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< A Dangerous Team | Red Ice Logs | Basins and Blood >

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The return to the Temple is not difficult, neither of the women notices any strange movements at the corner of their eyes. In fact, the only things they encounter are perfectly unmoving, one of Jaom's former subordinates. Apparently there were external demonic guards, but none troubled the two Exalted.

• Jaom makes a face, but seems otherwise unconcerned... but still more than a bit edgy. There's something about the thrill of danger that also... well, brings a healthy dose of fear along with it, and Jaom does her best to swallow it down and put on a smiling face.
• Glory smiles cheerfully as she steps over the Terrestrial's body, arms dangling at her sides and humming a faint tune.

Jaom: "Ever the upbeat one, you are... you have to tell me your secret sometime."

• Glory picks up the hem of her dress, ascending the stairs quickly. "Ah, this isn't so bad. Besides, they're all off in a better place now, one way or another."

Jaom: "Mmmm. I suppose, I suppose."

• Jaom follows Glory closely, hand on the Lady's pommel and eyes darting about now and then.

Glory: "I'll have to show you my hometown some day."

• Jaom mmms faintly. "You probably will. I imagine it's got a fair share of stories to tell."

The entry hall remains empty of either life or death, only the broken artifacts of ages long past and the hanging air ship decorate the echoingly deserted chamber. But the trail of the Synodic Exalted becomes obvious in the small room of three doors where blood has splashed the floor stones and ashes fall from the door set in the ceiling. Now the right door stands open; it was closed when the two women left the temple.

• Glory turns to Jaom, holding up a hand. "I need to tell you something before we continue."
• Jaom stops, not relaxing for a moment. "Alright... I'm listening."

Jaom: "... just be straight with me, now. I'd prefer your honesty."

• Glory smiles at that. "These Synodics are also Exalted, but of a different sort. Their treachery has ended two Ages, and their machinations stretch across Creation. Be extremely careful."
• Glory heads for the right door, unconsciously rubbing her bracers. "..And I wouldn't call them Anathema either."
• Jaom takes a long moment to digest all that. She then opens her mouth... closes it. Opens again... then simply shakes her head and trails behind Glory. "Duly noted. I'm not terribly in the mood to die today."

Down the hall the two hear the faint sounds of someone being sick, intermixed with curses and coughs. Dusty clouds are expanding down the corridor, but the vague shape of a man is clearly visible inside the room at the end of the hallway.

• Glory waves at the clouds, continuing down the hallway. She's still humming, a different, disquieting tune.
• Jaom waves a little as well, her nose wrinkling as she looks towards the man-shaped thing in the distance. She doesn't hum; she merely frowns, grunting.
• Kinqueduran mutters some obscure curse involving the unmentionable components of an Immaculate Dragon's anatomy as he pulls himself to sit up, looking away from the puddle of vomit off to his left.
• Glory stops a short distance from the man, smiling faintly. "Kinqueduran?"
• Kinqueduran 's spear was in his hand, leveled in the direction of the approaching persons, and his shield swung up before him. "Identify yourself."
• Glory gives a little bow, gesturing to herself and then to the Fire Aspect following her. "I'm Glory, and this is Jaom."

Jaom: ... you know him by name?

• Jaom nonetheless waves, although she tenses a bit at the spear-leveling bit.

Next to the recovering Kin, Iron Horse watches the two women approach down the corridor.

Kinqueduran: "Right, Glory and Jaom. You might as well have said you're the Mouth of fucking Peace; those names are meaningless to me."

Glory: "I'll elaborate. I am the Fallen Sun's Glory, servant of the Prince Bound, and she is Cathak Jaom."

Iron Horse: "... hey, come on, be nice."

• Kinqueduran glances at Iron Horse. "I am being nice."

Iron Horse: "I can't tell."

Kinqueduran: "Then we still understand each other as well as we always have."

• Glory inclines her head to the Brown. "Hello, Iron Horse. We've been sent to help you in your mission."

