers the numbers next. "Thank you, Tessa. The Wandering Minstrels will be Quinlan, Maggie, Myself and possibly Liyandra unless she needs to be near the animal who will lead The Rescuers to where the Victims are being kept. I have descriptions of all of them. The victims, I mean. There are a total of around 7 so far. We still need something to ensure that they will come with you when you find them, that knock out potion you were talking about previously, Merrisol. The dagger needs to be with your party and I have every confidence that you will be able to resist it. The Rescuers will be Tessa and Merrisol so far but we do need to add to that group. Maggie, you said you could get hold of Robert, and Izett stated she may join which means Lucian might come with her, we could also get Moxon in a pinch and probably a couple others. I'm sure that you will be fighting cultists. We need enough people to carry 5 children and 2 adults safely out of there. When we hear the sub play during the 'grand finale' that is going to be the sign the kids are safe and we should release the horde and escape." So much trouble to go through for seven people, aren't rulers supposed to care about the Needs of the Many? This one apparently cares about his people down to the last Rebman hair. "One thing I have not considered is the Witch herself. From all intel, it appears she is not at full strength and might flee or confront us. If Robert and Izett are with us, the Feldane can certainly handle her and her Ghost army, then one of Benedicts armies can clean up the remainder." He picks up a decanter of good scotch and pours several glasses.

Merrisol continues to study the topographical layout, leaving Liya to confirm that yes, she needs to be in the 'cultist' party in order to make use of the animal scouts.

-------------------------------------------------------------------[ DPJ ]----
Author: Martin Held By: Merrisol
Date: Tue Jul 30 20:40:34 2013 Focus: 0
Title: Obsidian Dagger
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Token Description
A small twisted dagger, forearm length with a black onyx like gemstone. The gemstone is a sliver of the black road, smooth; like a mirror. This dagger also has the emblem of the Dragon Queen on it A black upside down trident with snake heads. It radiates black water.
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Once Tessa and Quinlan have gone off to their respective rests, Maggie glances over to where Liyandra is studying what they know of the city layout. Moving closer to Martin, she speaks quietly, "Hey... Martin? Would you clarify something for me, please? When we were talking about this earlier you mentioned that some of the Elders said that the kidnappees should be killed. Right? Who said that? Do you remember? Or am I misremembering something here?"

Merrisol writes a column of numbers on some scrap paper while he's waiting for his chums to wrap up their ends. Then it's back to the sub with him.

Martin smiles a little at his friend. "When I asked him about the effects of Black Road Taint, Caine mentioned that if they are truly, irreversibly infected they may not be able to come back from it. He also stated that the more infected people there are, the stronger the Black Road is. My father of course, suggested that a hands on rescue attempt was waste of resources, and some of the elders in my council cautioned against letting the Witch have any more time to gain power, that an full on attack was necessary for the good of Rebma." He takes a little breath, "However, I spoke with Sol about the situation she inferred that she could probably cleanse them at the cost of another death depending on how badly they are affected."

Maggie listens, then turns slightly, her gaze floating out the window toward the watch towers, "It is interesting to me that no one brought up fostering the tainted kids in Banyan. But, I guess if it was a resource discussion rather than a 'kill the tainted' I can see it." A blink and she turns a smile to her cousin, though there is an edge to it, "I know that you know this, but... Be cautious when listening to Uncle Caine, Martin. Okay? He will lead you down the path of ruin by making reasonable suggestions. I am glad that you did not go with the plan as it stood." Lifting a hand, she squeezes Martin's shoulder then turns, "I'm headed back. See you in the morning, Martin. Kerf?" The man is given a quick glance and a softer sort of smile. "Care to join me?"

Martin gives Merrisol the box with the dagger and pours himself a nice stiff drink.

Merrisol takes the skeery box in one hand in defiant ignorance of its content's properties, says good night to Martin, and rejoin the others. Liyandra slips down the stairwell ahead of them to go to the ship like a good little oath-sworn guest. On the stairs, he looks at Maggie. "Can you tell me now what Quinlan's interesting observation was?"

Maggie waves good night to Liyandra and walks with Merrisol down the stairs part way. She pauses when he does and nods, "It was just what I mentioned to Martin. That someone seems bent on getting Martin to authorize killing tainted people. Which makes no sense since Caine, Portia and Mordred are allowed to live. He asked why no one mentioned fostering the kids in Banyan. The setup put me in mind of the Black Mold. Then he said that it sounded to him as though someone was trying to discredit Martin. Perhaps enough so that Random can't claim a tie to Rebma when he goes for the throne. Politics."

Merrisol ohs. That old thing. Can it all possibly be interconnected? "Is fostering chaos-tainted children in Banyan beneficial somehow? I'm missing details on why that is a solution." He continues down the steps.

Maggie pauses for a moment, then moves after him, "Well. Banyon is kind of a Chaos place. The kids would be raised there though I don't know what parenting is like there. If they are tainted there are all kinds of reasons for keeping them far away from Amber. Chaos tainted things and people react violently with Pattern things. I think that they can explode. The people. Or burn horribly. The same is true for Pattern touched people who are cut by Chaos things, I think. though I'd have to verify with Quin. So, having Chaos touched people in Rebma or Amber would be like having friendly time bombs in your back yard." She glances back up toward the room where Martin remains and adds, "Probably those reasons are just as valid for Rebma too though I do not know for certain... Still, if Sol can cure them? That is best. Then they can just go home."

Merrisol listens, learns... and nods reluctantly, perhaps plagued by a memory from the last sacrificial cleansing ritual. "Yes.. it is."

Maggie does remember the last sacrificial cleansing. She takes two hurried steps down and reaches out to rest her hand on Merri's shoulder. She does not speak, for there is nothing to say, really. The last ritual was horrific. But these are kids for the most part and... Yeah.