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< In the Village | Red Ice Logs | Reporting to Febrisa >

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• Mendhari looks at Kinqueduran sternly. "You were quite cruel to those villagers."
• Kinqueduran shrugs, peering out from behind a thick cloud of smoke. "You misread me."

Mendhari: "It's not too difficult to misread go die in a hole."

Kinqueduran: "You managed it, though. Congratulations."

Mendhari: "Then what exactly did you mean by it?"

• Kinqueduran sighs, rubbing a smudge off of his bracer. "I was trying to help."

Mendhari: "By telling them to all go die in a hole. Aren't you the optimist."

Kinqueduran: "That isn't what I said."

Mendhari: "Well... it's essentially the same."

Kinqueduran: "No, it isn't."

Mendhari: "Then what was it, Mister Kinqueduran?"

• Kinqueduran looks up from his bracer, and for a moment you just might imagine a moist glistening in his eyes. "How many people have you seen die? How many bodies have you buried?"
• Mendhari looks down. "The one."
• Kinqueduran opens his bag and draws out a human skull, too small to be an adult's.
• Mendhari jumps. "What the hell?!"
• Kinqueduran laughs a sort of uneasy laugh, setting the skull down. His demeanor grows serious and he continues with a whisper. "About two days walk from here, there used to be a village."
• Mendhari nods quietly.

Kinqueduran: "I arrived late. The demon was still around, but the village was in it's belly."

Mendhari: "... and you felt the need to keep their skulls in a bag. How... Morbidly compassionate."

Kinqueduran: "It's not like that."

Mendhari: "Then how is it? Is it a good luck charm?"

• Kinqueduran frowns, looking down, quite ashamed of himself now, and puts the skull back into his bag. "Forget it. I don't think you ¬can¬ understand."

Mendhari: "I'm a PRINCESS, Kinqueduran."

Kinqueduran: "Yeah. It shows."

Mendhari: "I certainly hope you're complementing my well-manicured fingernails.

• Kinqueduran stands. "Not exactly."

Mendhari: "Then explain why you carry a skull in your bag."

Kinqueduran: "Because I owe someone an apology."

Mendhari: "You failed this girl?"

Kinqueduran: "Among others."

Mendhari: "... I would let her rest."

Kinqueduran: "Of course you would. That's how you interact with the world."

Mendhari: "I interact with the world by spreading Joy. I am not an Endings or a Battles."

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "And I interact with the world through conflict."

Mendhari: "And how exactly does this explain your cruelty and disregard of the happiness and lives of these townspeople?"

Kinqueduran: "I was trying to help. You ignored that part, I guess."

Mendhari: "How were you trying to help exactly?"

Kinqueduran: "I was trying to get them to stay here. We went over the details. They hardly stand a chance out there. At least here, we might be able to help them."

• Mendhari looks into her tea. "Well it's a strange way to do it. I would have had a party... possibly brought some brothel girls to it..."

Kinqueduran: "I don't really see how that would help."

Mendhari: "It would make them eager to stay."

Kinqueduran: "Maybe."

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "I tried to explain it to them."

Mendhari: "Certainly telling them to go die in a whole would only make them more terrified."

Kinqueduran: "I didn't tell them to go die, could you get that through your fucking skull? I told them what would happen if they continued on their current course of action."

Mendhari: "... they will die here no matter what we do." Mendhari has been depressed ever since she watched that guy die.

Kinqueduran: "They might not. Would you rather scatter them to the wilderness, where the Sevsimtali will kill them?"

Mendhari: "Of course not!"

Kinqueduran: "Right now, there aren't many choices. Staying here and running away are the only two really available at this instant, and I tried to encourage them towards the one least likely to end in gruesome death. At least if they had stayed, we could have taken them with us if we found another option."

Mendhari: "You could have told them in a kinder way."

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "I'm not perfect. Maybe if I had more time to formulate a cordial explanation, it would have gone better, but I didn't. I'm not a very graceful person. Sorry."

Mendhari: "Perhaps you could be trained."

Kinqueduran: "Maybe. I've got other things to worry about."

Mendhari: ".... yes, it's a little difficult to train a mon... I'm sorry."

