EVENT ▸ DIPLOMACY

[futurologists]

DIPLOMACY As the skirmishes between wandering Mountain and Sea Clan groups continue in the Flowerlands, by this point enough attackers have been interrogated by Guild Ophelia to paint a compelling picture of unorganized chaos. Each time a skirmish is interrupted, both sides blame the other for starting the impromptu fight, claiming no knowledge of or participation in an organized cabal; the conflicts are entirely coincidental, they say, just a situation where enemies clash in neutral territory. The Flowerlands are suffering, crops trampled and livestock traumatized, and more and more Mountain and Sea Clan people are terrified to leave their cities, lest they be set upon by warriors from the opposing clan. Under this type of political strain, Hanabira threatens to erupt into full-out civil war at any moment, with or without the sanction of the empresses. Two weeks after Ophelia's arrival in the Empire of the Crashing Wave, Doro sends word: Empress Nama and Empress Youmi have agreed to meet and discuss the term of an alliance. Doro's castle will serve as a meeting place, but the difficult part is bringing the empresses there safely. You foreigners have already proven yourselves to be capable and invested in seeing the conflict to a peaceful conclusion, so Doro contracts Ophelia to act as escorts and guards. This might just be the perfect opportunity to whisper proposed solutions to advisors or, if you're lucky, to the empresses themselves. ▸ THE RETINUE Ophelia has a few different options if they choose to take Doro's contract: escort Nama or escort Youmi and/or guard the Flowerlands castle. ESCORT ▸ EMPRESS NAMA. It's a week's worth of travel to return to the Land of Celestial Mountains from the Empire of the Crashing Wave, so the sooner Ophelia starts out, the better. Skirmishes between clans still dot the forests and farms of the Flowerlands, and each time the retinue encounters one, they must decide if they have the time to interfere or if they must push on. After all, the longer there is no peace in Hanabira, the more dire the situation becomes. When the group finally reaches the Land of Celestial Mountains, they'll find that the entire city is locked down. Guards bar the gates, but upon seeing Doro's seal, they'll let the guild members inside and explain the situation: Mountain Clan rebels have stormed Heavenly Summit, cutting a large swath through the castle. Much of Nama's court and guards lay dead inside, with the rebels holding the remainder hostage -- including Empress Nama herself -- unless war is declared against the Sea Clan. The city guards are afraid to approach, worried that this will only anger the rebels further and cause Nama's death, and have directed all townsfolk to stay in their homes until the situation has been resolved. The guards caution Ophelia not to try any rescue efforts themselves, and instead ask them to either find a building to barricade themselves in or leave the city. Of course, it's not like they're keeping a close watch on everyone. Those who choose to slip into Heavenly Summit Castle will find guards surrounding it, trying to stop anyone from coming in as well as keeping arrows trained on all windows in case a rebel shows her face. Stealth is the name of the game, or at least enough brute strength to knock a guard out in one blow before she sounds the alarm. Inside the castle, rebels stalk the halls of every floor, masked in the green color of the Mountain Clan. Some are heavily armored and some only wear peasants' clothes, carrying farmers' sickles; it seems as though the attack on the castle was planned very quickly, too quickly to evenly distribute armor and weapons. There are corpses left where they were killed, with splashes of bright red blood beside them; there are hostages huddled in the corners of rooms, wide-eyed but silent at the sight of foreigners ostensibly here to save them; and, in the heavily-guarded throne room, Empress Nama herself. Fight through the rebel guards with Nama's help, or find a back door and snatch her up before the rebels notice. Either way, once Ophelia lays eyes on her, the magitek will project words in front of them that only they can see: » EMPRESS NAMA Leader of the LAND OF CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS. 23 years old. SPECIES: Human. MEDICAL CONCERNS: Lactose intolerant, recent blow to the head. Nama doesn't ask questions, recognizing the foreigners of Ophelia as those who were meddling after the festival attack and trusting they're here to help her escape. Longbow in hand, she leads the group through secret passageways in the castle, insisting they rescue the nobility on the way out. From there, Nama suggests stealthily escaping the castle and quickly riding out of the city to the safety of Doro's castle, unsure who she can still trust in her own empire. With Empress Nama and her surviving courtiers added to the retinue, it's time to ride back to the Flowerlands -- and hope you aren't chased by rebels along the way. ESCORT ▸ EMPRESS YOUMI. It takes half a week to travel from the Empire of the Crashing Wave to Doro's castle in the Flowerlands. Youmi and two advisors ride in a carriage, with an entourage of royal guards on horseback in front and behind; those in Ophelia who choose to escort this group will either be on foot or must find a mount themselves. The journey is peaceful, allowing for time to make camp by forested hot springs and in farmhouses (in which case Ophelia might need to sleep outside, depending on the size) along the way. The Sea Clan guards are open to idle chatter with the foreigners, curiously discussing cultural differences and indulging in quick lessons in archery. Everything seems to be going smoothly until the entourage enters Flowerlands territory and is confronted by a winged spirit of the forest, angered by all the recent bloodshed in his home. There is no time to talk; the spirit does not wish to negotiate, only to stop the crew from moving any further into his territory by any means possible. The spirit calls the creatures of the forest to his aid, controlling them as if they are under some sort of spell. Ogres, imps, bears, and wolves are the most worrisome among his helpers. His own attacks come from the sky, diving down to slash at his victims with exceptional speed. Those archery lessons will come in handy here, because ranged weapons are most effective against him as long as he remains in flight. He can take an astounding amount of hits, and once he is weakened, will land on the ground to fight in close quarters. Once he is finally defeated, his spell on the forest animals is broken, and even the most aggressive of them scatter. His feathers are black, but up close, seem iridescent in the light, differentiating them from a common bird's. Youmi's guards suggest everyone take a feather to prove they felled a legendary beast. GUARD ▸ FLOWERLANDS CASTLE. Until the empresses and their escorts arrive, it's very uneventful at Doro's castle. It's a smart idea to keep an eye out in case someone hears about the summit and tries to interfere, but so far, things seem to be peaceful. Take the time to bolster defenses, relieve a guildmate of guard duty, or explore the castle. ▸ THE SUMMIT Youmi and her entourage reach Doro's castle first, her royal guards immediately making a sweep of the castle and the grounds to ensure there is no danger lying in wait. Once the castle is cleared, Doro and Youmi disappear into a guarded room to begin discussions. Youmi's advisors are left out of this initial meeting, making now the perfect time to start some discussions of your own. Days later, Nama's retinue arrives, and Doro and Youmi (and the rest of her entourage) meet her at the castle gates. The two empresses step cautiously forward to meet each other, bowing politely. Moments later, Doro steps forward to gather Nama into a hug, which she gladly returns, giggling like the young girl she is. She's had a rough time, which she quickly explains to Doro, and asks if she can first have a bath and a moment to breathe. Doro and Youmi are more than willing to give it to her after hearing her experience. Doro tells Ophelia they have their run of the castle until dinner tonight, when Doro, Youmi, and Nama will all be together in the same room with the team. Sounds like the perfect time to propose a plan, so you'd better finish up discussions about what to do! There's a bit of a time limit. ▸ OOC NOTES If you have questions about this log or the overall mission, please ask them on the dossier. Questions about Futurology in general should be directed to the FAQ. ▸ Up now: Proposal submissions and voting, due 21 February 23:59 UTC. Uniform Design Contest, submissions due 28 February 23:59 UTC. Gamewide voting will be in March. ▸ Coming next: Formal proposal arguments begin 22 February. March calendar on 24 February. February AC begins 1 March and lasts through 5 March. Please review our activity requirements to ensure you have the correct amount of proofs! ▸ Bounty Board ▸ Items Page ▸ General Plotting ▸ February Calendar

