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453740 No. 453740 ID: 40fb55

Wiki, complete with prior threads and mechanics: http://tgchan.org/wiki/Gun_for_Hire_Quest
Disc: http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/37315.html
IRC: #Golemquest, #Undersewers

GUNS FOR HIRE: THE FIRST SEASON
Armas Laine-a name that's getting some recognition. Current Master of Amen. Leader, laissez-faire director and founder of the magical band of mercenaries known as the Laine Corporation. One-time owner and auctioneer of the Demonic Artifact, Mammon's Device. Pals around with the Turkish Ruling Dragon. Friend of the Wyld Goblins of Istanbul. Went Drinking with the Wizard Mad Drunk. Guardian of both a Valkonen and a War Walker. The spearhead behind removing a german criminal influence from the playing field, shouldering the mafia with a debt to him. But of the man himself, little is yet known. He simply appeared on the playing field, and promptly began tweaking noses like an antagonistic child. Making trollish waves, Armas Laine has settled into not just Istanbul-but into the worlds of magic, and power alike, enjoying the good times, perilous, surreal and oft-horrific as they can be. He was not, and has never been prone to dwelling on things when he could be getting excited about a new thing to investigate. Those of courteous inclinations would call him a child at heart with mostly good intentions-those not so kindly worded would call him a perpetually immature asshole. Both would be right.
Currently, Armas is trying to see his company through clearing a rather large bloat of concurrent jobs and appointments, still trusting his hands-off approach to see his minions through their own duties. On this day…

I answer a few questions, mostly for my own satisfaction, the moment I'm up.

First, I try editing my soul binding from 'only regenerate magical energy [today]' with 'can only perceive souls [today]'. The absolute moment I do HB flies from the room's corner and lands on my nose.
>[HB]"You will stop that."
"Uh-why? I can soul-sense for MILES like this, so-"
>[HB]"Your enhanced regeneration is what allows me to not constantly be shackled to your personage. It is what fuels the swarm I can form-as well as my continued studies of that art. Removing that binding cripples the both of us by removing my magnum opus of magical warfare, and I shall not have it."
"…."

I change the binding back.

Yes, he's my spirit animal-or, I guess he's my familiar, since he's still got his body, I guess. And that, officially, makes him subordinate to me. That said… he's, like, 90% of my coolest current tricks, and I have no clue how to do them on my lonesome if I piss him off forcing the issue. Not to mention I have to date not forced the issue of our relative positions once-and in fact have never told him that ours is anything but a neutrally equal binding. So… back to regen-orientation for my soul-binding it is.

With that… cleared up… I once again explore my mixing of Summer Fleshcrafting and Winter Chakra-but with the aid of HB around, so that in a worst case scenario I can still regenerate. …Okay fine, maybe I shouldn't muck with that binding-that energy supply is why I can even do all this. And so, distracted as I am, I attempt to mix the two-and blow my hand off. It's not that bad, in the grand scheme of things-and after I regenerate the vaporized appendage, I get back to work. What I find is… bothersome. It seems even a little bit of power sets off the explosion-and that the explosion's potent enough that, even if I reinforce my body against it in preparation it still shreds me. I try going with minimum power levels and still run afoul of the explosive reactions, and eventually abandon it after an exhaustive few hours of nothing but failures no matter the permutation, no special ways to slip in any actual functional harmony. I simply don't, at this time, have enough knowledge of hybrid magical theory to really experiment my way into success, I fear-and that leaves study as my one real way to advance. But what to study-should I just ask a dragon to do magic for me? Hardly. I feel that spending pretty much the whole morning conclusively testing this is enough I don't need to worry about this until I've really got more to work with.

After spending some time answering some oh-so-burning internal questions… and by that I mean just the newest iterations of my endless stream of obsessive curiosity-I get on to more productive things. Like-
[In Japanese]"Oy, Sake!"
>[Sake][In Japanese]"Bwuh?"
"Stop licking yourself for a second and tell me what I need to know about interacting with bigwig Yakuza."
Sake lets his bottom flop out of his grasp as he considers the question.
>[Sake]"Hm. Well for one-don't be anything but officially polite unless you want stuff to come down to violence right then and there. The mundane yakuza can be more verbally volatile I've heard, but the magic members know to keep a lid on shit. That doesn't mean you ACTUALLY gotta be polite: Just act like it, you know? In fact, they'll probably respect you a bit more if you can be… authoritatively formal, I guess. …No, not formal-jokes are fine too, but again, only if they're more or less proper looking at face value."
"Passive aggressive dick-wagging contests?"
>[Sake]"Nailed it in one."
"Easy to work with then. So-let's go feed Silja"
>[Sake]"Aw, now? But that'll make me tired all day!"
I ruffle the little furball's coat.
"Relax, I'm just looking for a half treatment-someone might need a rub before tomorrow, after all."
>[Sake]"I guess that works. Nine bodies then?"
"Unless half of what you can do has changed."
>[Sake]"Nope-I've only gotten new soul-tricks, not body tricks."