Kinqueduran: "Which mission?"

Glory: "The, ah, one that involves fighting off a demon invasion and keeping Creation whole and uncorrupted?"

• Jaom frowns a little. ".... wait, wait. I wasn't sent to... mn." She trails off and just looks at the two evenly, trying to figure out just what's so special about them, anyway.
• Iron Horse stretches a bit. "... well, some help would be nice, I think..."
• Kinqueduran stands slowly, lowering the spear just a little. "Oh, I'm sure we'll all die horribly anyway."

Jaom: "And aren't you just the banner of optimism?

Iron Horse: "Eh, he's usually like that."

Kinqueduran: "It's my trademark."

• Jaom smirks, looking Glory's way. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."
• Iron Horse steps towards Jaom and Glory, and offers a friendly smile. "I'm Iron Horse... pleased to meet you."
• Glory shrugs lightly. "I can hardly tell you how to act. Could we possibly move into a room that doesn't stink of Kinqueduran's last meal?"
• Jaom sizes Iron Horse up for a bit, then grins broadly, returning the smile. "Cathak Jaom... but you already know that. One thing... why's it so dusty in here, anyway?"

Kinqueduran: "Because it's old? I suspect foul play. We've had ... bad experiences with dust."

Iron Horse: "well, I learned that some things like to eat dust and get meaner and nastier the more they eat."

Jaom: "Moving to a less dusty place would be nice... I really would like to know what's going on. Really. I'm not too thrilled with being in the dark."

Iron Horse: "Weeeeell there's some sort of ritual going on that will release a big powerful demon on the world and we have to stop it."

Glory: "I think it'd be best to inform her in the aforementioned less dusty place."

Kinqueduran: "Right then. A less dusty place. Iron Horse, do we have one of those?"

The formerly dust-encrusted door at the end of the room creaks open sligtly, as if moving to experiment with the freedom granted when the largest of the dust monsters sucked off its prison of grime. A rush of clean, fresh-smelling air enters through the crack in the door.

• Kinqueduran stares blankly at the door for a moment.
• Jaom snorts. "Demons. Always demons."

Kinqueduran: "I vote for a door that isn't THAT one."

Jaom: "Seconded."

Kinqueduran: "Iron Horse, you've explored. Are there any less-dusty places? Besides, of course, the convenient too-good-to-be-true door over there?"

Iron Horse: "That leads to the wine room, doesn't it?

Iron Horse: "

Kinqueduran: "Too good to be true."

• Iron Horse moves towards the door carefully nontheless.
• Jaom looks Horse's way, then shrugs lightly and moves behind him, blade at the ready. "You sure about that?"
• Glory dusts off her bracers, staying close to Jaom. "I'm sure we'll be fine."
• Kinqueduran sighs. "I guess I'll just issue one final protest..."

Jaom: "You're a free man. Go for it."

Kinqueduran: "I didn't mean it literally. Idiot."

The Chamber of Wine is immaculately clean, not a spot of dust in the entire chamber. Kin, Glory and Jaom have seen villages smaller then this room and Iron Horse has never seen the like. An expanse of golden stone, the chamber spirals up and down in the center of the pyramid, a massive core taken out of the structure. At the top, a flat roof of glass traps fluttering song birds. On lower terraces tropical plants grow in profusion.

Iron Horse: "... wwwwwow."

Flower and fruit enchant sight, smell and taste. Small furry and impossibly cute animals in a rainbow of hues skitter through the colorfully flowered underbrush, singing in tune with the songbirds. Their long tails droop under the weight of diamond-like crystals and their voices raise in an opera that rivals Yu-Shan's Song Hamlet.

Jaom: "Kyaahaaaaaa... unreal. Simply unreal."

• Jaom proceeds to boggle and rubberneck like an idiot.
• Kinqueduran grits his teeth a little, torn between the impressive structure and his ever-present underlying agitation.