Comments

Hayame | Jinba | OTA

[kisha]

０１ ↣ 立ち寝 ↣ FLOWERLANDS CAMP

[It takes a week to traverse the Flowerlands, and though Hayame is sure she could make the journey faster... there would be little point in doing so alone. She is confident in her physical strength, but she isn't delusional. Despite the quick march, they still do have to rest sometimes... and so Hayame gathers near the fire. She isn't on watch duty, but she's still alert, refusing as she had every night they've been traveling to even lay down to sleep, crossing her arms beneath her breasts and closing her eyes...

Until a sound snaps her out of her standing doze and she starts back to full alertness, sword half drawn from its sheath before she realizes it was... probably just you.]

０２ ↣ 侵入中 ↣ HEAVENLY SUMMIT RAID

[Stealth isn't something Hayame is good at- not outside of the hunt and the woods. She's too large to sneak into a building... but she's fast, and she's strong, and she's a damn good shot. So far they've managed to get in undetected, but now...

Waiting around a corner just before an exposed section of the castle wall that was being guarded by archers looking down from above, Hayame takes a slow breath, popping open the quiver at her shoulder and running the tips of her fingers over the fletching. Counting.]

Can you see how many archers are in position there?

[She counted three... but for this to work, and keep them undiscovered... she has to be sure.]

０３ ↣ 疲弊 ↣ RETURN TO DORO'S CASTLE

[Hayame pushes herself on the return, gallops out ahead of the rest of Empress Nama's escort in order to both check the road for enemies and alert Doro's people of the impending arrival. By the time she clatters into the courtyard of the Flowerlands castle sweat is foaming on her flanks, both sets of lungs heaving, slim ankles quaking intermittently in exhaustion- but she sees to her duty, alerts Doro's people...