It says something, how blasé Gianni and Dávgon alike are about their now-daily duties assisting me in what, technically, is the repeated fatal mutilation of a humanoid to feed a monstrous pile of meat. Given I've got a hell of a vested interest in seeing the overly polite and recently chipper Silja reincarnated, I'm not that bothered by what we do. After all-we keep her from feeling any pain from our harvesting, which legally we aren't even required to do.

…Every now and then, I wonder if the darker norms of the Magical world are going to push me past a line that even I'd regret crossing…

Before I pass that off as being a case of bad gas. Yeah, that's it.

I pull out the file on Baki and skim through it once to see if my rough recollection of the man seems to pan out-and then I read it thoroughly, looking for something that feels new. Nothing, really-certainly, I pay a modicum more attention to the reports of his Turkish upbringing making him more confrontational in 'formal' settings than most in his particular field. It's no major breakthrough or critical data point-but it'll help, of that I have no doubt. I ponder it as I get dressed in a particular favorite amongst the suits-the dark-blue suit striped with the word orange. After a google check and a quick talk with Sake, I decide I probably SHOULD do the whole 'bring a gift' thing to be properly savvy of their cultural predilections. …Mandragora root, sounds good to me-Baki's a vegan, it's a vegan food, great. …Eh, might as well cook it. It'll only take me like twenty minutes to whip up some spiced mandragora fries… and wrap it in exceptionally boring chocolate brown wrapping.
>[Sake]"This is gonna be fun, going back among my birth culture!"
You're really gung ho about it, aren't you.
>[Sake]"Totally!"

I check the clock, blow the last half hour on fine-tuning my soul-sensing and sphere labyrinth dual orientation… and decide it's time. First, I walk up to Svetlana, present an open, empty hand, close it, and have HB fleshcraft a hummingbird into my opening palm, which I promptly present to Svetlana and ask her to keep safe for me. Despite the strangeness of the delivery, the beautiful little bird smooths over the reception. Mere and IT on my person, and no other weapons. HB atop my tie, Sake wrapped around my collar. With my gift in hand and SB at my back, I head on out to my appointment, noting the Russians to be heading off for some sort of celebratory meal. After a brisk walk, I'm at the massage parlor-and just like Sake told me, Baki tries to foist the gift back on me-exactly once. Then, when I insist-

He snatches the bag out of my hands with delicate grace.
[Baki][In Japanese]"I'll look at that-now, there's… people that want to talk to you."
[In Japanese]"No doubt-lead the way."
Baki holds his hands up to me with a gentle shake of his head.
[Baki]"Hold on: you armed?"
"Definitely-my Artifacts."
Baki doesn't blink at it-but his soul tells a different story.
[Baki]"Right. Well-follow me."
After the surprisingly brief and wholly verbal weapons check, I'm lead through a back door of the closed shop, where a trio of men, each with wholly warded souls, sit patiently on one side of a long table. I bow to them exactly as much as they do to me, and seat myself in silence while they continue to openly appraise me. It is some ten, fifteen seconds after Baki's excused himself that the one on the left speaks.
[Yak1]"We are representatives of a sect of the Sumiyoshi-kai. Forgive the secrecy, but we are honor-bound to keep our names to ourselves. If you deem it acceptable, please refer to me as Mister Cryptid."
His words lack any sign of accent-and are spoken in english, a further surprise to me. The man speaking has a wing-tipped pompadour over a particularly well-lined and overly sun-drenched face, with his eyelids nearly indistinguishable from the wrinkles surrounding them. His upper lip is oversized, and gives him a simian, almost impish cast. As I take in the man in the burgundy suit and bow tie, I glance to the right, to look at the next speaker-who speaks japanese.
[Yak2][In Japanese]"While my honored colleague Mister Cryptid has so graciously left me with the honor of telling you he represents the Inu-Hanma-rengo, I most deign to name my own accolades as well: I can be known as God Hand, and represent the similarly named Kamiken-rengu"
The name, at first, does nothing. But the thick face, the bullish build, the rough tone… it smacks of something, something I remember from the fighting buffs back in the army and their incessant study of famous badasses. It takes Sake's hiss on my shoulder, his squeak uttered loud enough for my ears alone, the verbalization of the word 'toro' that makes it click: I'm looking at Masutatsu Oyama, the freaking God Hand. …If I wasn't already so acclimatized to running in magic circles, that would have been mightily impressive to me. Now, it's just interesting.