The door opened onto the main floor of the spiraling room. A path lined with glowing mushrooms leads toward a glittering pond, illuminated by a shaft of sunlight from the glass roof. A fountain-like structure in the pond towers 29 tiers high, each tier holding twice the number of thick, ceramic jars as the one above. Starting with four...there are a lot of jars.

• Glory claps with delight, humming softly.

Kinqueduran: "...we're going to die horribly. Or worse."

• Jaom just looks upupupup at the tiered thing. "Hesiesh ignite my heart..."

Iron Horse: "... all this for wine?"

Glory: "Ah, don't be so pessimistic. Enjoy yourself!"

Kinqueduran: "I don't enjoy places like this."

One of the unspeakably cute fluffy animals skitters up to Kin's feet and looks up, up, up the tall man's body and into his eyes. No bigger then the Orange's white-knuckled fist, the tiny creature is the exact shade of his eyes, a smoldering orange-tinged red. While its coat may be a violent color, soft sky-blue eyes look up at Kin with an innocence outmatching even Iron Horse's.

• Kinqueduran steps back, obviously unnerved.

Glory: "We'll have to work on that."

Jaom: "Although, I have to wonder... who or what put this here, anyway?"

Kinqueduran: "We have more important things to work on, Glory."

Iron Horse: "Wine?"

• Jaom gives the Cute Thing an odd glance.
• Fluffy Animal? is nothing threatening at all. A small, rotund body with a squirrel's tail and a chipmunk’s face with tiny, puffball limbs. It coos adoringly at the gruff, grizzled demon-hunter.
• Glory smiles, twirling around. "What's the point of saving Creation if you're incapable of enjoying it?"
• Fluffy Animal? attempts to climb up Kin's leg and onto his chest.

Jaom: "Well, the lady has a point. In any event... I could really feel alot better about all this if I had more of an idea what's going on."

Kinqueduran: "Yagh!" He steps back suddenly, trying to shake the creature off of his armored shin with gusto.

• Jaom then... chuckles. Well, it's almost a giggle, but she's a bit too butch for that. "Heh! I think it likes you!"

The tiny creature gives a squeal of pain and jumps away, squibbling off for its life. Its pathetic, cooing sobs are plain for some time even after it disappears.

Kinqueduran: "Liking me is a sure sign of evil."

• Glory frowns at Kin, hands on her hips. "See, that's the perfect example. You need to relax!"

Kinqueduran: "I'll have plenty of time to relax when I'm dead."

Glory: "Oh, I sincerely doubt that."

• Kinqueduran blinks for a moment, searching for some other reply.

Kinqueduran: "I ... dammit."

Jaom: "Living is meant to be enjoyed, damn you. So clam up and enjoy. And start explaining, please."

Kinqueduran: "You're more than welcome to enjoy living. I've been working to keep things liveable for a few years now."

• Jaom hehs, folding her arms and giving Kin a vaguely bored smirk. "I imagine you've got a basketload of old war stories for a girl like me, eh?"
• Epheri has joined #RedIce

Kinqueduran: "I don't tell war stories."

• Jaom pauses... then sniffs once. Twice. "... wine." Another sniff. "Really, really good wine. I haven't smelled anything like that in years."
• Glory continues her half-dance around the room, eyes closed and arms outstretched. "It'll be hard to explain the situation if you're drunk, Jaom."

Kinqueduran: "Explain what situation?"

Glory: "I drafted her into this without revealing the entire scale of our mission. There wasn't much time."

Kinqueduran: "That seems to be the pattern for us."

• Jaom is still inhaling that good wine aroma. "... dammit. Explain, and then I'll have just a taste."

Kinqueduran: "Do not drink it. That ... is poisonous magic-wine."

• Iron Horse takes a deep breath. "... are you kidding? This... this is..."

Jaom: "... oh, hell. What is it, then? Hm?"

• Iron Horse steps towards one of the jars, and carefully removes it.

Kinqueduran: "I'm standing by my assessment. If we smell good wine while exploring an evil temple it's cle- ... Dammit, Iron Horse!"

