MargardKazuki/SessionEleven
In the downtime, Mizugami is trying to persuade Peleps Jaffin and Admiral Helkar to go rescue the Tepet and Vermillion Legions from being abandoned in the west, and bringing them to Cherak to become a military force at the city's beck and call. Helkar is totally behind the idea. The Satrip is more cautious about the plan. Mizugami works with Tepet Elena to try to convince him.
Ascending Water. It is the meeting of the Student Deliberative. It is an unusual meeting in that Rector Kasif is sitting in on the meeting. He observes the earlier part of the meeting quietly. As the topic of new business comes up, he requests to speak. He recommends that at some point between this meeting and the next that the members of the deliberative produce a report of the events at Babylon Project Station 17 and read it into the record so that there is an official log. It is for the students' defense in case a lawsuit is ever filed for destroying an irreplacable First Age artifact.
Mizugami forms the sub-committee to create the report. Cynis Elin, Easley, and a few other of the Dragonblooded students join the sub-committee.
This is also the year that there will be a school field trip, and it is up to the Deliberative to determine where the trip will go to.
During the Lower Deliberative meeting, the topic to replace a member of the deliberative who had been forced to leave the college, is raised. Instead of taking sides, Jahanna is there as a referee to tell the Lower Deliberative whenever they are wrong. She manages not to do anything to throw the Deliberative into disarray.
At some point, Haining pays Judas a visit to try to find out what Judas changed while he had access to Fate. Judas looks him up and down and tells him, "You used to be taller," and closes the door.
Judas also pays Virtuous Cloud a visit to try to learn more about the things he saw while he was inside the Artifact, in particular the plot to break an Alchemical prison open. He tells her that Glory appeared to be the Solar in charge, but Virtuous questions that, reminding him the Glory is still very young, and those she consorts with are ancient in comparison. She does not know the reasons for their activity or who is in the prison, but she knows the Steel Hand has been trying to open this prison for a long time.
Judas learns about a library of ancient learning, and surmises that this is where Steel Hand and Glory are hiding out. He plans to lay low for a while.
During archery practice, Rector Norrin presents kira with another plan to be better protected in their "travels". It would require the body of her unborn first child. Kira refuses.
One day during magical training, the University Thaumaturge "flounces" up to Ranka with a proposal. She suggests that the school trip should be to Whitewall. There is a library there that was once owned by a reknown Anathema sorceror. Ranka had other ideas, but they were much for the same reason. There is a catch. Haining should not -- cannot -- go. Ranka conspires with Mizugami to find a way to prevent him from going.
Jahanna is approached by Rector Danic. She tries to get from Jahanna her reasons for wanting to join a major, militarized family, and to try to teach her about the ways of the world. Rather than pursuing a land-based assignment, she should consider entering a naval power in order so that she can be given charge of her own ship. For that, the best option would be to join the Peleps family. Jahanna takes that into consideration.
Kazuki is grabbed and pulled into a hallway. His abductor is Margard Moro; she has learned that Miyako is in town and wants to pay her a visit. However, House Ragara is keeping quiet and has not informed House Margard, so they'll have to sneak in to visit. Kazuki summons Saiki ; she convinces Kazuki that she doesn't think sneaking in would be a good idea. There are still assassins after him and this could be a plot against him. Kazuki sort of gets the gist of her caution and promises to look into it further.
After talking to Moro again, she convinces him that they could talk to Kira to see if she could sneak them in. Kira convinces kazuki to hold off until the morning, and she would go to the compound to inquire. Judas, who had been clued in on Kazuki's plans, has been watching Kazuki from the Shadows throughout all his discussions, and when it seems that Kazuki isn't going to go out to get into trouble, he pays the Ragara compound a visit to inquire on his own, and learns that an important delegation is in town.
The next morning, a discussion about Kazuki's aborted infiltration takes place and eventually the whole class becomes involved. Kira takes Moro, Kazuki, Okagura, and Judas to the Ragara main Compound to see if Miyako is there. Mizugami digs a little deeper to find out why the delegation is in town, and learns they are visiting to negotiate something with the Trade Guild.
The group spends some time with small talk. After the group leaves, Judas hangs behind to try to convince Miyako to make some waves in order to have herself removed from the post so that she can do what she really wants to do. He talks to Mizugami afterwards to see what he can do to help her achieve her dream. Mizugami remembers the manner in which she was appointed, and goes to the compound to provide more reasonable options.
As Mizugami is leaving the compound, he passes Reflections, who is also there to visit. At dinner that night, Reflections asks Mizugami how she can avoid getting a job that she doesn't enjoy. Mizugami assures her that her relation with the Haslanti League will probably protect her from that.