I turn to the man in the middle, dressed in formal japanese wear and wearing an oni mask, surrounded by the scent of incense.
[Yak3]"I'm afraid the Oni aren't truly a union, group or collective to be claimed as my own-so I must simply call myself Oni, representative of the Oni, recursive as it sounds."
From my shoulder, Sake speaks up.
>[Sake]"I am the Kamaitachi trio of Sake, shōchū and Toso."
Pompadour man inclines his head with an apeish smile, and speaks-now in japanese, just like the rest.
[Mister Cryptid]"Your candidness is appreciated on behalf of your honored colleague."
My shadow speaks next, still sticking to my feet.
[SB]"A Shadow of the man that you wished to meet, and as such, every bit as… private, as that sort is known to be."
This introduction seems to go over well enough. My turn.
[In Japanese]"As you no doubt already know, I am Mister Laine, here to represent Laine Corperation, who I assume you are all familiar with."
There are a series of nods…. and the meeting gets underway.

It takes a whopping four hours, at least half of which is just formalities, platitudes, and overly polite speech, but in the end I learn things important enough to warrant such a heavy time investment.
0-Seems they wanted to feel me out as a potential ally that they could look at mutual nonaggression with. This seems almost wholly due to their perception of me as a threat, and can be taken as proof positive I'm actually making a name for myself.
0-Each of the men here either leads or has the ear of the group they represent-and between the three of them, represent three quarters of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza members here in Istanbul. This means getting a nonaggression with them isn't QUITE the same as getting one with all the yakuza in Istanbul-but it's damned close, especially with the Sumiyoshi's efforts to keep its Japanese rivals from joining it.
0-The Golden Death Gods, it seems, don't belong to any one clan, but to the wholly magical facet of the overarching yakuza group these three belong to: As such, despite being the strongest group in the Istanbul based yakuza, they have no representatives or say in this meeting, and are effectively owned soldiers.
0-Mister Cryptid attracts my attention by having a whopping three of the seven golden death gods be from his clan prior to their new positions. I get the distinct sense he's the closest thing to a 'boss' of the Golden Death Gods as I'll run into.
0-Seems that my association with a national of theirs, Ito, is a topic they want to bring up-and unless I miss my understanding, they sought my permission to approach the man about teaching some of their own recruits. My gut tells me they're more interested in shutting down Lo Fang's access to Ito.
0-Mister Cryptid's a punny guy, no doubt about it. 'Oni' is every bit as fickle as Iron Trick, and the God Hand… well, he's like a human HB, really. Frankly, I know all their personality types, and have no issue shooting the shit or being serious with them-and it showed in our interactions.
0-Seems that, in addition to non-aggression, they'd like to look into being able to privately hire us to discretely solve internal issues, provided I'd be willing to sign soul-binding documents to enforce my own discretion on any given job. They mention pay grades in the millions, and I inform them I'm interested, but not committed. Each gives me a number, and asks for my own.
0-All three are surprisingly blunt on exactly one topic: Lo Fang. They want him, and his Shaolin influences gone. They won't ask me to stop working with him-but they do ask me to not work against them, and to keep my mind open to a potentially lucrative hit on Lo Fang. I can't deny my curiosity is piqued.
0-Mister Cryptid, at one point, asks if my Hummingbird is the same I traded an Artifact of Mammon for-I confirm it is. He is immensely impressed.
0-Most importantly, I get the sense that if these guys can't see Lo Fang gone in about a season, give or take, they're okay with packing up and heading back home.

Stuffed full of knowledge, we part ways, Baki gives me a cordial nod for the fries, and I head back home. Once there, I spend a solid chunk of evening working with HB on his Swarm shenanigans while Lyubov watches. After several hours of stuff that's still frankly above my head but clearly helps HB, I put in a few hours with Dávgon doing something rather interesting: I tear off bits of my soul to craft into souls inside bugs from the Kudoku jars. Curiously, my Romanovian regeneration lets me ignore the otherwise catastrophic personal damage and use my own soul mass as sculptable material. To be perfectly frank, since I'm making these wholly on my own with Dávgon merely advising, the first hundred and change need Dávgon to come in after me to fix my work. By the last bug though… I feel something like ease at building these, the simplest, smallest, quickest souls to make. The part I found most interesting, I think, was the soul-blanking, where my own soul signature was scoured off the soul mass before it was shaped into the new, tinier souls. After I asked Dávgon, I find that not doing so can rapidly make one an unstable Gate of Self-and seeing how Tesla's version of it, top-notch as it is, is giving Lyubov all sorts of headaches and I already have the clearly superior swarm form to my name, I see no reason to dabble. I DO, however, envision nesting hundreds of exceptionally poisonous ensouled insects in the Golem.

One thing at a time.

With twilight approaching swiftly, I have Amen gather up all the remaining bits of Doonongaes I have. Half a skeleton, two fifths of it's meat and some assorted organs-not that much, all said and done-and that's the argument Whaitiri tries to give me. Long story short though, I spend the wee hours convincing her to give me a boon with the very next magical creature of substance I feed her-be it a Wyld Goblin, an old Vampire, a Transcendant, a Minotaur, whatever-and SB assures me there's no way she can renege.