• Jaom exhales, slowly. "I know wine, and that's some amazingly good-smelling wi---eh?"

Iron Horse: "I have never -heard- of a wine that smelled so good... and who says the bad guys don't like wine?"

Glory: "I concur. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted in this place, enjoyable though it may be. Put it down."

Kinqueduran: "Finally..."

• Glory glances over at Kinqueduran, smiling faintly. "I just don't want them to get drunk."
• Kinqueduran waves a hand dismissively. "Whatever your objective, the method is close enough for me to be content."

Glory: "See? You're loosening up already."

• Iron Horse makes a face.

Kinqueduran: "Am not."

Jaom: "Hn. You really are just a sour man, huh. Ah well."

• Jaom stretches a bit, then scratches at her temple. "So... wine, wine everywhere, and not a drop I'll drink. Pity."

Kinqueduran: "Yes. I am a sour, unpleasant person. People hate me, and I tend not to be fond of them. With that out of the way, can we move on?"

• Glory nods, pirouetting. "Of course. To put it simply, Jaom, a Deathlord has broken ranks with her fellows and allied with the Demon Princes. She is attempting to use a number of Exalted as sources of power for a ritual that will bring one of the Yozis -- her mother, incidentally -- into Creation and scour it clean of life."

Kinqueduran: "And that's bad, mmkay?"

Jaom: "... I've heard that blood's thicker than water, but I think that's just taking it a bit too far. Still..."

• Jaom grins. Oh, does she grin. "This just has to be the luckiest day of my life. I can hear the ballad now..."

Kinqueduran: "Oh, spare me... I'm going to go nap."

• Iron Horse ... ends up opening the bottle and taking a sip, despite all warnings.

Jaom: "Sweet dreams, sunshine."

• Glory hurls her arm outward, one of the massive soulsteel daiklaves materializing over her hand and flying out to neatly sever the jug's body from its neck.

Jaom: "---eh?!"

• Iron Horse ... ends up with an unbroken bottle and a lot of wine on his person. "... aaaagh."
• Jaom hehs. "I think she wants you sober."

The bottle remains intact, and in Iron Horse's hands. But the wine sprays across the young man, covering his face, hair and clothes. Instantly the wine congeals into thick, sticky goo and then begins drying, flaking off into dust that evaporates. Whatever spell preserved it was broken when it was spilt and left undrunk. Soon only the scent of the wine remains on Iron Horse and the amounts that have soaked into his skin.

Jaom blinks, unsure of her eyes. True, Iron Horse is a well-built young man..but did his shoulders just get broader? His face more pleasing? Is his accent less annoying? Even the handsome and charming Shiro, Jasmine Nights' lover, looks less attractive then the Synodic Anathema with his wine-soaked locks and innocent face.

Glory is...confused. Very, very confused.

• Jaom blinks, indeed. And whatever previous thoughts she was having leap right back to the forefront of her brain and decide to stay there for a spell. ".... wuh."

Jaom: "Glory. Whatever you just did, try not to do it again, or I really can't guarantee this here guy's going to get much sleep in the near future."

• Glory looks momentarily dazed, eyes unfocused. The daiklave retracts suddenly, disappearing when it reaches her hand. "I.. yeah."
• Iron Horse sighs a bit, at least glad that he isn't wet. "... ok... I think I got the message. Sorry."
• Jaom shakes her head a few times. "... well. Shit, I think I'm getting it, too. Alright... level heads... calm..."
• Kinqueduran stirs from his nap, mumbling a name indistinctly, then sits up. Kin blinks, sniffing the air, and looks for someone or something to glare at.

Jaom: "Oh... hey. You're awake. You smell that, too?"

• Glory is just staring at Iron Horse and struggling for words.

Kinqueduran: "Yeah. What did you do while I was napping?"

• Jaom busies herself with the sights. Well, partially. For the most, she's just looking Iron Horse's way. "Your partner here got some wine on himself."
• Iron Horse blinks a bit at Glory. "... aah... I'm sorry?"
• Kinqueduran drags himself to his feet, then slaps both Glory and Iron Horse on the back of the head.