Kinqueduran: "Oh, fuck off!"

Mendhari: "I was trying to apologize for being so standoffish! You... remind me of someone."

• Kinqueduran leans against the doorframe, frowning. "I'm afraid to ask who."

Mendhari: "A suitor. The one who decided my Bride Price was too expensive and married my sister instead." She calmly takes a sip of her tea.

• Kinqueduran rolls his eyes. "Well, that's lovely."

Mendhari: "In my culture, the worth of a woman is in marriage and childbearing. It was as if he had declared I had no worth. Over and over, this happened to me, my possible suitors passing me over to marry my sisters. It happened several dozen times."

Kinqueduran: "That's a shame. One would think that your charming disposition would have won them over."

Mendhari: "I wasn't so bitter once."

Kinqueduran: "Neither was I. I was even married once."

Mendhari: "What was she like?"

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "I don't really remember."

Mendhari: "You're not that old."

Kinqueduran: "I'm almost 50."

Mendhari: "You're kidding."

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "I've aged well, I guess."

Mendhari: "The accumulation of age typically comes with an accumulation of wisdom. Clearly this hasn't happened with yo.... Dammit."

Mendhari: "I've got an idea. Wear a mask when we talk."

Kinqueduran: "I've a better idea. You stop talking."

Mendhari: "It's what I do best."

Kinqueduran: "Not around me it's not."

Mendhari: "I'll try to stop, Kinqueduran."

Kinqueduran: "If you manage to be polite, I'll try to be tolerable. Deal?"

• Mendhari sighs. "Fine." She mutters something non-insulting into her tea.
• Kinqueduran turns towards the door. "I'm going to go bathe and think about sleeping."
• Mendhari nods at her tea. "Right."

---

• Mendhari continues looking down at her tea.
• Anstice steps in moments after Kinqueduran leaves. "I suppose that agreement is better than nothing."

Mendhari: "... I suppose so." She takes a sip of her tea. "Could you hand me that kettle of water?"

• Anstice does so, seating himself.
• Mendhari pours two more cups of tea and hands it across to Anstice. "It's my own special blend."
• Anstice sips his quietly, and nods. "Not bad. Where'd you hide it, though? I don't recall you carrying many supplies."

Mendhari: "The parka has very large pockets for my essentials."

Anstice: "That would explain it, yes. How are you holding up?"

Mendhari: "... not very well at all."

Anstice: "Yes, I suppose this would be shocking for one of your background. "

• Mendhari nods. "If it wasn't for the bit of opium in my tea... I'd be losing my mind."

Anstice: "You do know it is only going to get worse."

Mendhari: "Of course.... I suppose I'll get used to it."

• Anstice nods. "It takes some time, but I've found one can get acclimated to most anything. Still, if I can help in any way, just ask."
• Mendhari nods. "Sure.... You know, I wish (Duran-)Duran was more like you."
• Anstice raises an eyebrow. "I prefer to think one of me is enough."

Mendhari: "Well. I wish he was nice at least."

Anstice: "That would be good in the long term. But his attitude is useful in some ways."

Mendhari: "If making me infuriated is useful.."

• Anstice chuckles. "More that some people respond best to the stick, rather than the honey."
• Mendhari sighs. "I ran out of honey."

Anstice: "Unfortunate. Maybe we can get more when we're not surrounded by demons and waiting for the arrival of an army."

Mendhari: "I hope so... do these people have a prayer?'

• Kinqueduran returns, wearing only the padded under layer of his armor, running fingers through damp hair.

Anstice: "In all? No. Hello, Kinqueduran."

Mendhari: "Hello, Kinqueduran

• Kinqueduran leans against the doorframe, having caught the very last of their conversation. "Look on the bright side. We've got half a moment to breathe."
• Mendhari nods. "Half a moment... I wish there were some marriages for me to preside over."
• Anstice shrugs. "Maybe if we get to the next town to be invaded earlier. Personally, I just hope the Algorans recognize my rank and are willing to talk."

Mendhari: "Yes... I'd love for them to talk instead of just fight."

Anstice: "Oh, there'll be fighting. I don't think we can avoid that. But I'd like to know what's going on first."