Confident in my chances of providing such a kill in the coming days, I go to sleep.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28th, 2011
PERSONAL FUNDS: $2,864,660.00
BUSINESS FUNDS: $1,394,984.00
CASH: $6,120.00
SHADOW PATIENCE: 90%
WINTER ENERGY: 160
SUMMER ENERGY: 50/50

Monday starts off with me needing to stick around the house to be on hand when Tesla gives Lyubov her job since I frankly want to see if I can get anything out of the guy. To this end-I need to entertain myself at home. While normally I would do so by introvertedly focusing on practice with magic in a haphazard fashion, today… I spend the day with my employees. I chum around, pal about and bullshit with one and all, and get a proper sense of what they're looking to do in the coming week. I find the morning of camaraderie far more rewarding than any time spent honing magic, no matter how SB may sigh. I can feel the deepened bonds with my followers-and that isn't to be trifled with. That, and cooking breakfast for everyone doesn't hurt either.

[MINION ORDERS: SKIP TO THE END OF THE PURPLE IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ]
Vlad:
-Clear all prior orders.
-Keep working with Tidus Atmor the gunsmith. Attempt to develop system of nonverbal communication with stoic man.
-Continue widening range of resistance.
--Query Hillevi for assistance with cold exposure, express gratitude with kind words and assorted vodka each time she assists.
--Find source of acid for corrosive exposure. ...Duke is helping!
--Get repeatedly electrocuted in some fashion for energy exposure by Titus, Lyubov and/or power outlets.
--Seek means of exposure to being blown up. Ask Sake to hit him with wind bombs. Regret choice immediately, but persist.
--Attempt to increase resistance to pain. Plan to recruit Grisha and Amen for this. Have "Fun™" and try not to rupture larynx.
-Continue developing new forms of vodka infusions. Attempt to secure small amount of magic blood and shave bits off a regenerator heart for use in new experimental healing vodka idea.
-Acquire a second giant mug and have Sake's name etched into the side, leave it out for the weasel as a present with a fresh bottle of meat vodka.
Zhenya
-Wonder how so much happened to you in the past week
-Enjoy new, yet unnamed, magic pistol and other gear
-Spend more time with Matvey
-Acclimatize to Ogre strength use so that you can operate at normal levels even with it on.
-Move out.
-Keep training in general.
-Go to the Arena with Matvey.
Lev
-Go to the Arena with matvey
-Talk to Matvey again about killing your father
-Work on ways to find mother
-Practice with knives
-Try and find interesting women and magical things in Italy.
-Have fun.
Ivan
*Have a one-sided conversation with Lyubov about souls after she catches a glimpse of herself in a memory of an internal noir monologue.
*Unsure of what to do with all the free time in the morning, try some meditation, using Hawk the rifle as a mental focus. Stoically stick with it all morning, just to fill up the empty hours. Feel just that much more comfortable with the old gun in your hands.
*On the way to Ito’s on Monday morning, buy a pair of polarised sunglasses [-$50] to reduce the impact of ultraviolet vision in the sunlight. Begin wearing them everywhere. Notice that this makes people-watching habits much harder for others to notice.
*Ask Ito if he needs some more help with Camella gone for a month. Be offered temporary increase in teaching duties for triple pay. Inwardly smirk at pittance, and offer to do it for free.
*When Armas isn't around to notice it, take the family's Mosin-Nagant out, unwrap it, and give it a good clean. Try and fail to get some of the stains out of the stock. After thinking about the rifle and the family back in Russia, write a letter to older brother Abram: let him know that the news, of death and treason, they’ve received is false.
*Notice the company's ammunition facilities sitting unused after Vlad has left for Italy and decide to waste some time making some custom ammo. Figure that silver bullets are used often enough in folklore to be useful, and buy some silver bullion to try melting down into bullets [-$3000 for a 100oz bar]. Read up on bullet-making techniques and try out the machinery with the newly-bought silver.
*On Thursday, head to Dávgon and ask for a soul quirk. At that point, gain 'SOUL EYE' trait (lv2), which lets his soul's natural shape grant him the ability to detect the presence of souls. It does not grant any soul makeup analysis abilities, just recognition of their general location.
Feodor
*Hand out gifts and receive gratitude from all except Sake who, through a series of unfortunate coincidences, repeatedly misses out on his gift.
*Spend Sunday night working on Ivanovich while the mannequin-man sings. After a strenuous weekend without Sake-healing, be put to sleep by such a lullaby. Hear from Lyubov later that Ivanovich was seen, singing and with a belly full of surgical tools, carrying a certain sleepy medic back to bed.
*Attend the psych appointment, let everything out to the man who can't reveal it: everything from the accidental cannibalism and the reaction to it from self and others to guilt over still not having found anything out about Alexei, not speaking to Mother for three years, and having let so many people die over the years. Schedule another appointment afterwards, then head to Rostislav's fight.