Iron Horse: "--ow!"

Kinqueduran: "Stop making messes."

Jaom: "Hey... you didn't have to slap them..."

Kinqueduran: "Well, I guess I didn't have to. It was just a fringe benefit."

• Glory stumbles, rubbing her eyes out. "Aaah.."

Kinqueduran: "This is an inauspicious start to our partnership."

Jaom: "You're telling me. Look... Iron Horse, right? Getcherself cleaned up, so we can go back to... well, whatever. And stop being attractive, while you're at it."

• Iron Horse groans. "Let's get this over quickly so I can take a bath and change?"

Kinqueduran: "Do that now."

• Glory just keeps on staring at Iron Horse with that stupefied expression.
• Kinqueduran snaps his fingers in front of Glory's face.

Jaom: "... and yeah, I'm certain that I'll pass on the wine, now. Dragons save me, what a day."

• Glory doesn't flinch.

Kinqueduran: "I told you it was bad wine."

• Kinqueduran continues snapping his fingers in front of Glory's face.
• Glory reaches out and attempts to wrench his arm aside. It's blocking the view.
• Kinqueduran 's hand ducks down, back, and goes upside Glory's head. "Wake up!"

Iron Horse: "... Kin? What are you doing?"

Kinqueduran: "Trying to wake her up. Or venting my frustration."

• Glory shakes off the blow and lashes out with a kick to Kinqueduran's knee. "Stop.. distracting.. me!"
• Kinqueduran dips to catch Glory's foot, trying to pull her off-balance and knock her into the fountain.

Jaom: "Hey... hey! Just get.... here. Beh."

Kinqueduran: "Iron Horse, go clean up right now!"

• Glory catches herself on the edge of the fountain and springs right back at Kin with a flying tackle.
• Jaom marches over to Iron Horse and gets a good grip on his collar (or neck, either or) and tries to drag him to the fountain. While not looking at him too much.
• Kinqueduran finds himself tackled by Glory, and mostly feels awkward and slightly bruised.
• Iron Horse starts just a tad, and... is neatly dragged towards the fountain. "But why are they -fighting-?"

Jaom: "I think she's got it bad for you, and your friend's a jackass. Now get in."

• Glory lets one hell of a punch fly at Kin's face. The heavy Soulsteel bracer behind it may add a *bit* of oomph, as well.
• Jaom pretty much just chucks Iron Horse into the fountain... and watches her work.
• Kinqueduran catches Glory's fist, throwing his opposite shoulder up to push Glory off of him.

Iron Horse: "What do you--GWA!"

• Iron Horse takes a dive into the fountain.
• Jaom sighs and patpats at her cheeks. "... Jaom, sweetheart. Give him a week or two, at least."
• Glory rolls, grabbing Kin through a chink in his armor and using the momentum, along with a surprising amount of force for her petite frame, to hurl him at the fountain that Iron Horse just landed in.

Soaking wet, Iron Horses becomes far less vital to life as Kinqueduran and Glory know it and his illusory shoulders stop muddling Jaom's thoughts as he returns to his normal appearance.

• Kinqueduran groans, finding himself lying on his back again, legs draped over the edge of the fountain, his feet damp. He rubs his head, then sighs, spreads his arms out, and just lays there.
• Iron Horse sputters a bit as he sits up on the fountain. "... ok, so now I -am- wet. Thanks."
• Glory shakes out her head, quickly getting to her feet and smoothing out her dress and hair. "..What just happened?"

Jaom: "... okay, yeah. Far less horny now. Good going, Jaom."

Kinqueduran: "Iron Horse thought he would try the wine. We had a kung-fu fight. Iron Horse took a bath. I might have missed a few things, I can't be sure."

Jaom: "There was spilled wine, and then you got a bit unfocused and I... what I got doesn't matter. It's over now. No more wine."