The group is on their way to their regular bar hangout night with the Usual Suspects and Esley, when a mortal runs by screaming in fear. As they get closer to the bar, another comes running by. They realize something is amiss and boost their abilities to go investigate. Kira and Kazuki get there first; they see a group of mortals in various stages of fear. Several are swinging weapons blindly, while others are cowering in fear, but neither of them see a perceivable threat. The pair wait for the others to arrive.
Soosilus comes by and sees a huge Charm that's been casted over a wide area, but can't make out what the source is. Ranka tries to determine what it is and see that it is centered in the bar. The group decides to move into the field of effect. Some members of the group see lizardmen skulking in and out of the shadows.
Esley is negatively affected; he unsheathes his axe and begins swinging wildly. Judas steps into his swings and traps the weapon. Mizugami goes to the bar and sees a Lizardman who can only be described as a reptilian, dark Crow.
Kira, as she leaps to the rooftops, sees Lizardmen jumping to attack. She attempts to dodge and is struck, but manages to roll with the hit and avoids taking a wound. Ranka and Soosilus summon infallible messengers to Crow and Virtuous Cloud. Jahana and Moro begin pulling people out of the area of effect, which seems to snap them out of their wild swinging. Kazuki disarms Esley.
Judas disengages from Esley and moves towards the bar. A group of lizardmen attack him, but flail ineffectually against his armored skin. Jahana and Moro take Esley out of the area of effect and others, and they discover the area of effect is growing. Kazuki leaps up to the rooftops to to assist Kira. Kira completes her scouting and leaps down to the bar. Ranka hears back from Crow -- Crow is on her way. Soosilus hears back from Virtuous Cloud who wants more information. Dark Crow rises from her seat, cuts down a helpless bystander, and taunts the group. Judas rises to the challenges and steps in. Mizugami and Reflections follow and exchange taunts. Inside the bar, shadowy hounds begin forming in the corners, while outside an alien tentacled shadow becomes visible.
As the next round begins, Judas and Mizugami prep for battle, but Kazuki surprises the group. He had hopped down to the bar doorway (landing on a lizardman in the process) and asks Kira to shoot his Dire Lance at Dark Crow, while he holds on to the sash. The lance flies over everyone's heads, sailing true and striking Dark Crow on the chest, but the lance does not pierce the lizard scale armor. Kazuki follows through as he flies past, by grabbing hold of the lance's haft and slicing through with the edge of the lance. He lands behind dark Crow, but his attack had no effect.
Kira retreats past the area of effect after shooting Kazuki into the fray, in order to shake off the lizardmen. Mizugami intercepts Dark Crow's counter attack against Kazuki and parries the blow. Reflections attempts attacking from behind, and though the blow seems to land, Dark Crow shrugs it off.
Mizugami and Reflections attempt to redirect attacks against Dark Crow, but as Judas shakes off the lizardmen that had been chewing on him, the various apparitions that had been forming and Dark Crow disappeared from his view. He sees that the mortal that Dark Crow cut down was still intact, but on the ground dying of cardiac arrest. For Kazuki, all but Dark Crow have dissipated. Ranka attempts to determine the source of the illusions and discovers it to be about 20 feet underneath the bar.
Ranka informs the group of the source of the illusions; Judas backs out of the room and activates a hidden access to the undercity. The group begins converging towards the stairs, Kazuki is left behind to deal with Dark Crow. He backs out of the bar to witness Dark Crow stop at the threshold, but not past it. Kazuki realizes there are other people in the bar, and using his amplified speed, zips in through a window that Reflections crashed through earlier, and rescues one of the people comatose inside.
Downstairs, Ranka finds a stone slab with someone strapped and physically attached to the device with pipes pumping blood and fluids in and out of her body. She determines that to be the source of the illusions but has no idea how to stop it. Kira arrives and is able to shut the illusions off, but leaves the machine on to keep the girl alive. She identifies the device as some sort of nightmare device. Above, the Dark Crow illusion fades away. Kazuki claims victory.
Soon, Virtuous Cloud and Crow arrive shortly thereafter. Judas has closed off his secret entrance and opens a normal entrance into the undercity. They also send for Winglord Maladous. He arrives with Quintero and a surgeon. They remove the woman from the machine, though it still takes several hours. In this time, Kazuki goes on patrol to make certain there are no more lizardmen around.
The surgeon believes the Fae-blooded woman will recover in two to three days. What was interesting is that she was wearing a purple buff jacket that members of the Trade Guild are known to wear.
The group minus Mizugami stays at the bar to celebrate another victory.
Two days later, the group gets the message that the fae-blood is coming to. They drop what they're doing to go visit. Her name is Mirage of the Crystal Sands. She was a member of Deadly Rose Lord's entourage; his slave. She is a fae-blood, with a charm to create illusions based on other people's thoughts. She denies that her ability is able to affect Dragonbloods. She does not recall being hooked up to the machine -- what she remembers is that she was traveling the city on her own. She had just left one party and was heading back to the Deadly Rose Lord's compound when everything around her went dark and her senses were dulled. Then she felt a pain in her chest and she blacked out.