*On Wednesday morning, head into Mohammed's Discount pet shit and buy a Vampire Squid and a pressurised transport container for it for $14,000. Take it back to the mansion and gather Dávgon and Gianni, and spend the next few minutes taking part in a strange ritual that involves eating the squid alive, while it's wriggling and flopping tentacles all over the place. Use up most of the rest of the day having Gianni pull a fully formed and annoyed squid out until how to manifest the familiar clicks. Afterwards, make a deal with Gianni where he gets the use of Ivanovich for a project in return for teaching magical anatomy.
*During free time, practice a little with the squid's conferred abilities, especially the regeneration. Cut self and time the wounds healing, etc. When Sake-healing time arrives and Sake demands a piece of liver for his trouble, get curious. Climb on the operating table and cut a piece out for him while he watches. Sake treats it like a dinner show. Have a strange time sensing people's blood, and wonder how odd sensing Elder magic is going to be.
*Having spent the week finishing off M.A.P. cross-referencing, be prepared to use chakra at Finnigan's to lower the surgical workload a little. See how he reacts. Remember to take notes on patients and procedures, still. Find a new patient, who goes by 'Mrs. K', to be very interesting in the general strangeness of her maladies-like having her bones replaced with stone.
Rostislav
*Head to the Zosimus mansion with Titus for a guard mission, meeting the head Zosimus vamp; the charge, a teenaged girl; and the other two guards on the job: a German juggler in a Nazi uniform by the name of Armin and what looks like a tattooed zombie, that turns out to be a man named Radu Hagi. Chat with Titus and the others for the evening, stab Radu repeatedly with a memory-thief knife (receiving the wounds, and the memory loss that goes with them), and set up a shift rotation for the mostly silent girl.
*Using the first night off from the guard job, fight Adib at the late night Fight Club. Take a lot of damage during the fight, but win by stabbing the black guy in the eye with a chewed off finger. Learn after the fight, while Gianni's healing the two barely-conscious combatants, that Adib is a two thousand year old flesh golem. Spend the rest of the night drinking.
*After spending a shift and a half being cursed by Radu for fun, get bored and try reading an old journal from the guard room bookcase. Fail to see parallels between self and the magical-blooded golem-man hunted by vamps from the journal. Get bored and, tempting fate, ask Radu if anything's going to happen. What do you know, Radu replies with, “Well, there IS the gentleman mind-locking the vampires in the house while Zosimus and his fellow elders are out.” Follow Radu's lead, opening the door for the intruder, up to the point where Radu, slack-jawed and blank-eyed, is mind-locked himself. Try fighting the obviously dangerous intruder, and be thrown about, have limbs dislocated and arms flayed for the trouble. Eventually rage so hard that skinless arms tear themselves apart, becoming flailing bone-filled tentacles, whereupon the red-caped intruder remarks that a shoggoth is too much trouble and leaves. Spend the next ten minutes trying and failing to get a drink with extraordinarily damaging tentacle arms before passing out as Radu wakes up. Come to in time to give a report to the vampire elder, while Armin's Masterful Hands put tentacles back in place, and receive a pair of sizeable black diamonds as a bonus payment. Spend the rest of the shift talking to Radu about rituals and make a deal with Titus to buy some of his divine lightning gems [-$50k] to pay for curse ritual training.
*Wednesday night, for the off-shift, head to the mansion for a nice calming magic beer. Upon arriving, encounter an irregularly irate Big Crazy clutching an ragingly rabid wolverine. Become instantly gleeful. When BC demands more money for what was an obviously more difficult than he expected mission, offer him an extra $100,000 and swap him an armful of magic beer bottles [-8L magic beer, -$150k] for the wolverine. Note his immediately calmer disposition on drinking the beer. Race to Davgon to have him bind the wolverine, where he remarks that the beast requires an additional binding beforehand as it's essentially a living Hate Fragment, if a small one. It's still HIS hate fragment now.
*Trade a promise to Titus for his surplus lightning gems, then trade the gems to Radu Hagi for teaching. Spend the rest of the week's uneventful hours eating, drinking, and learning curse rituals from Radu. Remember to keep the blood production and blood iron charms on to speed the process of making the blood iron knife.
Titus:
-Do the guard job for the next two weeks. Hang out with Rosti and the other two guards, try not to get dead from either enemies or employer.
-Spend off-nights in forest talking with that lightning tree he Named. Continue finding her alien, but mostly nice.
-Spend free time building the mk.IV taser glove. Use the opalised wood for backing on the backs of the hands and knuckles. Opals for capacitor banks and the Lightning Ridge opal and twice-struck flash stone for primary supercapacitors. Raiju hide (2/4 remaining) outputs a constant charge to charge the capacitors and electrify the opalised wood. The usual nomex-P155-kevlar mix for the glove, possibly supplemented with the dryad-blood rubber if Titus doesn't need it for the wiring (it seems Tesla coils can be used for wireless electrical transmission; since Titus is sorta pals with Tesla's Witch Saint, it seems almost polite to use his technology). There'll be energy bleed-off, but with the rubber protecting Titus and the hefty (and free) energy output from the pelt, he ought to be all right.
>Bagga
>Considering the missions he has been on so far, it's obvious Bagga has much to learn. Try looking for a super natural boxing club to hone and test his boxing skills.