Kinqueduran: "I told you it was poisonous magic-wine."

Glory: "Well, I think it's for the best that we all forget what just happened and never mention it again."

Kinqueduran: "That's one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. Remember it and learn from it."

• Iron Horse climbs out from the fountain, and pouts. "... aw, man..."

Jaom: "I'm all for forgetting."

• Kinqueduran shrugs and closes his eyes. "Whatever makes you happy."

Glory: "Oh, trust me, I remember my lessons on Synodics. Those don't need reinforcement. We're forgetting, and we're moving on."

Iron Horse: "... what's a Synodic?"

Kinqueduran: "You."

Iron Horse: "Eh?"

• Glory adopts her serene expression once again. "Now, for something that does not involve wine."

Kinqueduran: "Remember those bastards that Anstice made a deal with? The whole change thing?"

Iron Horse: "Charon and all that? Yeah."

Kinqueduran: "I guess you didn't get a Certificate of Synodicism afterword."

Iron Horse: "Eh?"

• Kinqueduran closes his eyes. "Mela's tits..."

Kinqueduran: "You're impossible, Iron Horse."

Iron Horse: "... I don't get it."

Kinqueduran: "Somebody else explain. I'm getting a headache."

Glory: "Regardless, O thrice traitors, we need to find your other two comrades."

Kinqueduran: "No, we're not going to find them. We have other things to worry about right now."

Iron Horse: "... Anstice and Mendhari? They aren't around."

• Glory takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "What other things?"

Kinqueduran: "They elude my memory right now. Something about demons, a Deathlord, bad things happening. I wasn't really paying attention."

Glory: "The four of us cannot handle this problem on our own. We need them."

Kinqueduran: "Yes, we do. However, they are not accessible. What we believe we can and cannot do is irrelevant - we have an end to achieve, and finite resources to work towards it."

Iron Horse: "Mendhari was hurt really, really badly too."

Jaom: "... okay. Yes, I'm... a bit lost. So I'm just going to stand here and listen and pray something takes. Is that alright?"

• Glory spreads her hands. "Then what do we do?"
• Kinqueduran shrugs. "Well, I was planning on laying here for a little while."

A light laugh comes from behind the group, near the door. In fact, the door is the exact source. Standing at the very, very edge of the door is a woman wrapped all in black. Not a single part of her body, aside from her eyes, is visible in the slightest.

The Black Veil: "Hello, Kinqueduran and friends."

• Kinqueduran cranes his neck. "Why does it have to be 'Kinqueduran and friends'? Why not 'Iron Horse and friends'? Or 'Accumulated Doomed Suckers'?"

The Black Veil: "Do you not remember me, Kinqueduran?"

• Iron Horse ... blinks, looking towards the... black... thingie.

Jaom: "Ah, hells. And here I was, getting comfortable in my confusion."

Kinqueduran: "I haven't the slightest idea who you are."

• Glory turns around. "..Entirely unfamiliar to me, too."

The Black Veil: "I'm insulted. You stole away my precious children and you forget my name? Carmine Rain Hunter, you are truly a terrible man. And you are..Glory? I think that is your name. You should not be helping them, my friend."

• Jaom grunts faintly and prepares to draw her jade, just in case.

Iron Horse: "... children?"

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "What's a carmine rain hunter?"

The Black Veil: "Oh, I knew your title even back then, Carmine Rain Hunter. And my mistress has told me your true name recently."

Kinqueduran: "I don't know what you're talking about.

Kinqueduran: "

• Glory shrugs lightly, bracers gleaming in a strangely threatening fashion. "As my Prince commands, so must I obey. It is the way of things."

Jaom: "Glory, you know this... thing?"

Glory: "It's our first meeting, actually."

Jaom: "Here's to hoping it's the only."

Kinqueduran: "That would be too much to ask for, I suspect."

The Black Veil: "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to come with me."

Kinqueduran: "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to shove your head up your own ass."

Iron Horse: "I'm afraid Kin means it when he says that."