And then she trots, forcing her legs to keep moving in order to slow her hearts rates down more evenly, pausing every now and then to lean against a wall, stretching out her backlegs with a shake of hoof, curling the fore, heat fairly steaming off her hide despite the temperate weather.

Eventually, her forehead leans against the wall too, a moment of weakness, (throat dry, stomachs empty, dreading the discussions and words that would surely come next), eyes closed.]

０４ ↣ 鬼札を引く ↣ WILDCARD

[Plotting comment is here. If there's several replies already to one starter, or you'd like a different raid prompt, Hayame will be in the thick of things so just hit me up via comment or at stormcoming for a custom starter.]

04, The Summit aka new bow who dis??

[justbeingknife]

[ With a break in the fighting and discussions underway to which they did not appear invited, Majima took the time to do what was clearly the important thing here: texting centaurs. ]

Hayame-han, are you busy?

Some of the guards're making arrows. Figured you'd know something about it.

[kisha]

[distraction from the dumpster fire that is every time Hayame tries to talk with the group as a whole ever?

please.]

Have they excess material on hand? My quiver is depleted.

[justbeingknife]

Plenty of arrow shafts. Bit of a shortage of feathers, but I picked up some of those hawks that were attackin' Youmi's entourage.

[ He included some quick directions to his current location in the castle. ]

[kisha]

Hawk attacks?

[She’s on her way tho]

02

[reposing]

Of course.

[Though he certainly would not doubt Hayame's count if she had said it out loud. Few as their interactions have been, Alucard only has respect for her so far. She is stern, hard, but not cruel.

Alucard leans out just slightly, hardly glancing -- but smelling the air, detecting them. Their blood.]

Three.

[kisha]

[Three, then.

Fingers dance over the arrows in her quiver and select one, two, then three arrows, pulling them out in a fluid motion and notching one on her bowstring, holding the other two in her other hand, woven in between knuckles. It was just like firing at the line of targets in yabusame, one after the other. Only these targets need to be hit in the heart, lungs, or eyes.

From this distance... lungs or heart. To kill instantly, or to rob their breath for screams.]

I will attempt to take them before they can raise the alarm. If I fail... I will hold the area and distract them while you find another way in.

[There’s something a bit dark, a bit final about that “if”.]

02

[forcevisions]

[ Rey isn't looking. She's listening, reaching out, with her eyes shut and her back pressed to a tree that she's been getting familiar with while they stake this place out. ]

Three. A fourth is patrolling. She'll be back soon.

[kisha]

[Since joining ALASTAIR, Hayame has had to accept that some people possess... abilities. Ones she cannot understand, nor truly wants to.

But still... she cannot trust it fully, cannot help but ask, whispered soft and quick.]

How sure are you?

[Whether she had some sort of farsight, or... what, she wasn't sure, but.

She pulls three arrows from her quiver.]

[forcevisions]

Positive.

[ She opens her eyes and looks up at Hayame. ]

I can feel them. [ Rey's eyes go to the bow and she frowns. ] Do you mean to kill them? [ Because an injury will only give them the chance to set the alarm. But ... getting close would mean learning to do that trick Ben had pulled on her and on the ambushers at the festival (a) instantly, (b) in quick succession on multiple people. So. That doesn't look super feasible either. ]

[kisha]

[Positive, she says- and it does sound it, to her credit. She doesn't like relying on such powers as this, but... it backed up what she herself believed, so just as a second opinion...]

Yes.

[One arrow she notches on the bowstring, the other two she begins weaving between her knuckles.]

If I do not... I will hold this area, and you can slip in during the fighting.

["If". If she cannot hit three targets in succession, while cantering. She hits targets like that all the time for Exhibition Day, for the assessment of potential buyers... this time, the targets are just organs.]

3

[spiritgun]

[ Since being plunged into the spirit world, Yusuke's seen a lot of strange things. Demons are a fairly odd-looking bunch. But he'd never seen a horse person outside of one picture book Keiko had thrown at him once, so when he rounds the corner to see one it takes him a minute to process the big picture.

What the fuck? runs through his mind but thankfully doesn't make it out of his mouth. The human half looks exhausted, and Yusuke focuses on that and not the whole...rest of what's happening here. ]

You okay?

[ He doesn't see any blood, which implies this is an emotional situation. Yusuke's already uneasy about it, but it's too late to turn and run even if he were inclined to do that. ]

[kisha]

[After the hard pace she'd set for herself from the mountain clan lands, Hayame is exhausted- not that she'll ever admit it to anyone, let alone a stranger. Not that the people in Ophelia should still be strangers to her yet, but.

She wasn't the most social creature. At the sound of being hailed she jerks herself back upright, quickly wiping sweat from her forehead and neck, smoothing her disheveled mane and trying to act as if her slim equine ankles weren't quivering.]