>Talk to Gianni about the body mods and enhancements. Look into some additional lessons about the body as well. He does seem to know a lot about it.
>Go shopping for gear! Some enhancements for the gauntlets would be good,along with some basic, multi purpose gear..
>With the gain of Igne(his pet cactus) ponder the thought of running a company herb garden that can focus on various healing and boosting plants. Probably will have to talk to the higher ups about this.
>Continue with the Ito lessons per usual and check up on his fellow orphan vamps. Just because he's working doesn't mean he should forget about them.
>Continue the vampire lessons. Try to learn some advanced techniques and find out a bit about the vampire scene. Can't skip on that.
>Prep for the Arena with Matvey, Zhenya, and the others.
>Finish ALL his missions!
LYUBOV WEEKLY GOALS
L*~Tesla’s job to break into an AORB outpost and fix their painfully inefficient divinitech generator takes priority... but how's she going to get in? Tesla' not introducing her...
L*~Daily Lessons in divine magic fundamentals with Sake as long as he is willing. Which stops about midway into the week.
L*~Make sure Svetlana is settling in well (drag her into interacting with people if required).
L*~As many lessons with Armas as time permits and as he is willing to give (divine-based flesh and soul magic demonstrations, essentially).
L*~Finish the Mk I Plasma Wing and work on a wearable MkII Plasma Wing ready for Sake.
L*~Visit the magic electronics shop, ask after local magic electronics clubs/associations, and buy parts required for the Mk II Plasma Wing (magic superconducting wire if available and affordable, magic rectifiers, quartz crystals, batteries, resistors, and other parts).
L*~Visit Placid at least three times during the course of the week, either alone or with Sake and/or Armas. Deliver his textbooks and talk to him about whatever strikes his fancy. It’s always intellectually engaging and fun talking with him. Show him the Mk I Plasma Wing!
L*~Talk to Hyougo at least three times this week. Be sure to hit topics like “how do you feel about witch saints? There's a new one in my city,” and “I’ve been working on a new project, look at this cool Plasma Wing thing!” and “I really pissed off my friend, what do you suggest I do to apologize?” Find Hyougo is dazzled by the Witch saint question, and doesn't comprehend caring what her friends think when it conflicts with her views-that... doesn't sound good.
L*~Apologize to Zhenya and Matvey for video recording their unfortunate incident with the gift to Duke. Turn the original video discs in to Matvey, have a good cry with Zhenya after explaining what a witch saint actually is in greater depth. Still not over the death memories thing…
L*~Talk to Andrei and Hillevi in depth about being a witch saint, ask what she’s heard of them, explain most of what is known in general, omitting only the details of the deal with Tesla. Agree to help Andrei with getting in contact with mortal hacker contacts who know magic hacking of mundane systems (in exchange for him owing her or Tesla a favor). Make it clear to Andrei that he’ll be expected to pay these people for his education, and suggest he ask Armas for a budget for it. Make the call to Tesla about it.
L*~Go out to the Leprechaun bar with Dávgon, Hillevi, Armas, possibly others for a few drinks, broach the idea of a betting parlor with Bonzi (simulcast video of arena fights, a secure interface with mortal banking systems, betting booths, first access and direct input in what would be a pilot program).
L*~If Bonzi likes the idea, and there are no issues that would scupper it, research companies that do electronic gambling (Quixant looks good, relatively low cost solutions with established secure protocols...). Plan on requesting a meeting with the Hobgoblin arena owners.
L*~Read up on wireless cave communication systems.
L*~Remind Armas that Dávgon needs a research budget for monster anatomy and divine magic.
L*~After the unfortunate incident with Sake, have a talk with Kuvey and resolve to be more mature and less meddlesome (except when the situation actually merits meddling, which really amounts a resolution to get more information before meddling).
L*~Look into a charm for Sake which will prevent the Punning issue from being catastrophic for him again.
L*~Get some Ferret Tubes for Sake. Those things are awesome to play in. ($200)
L*~Borrow Matvey’s bracer and really analyze it, figure out what is failing and what could be repaired. Make this a joint project with Armas. Practice possible solutions in the plasma container.
L*~Talk to Hillevi about spin ice monopoles and superconductors, with an eye toward using the everice spell matrix to make both of those products practical. Contact Furukawa Electric about their high temperature superconductors, and buy dysprosium titanate from a chemical supplier (500 grams for $1,400) for the spin ice project.
L*~In either case if Hillevi is reluctant, point out that a complete manufacturing process would probably be of value to her clan, if nothing else as a process that they can license to other ice manipulators who are interested in manufacturing products that will be in demand. Though what they do with it ultimately would be up to the clan head, he could probably be convinced it is valuable.
L*~Continue the research into Armas’s past as time permits.
Matvey Orders
