epidemiology | EVENT ▸ DIPLOMACY

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.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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.]

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. ]

[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.]

[ Rey looks surprised to hear Hayame say that, and … a little touched? Not because she is being protected, but rather because Hayame is trusting her to Do Work while Hayame is the distraction, and Hayame doesn't seem like the type to trust anyone else to be competent. Or at least, not trust it easily.

Once the shock passes, she offers a heartening smile and nods. She's confident, at least, and at peace with being able to pull that off if it proves necessary. ]

Let's make sure they're the only deaths this requires. [ She doesn't want to see it turn to fighting, and if they can get in through a gap in the wall, Rey can definitely sneak them past the rest with jedi mind tricks. ]

[She hasn't seen Rey fight properly, perhaps, not yet, but she's human. Humans were better at sneaking in to human places than jinba were... and she has seen her body. She is obviously trained in something, used to the physical, whether it be labor or violence.

It's enough to trust that much, though trust in general does not come easily.]

Let it be so.

[Arrows in place, Hayame takes a moment, eyes closed, both sets of lungs expanding slowly... before she suddenly bursts into motion in a surge of muscle, the sound of her hooves slightly muffled by fabric pads she had tied on before their egress.

Her bow is already up, the arrow flies before she takes three steps, easier to fire on the closer guard because she had sighted her position before. The arrow flies true, and the woman drops with only a gurgle.

Her companion has little time to react, because the next arrow thuds into her chest- not the heart, not an instant kill, but the blood filling her lungs prevents screams. There's enough time for the third guard to turn his head, to notice something is amiss, to spot and turn his own bow over the ramparts... before Hayame's arrow thuds slams hard into his shoulder, and the force of it spins him, he stumbles-

And goes over the ramparts, falling from the castle heights onto rocks below, as Hayame makes it to the other side of the exposed stretch of castle courtyard.]

[ The arrows find their targets, and Rey — well, she's impressed. Instead of following Hayame out from behind the tree, she prowls up towards the now cleared wall. She stops, briefly, beside the body that had tumbled over the edge and notices now that …

It's not a guard. Not anyone even really decked out in much fighting gear. These rebels aren't experts. They're not organized. They're—

They're just people. So she takes the time to close the man's eyes, right his broken body so that when his family finds it, eventually, they will not be so horrified by the grotesque sight of him dashed against the rocks.

Then she begins to scale the wall. ]

[Just people. People who believed in honor, and duty, and a cause... who believed they were right, to the point that they rebelled against what they perceived as a weak leader in order to keep their pride and do battle with their enemies.

... Hayame understands the mountain clan far more than she understood the sea clan. More than she understands most of Guild Ophelia.

But Hathaway has promised her enough that she will kill these people.

On her side of the courtyard, Hayame finds the stairs, carefully navigating them until she reaches the top and can pull her arrow from the body of the first guard, and the second.... who is still breathing, just barely, drowning in her own blood.

There's only the sound of bone crunching before Hayame rounds the opposite corner and comes back into visibility with Rey once more, nodding in the direction of the path further inside.]

EVENT ▸ DIPLOMACY

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