Soosilus has been talking to Cherak -- yes, the city -- recently and learned that Judas has been helping people. She confronts Judas about it and wants to help. Judas accepts the offer, but has to get back to her later.
Mier pounds on Kazuki's door one night -- she is incensed that she hadn't been invited to the 'Margard Family Super Secret Gathering" to visit Miyako. She has no idea who Miyako is and seems appeased to learn that was the reason for the meeting. Second, she heard that Kazuki defeated Crow -- Dark Crow, Kazuki corrects -- and wants to fight him. He agrees, though he is still half-asleep. She goes off pleased. He goes back to bed, forgetful.
Tevenad stops by the 2nd year table to talk to Kira. He has heard about the group's difficulty with illusions and offers charms that might be able to help. They have the same size, consistency, and skitteriness as a cockroach.
During one of Jahana's evening session, she is approached by one of the boys from one of the other classes... in that stalker killer kind of way. Ragara Fallows wants to ask Jahanna a few questions. he asks about the class' progress in becoming a team for the Tournament of the Scarlet Rose. Jahanna admits that things aren't going well, and Fallows wants to know how he can help. Jahana is cautious and turns down his offer, as this is her responsibility. He admits that his reason is to be able to graduate from a college that has won the Tournament; he knows that his class isn't likely to win, so he wants to back Jahanna's efforts.
Ranka is approached by Easley. He talks to her about investing in something worthwhile with her considerable wealth, as he feel pained that there's all that money in her possession that's just sitting there. Ranka considers it.
Judas brings Soosilus to a part of the city that he believes is where the lost library that Steel Hand and Glory hung out in. She asks the spirit of the street whether there's a large, open area under it, and it confirms. When she asks it to check it out, it dies. Before she feels too bad about it, Judas takes to other places in the city. He learns that Soosilus is able to ask buildings about their occupants. He thinks this will become useful in the future.
Mier knocks on Kazuki's door again later in the week, waking him up from his late afternoon nap again, and asks when their sparring match is taking place. He doesn't remember the promise and she gets frustrated, and goes to talk to Judas to have him arrange for the match. Judas gets Kazuki to agree to a midnight match.
Kazuki stumbles to the roof still half-asleep. He has no idea what's going on when she attacks him. She fights unarmed at first and kicks Kazuki. Though it does not hurt him, he sort of realizes that there's a fight going on. He activates his Dire Lance then groggily says that he's ready. Mier attacks and in one hit knocks him right out in one shot. She is unfulfilled, and somewhat guiltily helps to bring him back to his room and fetch Lasha to heal him.
It is near the end of the month when Saiki approaches Kazuki -- and suddenly realizes that she can use the front door now. That is beside the point, as she has heard about something that has caught her interest. The chain of islands that had the lizardmen that the group kicked over also has a very small human fishing village, Fishwalker Village. It is technically part of the Cheraki satrapy, but it is small enough that the local god of the fresh water source there has convinced the people there to always go barefoot as tribute.
Saiki has heard it through her channels and imagines it won't be long before the Immaculate Order finds out. She thinks that if they go to convince the god to stop, they might be able to garner a favor out of it.
Kazuki is all behind it. So are the Idiots. Saiki warns against telling Mizugami about it, but of course that's the first door he knocks on. He apologizes for his error and sneaks away to inform the others instead while Saiki goes to recruit Moro and the Usual Suspects. They finally decide on bringing Mizugami along, and he is willing to go along as long as the god is reasonable.
The trip is four-days round trip. As they approach the island on Mizugami's yacht, they can immediately see something is up. Dozens of pairs of shoes have been hung across poles all along the village shore. A little further inland is a sparse forest up the river. In it is a small, old shrine to a river god. The shrine alone is an infraction against the Immaculate Order and will eventually need to be destroyed as well.
Mizugami makes the appropriate prayer to ask to speak with the god as an equal, or perhaps as a superior. An immaculately dressed man, Wukai, appears before the group. The group convinces the god that it is in its best interest to lift the taboo and not force a tribute from the people. The spirit agrees.
The group goes back to the village to convince the people that the taboo has been lifted, and the poles are destroyed. Mizugami explains to the headsmen that the worship must be done in moderation, and if the Immaculate Order arrives, the offerings must disappear.
Late in the month, a messenger is sent to Mizugami. Crow wants to meet him in his office. There she tells him that his aunt, Elena, has been badly wounded while tracking a dragonblooded bandit lord who happened to be in league with an anathema -- or perhaps he was an anathema himself. She is now healing in the Blessed Isle, more specifically in the Imperial City. She was chasing the Hero of the White Forge.
He sends a message to Elena via Ranka's infallable messenger -- on her word, he will set into motion things that he has arranged. She responds that things are getting from bad to worse and gives the go code.