/\/\-Hand Armas the report he asked for with full details on the trip, relevant news you've picked up, reports on other's ability gains, and compensation to the tune of 25% of your winnings ($386,125) for using several of the disposable charms and a promise to keep him personally informed of future arena ventures and your or other's use of company gear so that he can get a proper cut.
/\/\-Undergo concentration training to prepare your mind for using Conceptual magic at least once per day, finding a soundproof room or secluded spot away from prying eyes when possible.
/\/\-Witness Armas' hummingbird instructing Ohotnik in 'how to be a proper warrior' at breakfast, request that he allow you to watch and assist as you are Ohotnik's master and trainer. Suddenly be taken to a very odd void with only wind, the hummingbird, Ohotnik, the Nothern Night Soldier bioarmor, and yourself as occupants and participate in a bizarre exercise where the hummingbird educates Ohotnik with an obviously hummingbird inclined, but correct worldview, assisting and elaborating yourself when possible. Come out from subjective hours of training with breakfast still in progress.
/\/\-Meet a nice couple at the dog park who breed Kangals who inquire about Ohotnik (having been recently trained to disguise himself as one for ease of movement through cities). Have a pleasant chat with them and receive contact information and the offer to come and socialize Ohotnik with their young dogs.
/\/\-On the way back from the park see a very curious sight, a dog barking at Ohotnik in a way that somehow cowed him. After following the strange dog see it disappear into a tree. The bioarmor revealing after the fact it was likely a hound of the Erking and the tree was acting as a divine portal.
/\/\-At night classes find two strange men, both transcendents of different stripes than yourself challenging you to face them in the arenas because you defeated a woman they both wanted to face in your last match at SugarSkull's arena. They both offer the same challenge with the same stakes-Shuhadaku Zayin against their swords and one of their arms. Choose to face the transcendent body known as Samson Aegis in one month.
/\/\-Stay after that night, until even the other Russians and students who join in drinking after classes leave, and talk to Ito about a very disturbing thing you learned through Shuhadaku Zayin about his past in the military and things he was made to do in his service. Talk to him and ask his advice on how to stay sane and free in this life. Stumble back home in a drunken haze after one too many drinks are shared over the subject.
/\/\-Pass a note on to Armas regarding the Erking hound you spotted, a proposal for what to do with Iskander's rather unique aerial abilities, and a brief description of the challenge you accepted.
/\/\-Get Hillevi to carefully freeze the Northern Night Soldier bioarmor so that it gains greater defenses to cold and have Titus shock it with his latest iteration of glove for greater resistances to each respective attack type next molting
/\/\-Clear some time for a brief venture to SugarSkull's arena to acquire the additional funds needed hopefully for a house outside the city proper.
/\/\-Train in Dunter Footwork under Ricky and Lucy as they are available.
/\/\-Take a visit to Das Bones', the magical diner owned by a powerful golem that Bagga invited everyone to to celebrate your return home. Ask Das Bones for assistance and learn about the nature of conceptual cutting while washing dishes. Acquire permission to return and help around the kitchen for more pointers on conceptual cutting.
/\/\-Enter the armory and have Satai print off a couple orientations one for adhering to surfaces and one that repels you from them.
/\/\-Watch Rostislav's bout at the fight club, a very brutal affair. Assist in helping Rostislav and the other Russians get out of the aftermath okay and join in celebratory drinks with everyone afterwards.
/\/\-When the opportunities arise throughout the week go to Das Bones' at the usual lull periods for advice while assisting him with basic kitchen chores.
/\/\-Go with Zhenya to offer Duke a gift she purchased for him with her winnings only to have to suffer through an incident you would rather not mention to anyone. Ever. (It involves vomit. And laughter.)
/\/\-Spend more time with Zhenya afterwards and eventually ask her if she would like to come with you to live outside of the mansion and find she accepts. Tease her about the specifics of the house you've been spotting out for days after.
/\/\-Find Lyubov knocking on your door after the incident, offering up the tapes of it she and Andrei took. Be appreciative Lyubov decided not to do terrible things with the discs like she seemed so inclined and after she leaves feel less aggravated with her in general.
/\/\-Talk with Davgon likewise after the incident and fall into some much needed good cheer when he convinces you to laugh at yourself a little. Fall asleep that night knowing you have a good friend.
/\/\-Be visited by a Valkyrie late in the night with an offer to become an Einher, refuse and be surprised when a second, much different offer is made in a voice unmistakeably belonging to Odin himself for a future task he will give to you should you acquire Body Transcendance. The voice offered a token of advice for the future as it cut out and the Valkyrie disappeared.
/\/\-Talk to Armas in the morning, asking if he is willing to allow you to live outside of the mansion and have some vacation time in the next few days. Fight the uphill battle that is that of an officer trying to live off-site, offering $350,00 if he allows you to do so and gives you the vacation time. Regardless pay for the damages Ohotnik has recently caused to the house playing with Ohotnik that cost blood to repair ($19,000).