• Mendhari sighs. "Is it too clichéd to say "I wish we all could just get along?"

Kinqueduran: "I'm not terribly worried about the fighting. And, yes, unfortunately. It is too clichéd."

• Mendhari smirks at Kinqueduran. "How'd I know it was you who'd say that?"

Kinqueduran: "Because I'm a bitter husk of a man consumed by his former duty?"

Anstice: "You two really should stop that. You're going to wrinkle."

Mendhari: "Well, you're a bitter husk of something." She grins, jokingly.

Kinqueduran: "It would just ¬kill¬ you to take a break, wouldn't it?"

Mendhari: "It probably would. Tea?"

Anstice: "Before you decide, is it just your tea with the opium, or was it brewed that way?"

Mendhari: "It was brewed that way. I mix it that way."

Kinqueduran: "No tea, thank you."

• Anstice finishes his anyway. "Hrm. Now, was there anything else we needed to prepare for tomorrow's likely meeting?"

Mendhari: "I don't think so. Are you sure, Kinqueduran? It's very good tea."

Kinqueduran: "I think it would be prudent to prepare significant defenses, and no, no tea, thank you."

Mendhari: "Do the townspeople have weapons? Or they could prepare a picket."

• Kinqueduran glances at Anstice. "Well, do they?"

Anstice: "Do three people with poleaxes count?"

Kinqueduran: "Not quite."

Anstice: "Then no."

Mendhari: "Hope has forsaken these lands."

Anstice: "To be honest, I think the best thing we could do is load them down with wards and tell them to run as fast as possible."

Mendhari: "Possibly."

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "That might work, but it's unreliable."

Anstice: "Would you rather tell them to stay here and await people who will massacre them as surely as any Sevsimtali? At least they would have a deterrent. I do not trust the four of us to be able to defeat an army."

Kinqueduran: "I dunno, I think we might be able to manage it, if we're careful."

Anstice: "And then suddenly the Algorans and their infernal backers know there are four exalted on their trail. Thank you, but no."

Kinqueduran: "They don't have to know that there are four."

Anstice: "Two? Three? The element of surprise is still lost, and I for one am willing to allow the loss of an empty village if it means we stand a chance of stopping the source."

• Mendhari nods.

Kinqueduran: "So we condemn this village to die?"

• Mendhari shakes her head. "... we give some of them a chance to live."

Kinqueduran: "A slim chance at a sad life."

Anstice: "The village is not the villagers."

Kinqueduran: "Don't play semantics games right now, you bloody fucking well know what I meant."

Anstice: "I also know that sometimes, you have to lose a battle to win the war. All we can do is prevent collateral damage. Why, pray tell, am I being forced to tell the Battles this?"

Kinqueduran: "You don't have to sacrifice a small victory to take hold of a greater one."

Anstice: "Not always. Here? What possible gain can be had from keeping families split up, drawing both the Sevsimtali and the Algoran army here, and leaving them defenseless except for our actions?"

• Mendhari sips her tea, not really capable of assistance.

Kinqueduran: "What do we gain by letting them be massacred? And for that matter, why are we still here? If you and Mendhari have given up on the place, then just go back to Xansha's citadel. I'll stay."

• Mendhari shakes her head. "We need you here."

Anstice: "Letting, no."

Kinqueduran: "Then what would you call it, Captain Semantics?"

Anstice: "There are three ways to save these people. One, the one you seem to champion, is to freak out and kill everything that looks at them funny in a five mile radius. Two is to retreat with them and set back out later. This saves them, but fails to do anything against the greater threat. Three is to try to give them the best chance to handle things themselves, also giving us a chance to start opposing the real threat. It might not succeed, but if it does, we are in the best position of the options. Perhaps it is my relative youth, but I am willing to put this in the hands of the Maidens and the villagers themselves."

Kinqueduran: "Then do you advocate simply packing up and leaving?"

Mendhari: "If we had a ship full of firedust...."

Kinqueduran: "Because anything we do that leaves any real mark on the outcome of this is likely to alert the enemy to the involvement of Exalted."

Anstice: "I was unaware diplomacy was supernatural in nature."

• Mendhari listens quietly.

Kinqueduran: "Diplomacy seems very unlikely to have any significant effect."