• The Black Veil sighs. "You do not wish to come peacefully?"
• Glory coughs at that. "..Well, we have a previous engagement."

Kinqueduran: "Or at all, to be honest."

Jaom: "I'm sorry, but I'd rather follow the asshole than you."

• Jaom nods in Kin's direction.

Kinqueduran: "She thinks I'm an asshole. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now."

• Iron Horse hops to his feet, and scratches the back of his head.

The Black Veil: "While my guards can not enter this room, I can. And Kinqueduran is familiar with my less sophisticated followers."

Kinqueduran: "Mhm."

• Kinqueduran lazily rolls over, dragging himself to his feet.

Jaom: "Oh, just get the theatrics overwith and lay it out in black and white. You're wasting all of our time."

Kinqueduran: "I rather like the theatrics..."

• Glory rubs her bracers, watching the Veil with an amused gleam in her eye. "So you think you'll coerce us out of here with fodder, diplomat?"

The Black Veil: "Fodder? Maybe what Carmine saw last time..but changes have been made. Completely...natural changes."

• Kinqueduran stands straight, leaning on his spear. "Why don't you just go away?"

The Black Veil: From the bushes around, women start to emerge. One flows out of the fountain where the wine jars stand. Another kills a songbird as she explodes outward from its beak, rapidly growing in size until she towers nine feet tall. The women from the bushes sport brilliant emerald skins and arms of gnarled wood. The watery cultist bubbles as she flows forward toward Iron Horse. Wyld Mutants. Ten of them.

Iron Horse: "... ew."

• Iron Horse idly transforms his bracers into blades gauntlets.
• Kinqueduran assesses the shift in the situation, then looks back to the Abyssal. "This would be a great deal easier for you if you'd just go away and call off your pups."
• The Black Veil steps into the room, producing a huge Soulsteel mallet from somewhere in her voluminous veils and robes. "I am afraid I can not."

The Black Veil: "No harm will come to you if you follow us now."

Jaom: "Well. Looks like the room got a bit more crowded."

• Glory rolls her hands, the Soulsteel Daiklaves appearing in their trademark anti-flash. "Give us a moment to consider."
• Jaom shrugs faintly, then whips the Lady around to a ready position and... grins, as is her custom.

The Black Veil: "Really, the process has begun. Soon, this year will come to an end and the next will start. You have no chance to prevent our plans. If you come with me, I will help you. You see, I need to find your friend...Anstice Cyzarine."

Iron Horse: "Anstice is really popular lately, isn't he?"

Kinqueduran: "Oh, you'll 'help' us, will you? Help us into an early grave, I'd wager. We don't want or need the sort of help you'd offer. Now, kindly dismiss yourself."

The Black Veil: "Apparently. Last I heard of him, he was meeting with the god Burgeron in Yu-Shan. Now I seem to have lost track of him."

Kinqueduran: "Aww, what a shame."

The Black Veil: "You are his allies. You must know where he has gone."

Kinqueduran: "You'll learn nothing from us. Be gone."

Glory: "It is not in my Prince's interests to disclose his location to you. I suggest you listen."

• The Black Veil sighs. "I really must insist. If you do not help me, I will have to tell my friend Crimson Shadow In Bloody Smoke where to find you. He is most unhappy with you."

Kinqueduran: "A lot of people are unhappy with me. I'm used to it."

Iron Horse: "yeah, he can get in line."

Jaom: "I think I like the devils I know better than the ones I don't.

• Glory glances back at Jaom. "Your amount of trust really is staggering, you know."

The Black Veil: "Well, you may consider your position for a few minutes."

The Black Veil: "Remember, this is the only exit you would enjoy using."

• The Black Veil retreats from the room, waving her servants back to their hiding places.

Jaom: "It's really not like I have much of a fucking choice, you know?"

Kinqueduran: "Oh, I imagine I'd much more enjoy an exit decorated with your blood."

Glory: "For all your rudeness and uneducated talk.. I like your thinking."

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