I am fine.

[Just ignore the very obvious stomach gurgle coming fro the horse half.]

[spiritgun]

You don't look fine.

[ rudeness.... ]

Do you want to sit down?

[ Can she sit down? Yusuke really isn't good at this. Where's Kuwabara when you need him? ]

I know where the kitchen is, by the way.

[ Since solving a problem with either a clumsy attempt at comfort or by offering food is literally Yusuke's only known approach. ]

[kisha]

[Rude...

To which Hayame response with only a glare that could truly wither flowers, too tired to actually muster a rebuke, both sets of lungs expanding in short heaves, shaking a back leg out both to try and stop the cramping and to get the lather of sweat off.]

Where?

[She'll focus on the useful part.]

3!

[tenthousandmiles]

[Ginko is no combatant; for the most part, where it concerns the battles, he's only capable of keeping himself out of others' way and offering assistance with first aid, afterward. He's not a Sentinel, but he can offer some small amount of relief by less magical means, at the least.

When he spots Hayame leaning heavily against the castle wall, he approaches carefully, announcing his presence in the sound of his footsteps. Once she turns around, she'll notice he's offering her some water.]

Here.

[kisha]

[She jerks herself back upright the moment she hears the approach- which is fast, considering her heightened senses.

But the water she'll take, reaching out to take it in the careful manner that avoids any and all touch between them.]

My thanks.

[tenthousandmiles]

[...Huh. That's -- odd. Ginko doesn't make any move to get closer to her as she takes the water, though he doesn't back away, either.]

If you're tired, you should rest.

[kisha]

What does it look like I am doing?

[She takes a drink, almost starts to guzzle... but that is instinct, not actually the best thing to do while she’s so overheated, so she takes her lips off the flask for a moment, forcing herself to take small, intermittent sips.]

(Not laying down is what it looks like, Hayame.)]

three

[bestaround]

—Oh, so it is you.

[ Lurking around the castle grounds himself—they've been here for days, and it isn't as if there's much else to do—9S thought he had caught a glimpse of Ophelia's resident cranky animal lady, so he thought to catch up and see for sure. Now that he has... ]

You look pretty terrible.

[ Must've really been rough traveling out there. But hey, if it'll make Hayame feel any better, at least Pod isn't anywhere to be seen, currently. ]

[kisha]

[What a greeting. (At least there's no soul-having metal floating box around to echo it.)

Hayame pulls her weight sharply from the exhausted lean upon the wall, quickly as possible wiping sweat from her brow. Perhaps the weaklings in this team were rubbing off on her- it has been too long since she put herself through such a prolonged gallop.]

And what of it?

[... she wasn't able to actually deny that she did look terribly, though. Mane disheveled, coated in lathered sweat, a cut on her rump oozing where running had reopened a wound.]

[bestaround]

[ Well... ]

Nothing, I guess. [ Because if past experience is anything to go by, she'll probably continue to pretend there's nothing wrong. Becoming a bloodied mess back on Zymandis' ship didn't stop her, so would sheer exhaustion? ] Did Nama make it out all right? I heard from Keith what the situation was over there, but that was a few days ago.

02.

[ofobedience]

[Giovanni, on the other hand, knows how to slink about unnoticed-- small and lithe as he is, near-silent on his feet, faster than any human has a right to be, it's almost as though he'd been made for it (haha). Perhaps his preferences run towards other, more violent methods, but he can be stealthy when he needs to be.

It's been a combination of both that have got him this far-- stealth, and the strength to take down those who stand in his way with both speed and silence. Now here he is, having run into his teammate, and despite the rush and thrum in his head that urges him toward a swift and vicious attack, he's employing caution. Can do this, too, when the mood takes him.

He raises his head in response to her question. Subtly scents the air. Making sure.]

Three, no more than that.

[kisha]

[Three, then.

Fingers dance over the arrows in her quiver and select one, two, then three arrows, pulling them out in a fluid motion and notching one on her bowstring, holding the other two in her other hand, woven in between knuckles. It was just like firing at the line of targets in yabusame, one after the other. Only these targets need to be hit in the heart, lungs, or eyes.

From this distance... lungs or heart. To kill instantly, or to rob their breath for screams.]

I will attempt to take them before they can raise the alarm. If I fail... I will hold the area and distract them while you find another way in.

[There’s something a bit dark, a bit final about that “if”.]

[ofobedience]

[He nods, a sharp perfunctory movement that belies the jitter and jump in him as her words turn dark, as part of him hopes that she does fail, that perhaps they can instead engage in something messier bloodier more visceral, a true and worthy fight.

But that's not the name of the game here today, and he knows that. Tries instead to reign himself in, hold tight to the aims laid out before them, to get the job done as cleanly as they're able.]

Understood. Between the two of us, one way or the other, we'll have this covered.