Anstice: "I know. We are here to prepare for halting their offensive. I believe it will be simpler if we know how and why they are able to do this than if we simply begin breaking armies that venture too close to places we can reach."

Kinqueduran: "Then perhaps we should not become involved at all. Observe carefully, and remain hidden."

Anstice: "Perhaps. I simply do not trust the Algorans to operate under purely natural means... There is something to be said for hiding in plain sight."

Kinqueduran: "I also don't trust them to rely on natural methods, and I also don't trust 'hiding in plain sight' to conceal our presence from unnatural sight."

Anstice: "Presence I will give them. It is just that I believe we can better handle hiding what we are if we give them something else to look for. The old stage magic trick."

• Kinqueduran shrugs. "It would probably be best, then, for me to retire to another location and await your return."

Anstice: "Perhaps we can have the best of both worlds? Lead the villagers to safety."

Kinqueduran: "It's a thought."

Mendhari: "It's a wonderful thought!"

Anstice: "Plus, it leaves your martial skills as an ace up our collective sleeve."

Kinqueduran: "Yes, a wonderful ¬thought¬. But a feasible plan? Don't overestimate me."

Mendhari: "Walk softly and carry a big stick?"

Anstice: "You are Battles. You were trained by Niestro. I expect nothing more than you to rise to the occasion."

Kinqueduran: "I'll put this conversation to rest for now, I require rest. And don't overestimate me."

Anstice: "Last thought. If you take Iron Horse with you, how does that increase the chances?"

• Mendhari blinks. Alone with Anstice...? I don't like that...
• Kinqueduran scratches his chin. "I'm not sure how much help he'd be. Any help, however... I will make preparations tonight."

Anstice: "Mendhari and I are well suited to play the part of diplomats. We can wave the white flag, and should be unmolested."

Mendhari: "... hopefully."

Kinqueduran: "Never expect the mask of peace to be taken seriously."

Anstice: "I expect it to last long enough to give you a head start, and little more."

Kinqueduran: "Even that may be too much to hope for. Do be sure to arm yourselves and dress for flight.” Kinqueduran turns to go. "One parting though ... don't overestimate each other."

• Anstice nods. "See you tomorrow, then. We'll work out a meeting place then."

Mendhari: "... goodnight, Kinqueduran."

Kinqueduran: "Goodnight, both of you."

• Anstice waits for Kinqueduran to leave, then holds out his cup for a bit more tea. "You seem nervous. You would rather go with the villagers?"
• Mendhari shakes her head and laughs. "And be with Kinqueduran, I think not."

Anstice: "Then why the pause?"

• Mendhari pours him more tea. "I didn't think this was my discussion."

Anstice: "The slight catch in your motions when I mentioned taking Iron Horse. If you have reservations about working with me, please, get them out now."

Mendhari: "I don't. You'd make a good partner."

Anstice: "And that's the problem? You're used to losing partners."

Mendhari: "So I won't have problems then."

• Anstice shrugs. "I suppose. Contrary to popular stereotype, I prefer to be open about things."

Mendhari: "... that's very nice. Why do you bring it up now?"

Anstice: "In hopes that if you do have an issue in later discussions, even if you think they are not yours, you bring it up."

Mendhari: "I didn't feel that I could intelligently contribute to the conversation. I'm a princess, not a warrior."

• Anstice laughs. "Do I look like a warrior to you?"

Mendhari: "Not especially, but you likely have the knowledge."

Anstice: "And of the diplomatic part? That is as much a part of the plan as any sort of physical struggle."

Mendhari: "I can do that... just how it will happen hasn't presented itself yet."

• Anstice nods. "My immediate thought is to wrap ourselves in a false destiny. If I masquerade as god blood, or thaumaturge, it sets them on a false trail, but still allows a few tricks just in case. I am unsure what to suggest for you."

Mendhari: "... I could try to become a slave."

• Anstice raises an eyebrow. "I would think that would marginalize your natural diplomatic talents."

Mendhari: "Quite true. I will think. But I must retire." She sets her cup down, and looks at Anstice. "Goodnight."

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< In the Village | Red Ice Logs | Reporting to Febrisa >