/\/\-If plans for moving out and a vacation go through give Armas the address of your new residence and provide contact information if it were already known to anyone who may need you. Provide select friends the address so that they may visit.
/\/\-Enjoy quality time with Zhenya and Ohotnik at the new place.
Iosef Orders
-Complete any missions asked of you.
-Go find things to do with your newly found muscles.
-Ask Ito if he has anything you could do now that Camella is gone and you have free time again, see if you can't test out your new muscles at rival gyms. What's this, a job breaking dojos? AWESOME!
-Ask Satai if you can get some copies of pages from the chakra book for orientations that help with the weird ritual things you do at Johan's shop.
-Continue making visits to mister Johan's shop to help him clear out his backlog of rituals so he'll teach you things.
-Invite Karma over to the mansion to hang out, not having paid attention to the time Camella mentioned the rules about guests, but also not know Karma was cleared the potential problem solves itself all without being thought about.
-Ask Karma about all that demon name, ritual magic, runing stuff mister Johan mentioned he accepted as payment.
-Call that one waitress from the ambulance mission.
-Now that Boris is gone all the delicious food is too, find this unacceptable and look for places you can eat out. Look for places that offer free food and glory for eating large meals, grin at what a deal you're getting every time and at your growing collection of awesome souvenir shirts.
Svetlana:
-Track down Armas and ask him how much he will be paying her. Find actually catching him to ask hellishly difficult. If you didn't know better, you'd say he's avoiding you! Then, at the end of the week, find a letter in her pocket detailing that she'll be making 5k a month.
-Ask about the risks and consequences of receiving language grafts. Ask for a graft of Turkish so she can do her job properly. Recieve one from a shadow. This.. is strange.
-Work with Satai on comic book job. Boringly complete job over the week.
-Handle purchasing legal, nonmagical, nonweapon goods for Satai.
-Attempt to fulfill the requests of her superiors quickly and efficiently. This takes priority over everything else, she needs to make a good impression after all.
-Make company letterhead that meets with Armas's approval. It's orange.
-Start gathering company records and copying them for the archive she will be maintaining. Roughly split the archive into financial, administrative, and field sections to start with. Ask superiors how they want access to the archive to be handled. Be told by Satai he wants exclusive access to the financial records. Wonder if this is a joke. Free access to company members, graduated access levels depending on position in the company, no access below officer level, or some other way?
-Set up and run a message centre for company use. Members of the company can leave messages with her for others and she'll make sure they get to them.
-Be available to take calls and messages for anyone who wants her to.
-Spend some time during the week with Cookie Lady, who Lyubov introduced her to before church on Sunday. Enjoy the company of someone normal. Make a mental note to get her name again, it isn't like her to forget.
-Lend a hand in the kitchen since Boris is in Italy. Avoid eating any magical food herself.
-Be open to suggestions on what other members of the company want her to do. They have a better idea of the needs of the company.
-Try to get to know her new coworkers and socialize.
Igor:
-Be happy that he's good enough at chakra to not have to worry about metabolizing magic anymore. Camella went to Italy so everyone is OBVIOUSLY in the clear, right?
-Be very excited about having a magical hammer to work with, but worry he isn't good enough to do it justice.
-Experiment with the hammer's effects to ensure future projects are as good as they can be.
-Work on any projects SB gives him to do with the hammer, in exchange for help and advice on other projects he uses the hammer for and information on shadows in general.
-Work on making smithing tools using the hammer. Hopefully tools that can interact with shadow/soul will afford him finer control over the final form of things he shapes with the hammer.
-Offer to make something for Ito, as way of thanks for the training he's provided. Mention he's got a magic hammer now but warn he's not very good yet. Promptly be asked by Ito to make him some new old-timey bumpers. That.. sounds simple, right?
-Tell Armas he's finished the golem's pair of gauntlets and he'll upgrade them with the hammer once he gets the hang of it. Offer to start working on armoring the rest of it, if Armas wants to pay him for it. Bluntly mention he wishes he had a way to see the soul/shadow planes for smithing with the new hammer. And more money. And metal, or he can't make the armour. Be told to get his ass a body-mod to see that shit from Placid. Be told it will be free. ...Find concept a bit unnerving.
-Begin smithing armour for himself. A set of Almain rivet, to be exact. Supposed to be relatively simple to construct. Perfect for a first attempt.
-If asked to do projects warn that he has somewhat busy with the projects he's working on already. If what they want done is for company use, tell them to go through Satai. If they want personal work done, tell them it isn't his magic hammer so they'll need company permission if they want magic gear.
-Get back to tinkering with his watches now that he has the time. It's been a while.
Andrei:
-Work towards developing remote control armored stationary turrets that can fit motors and mounts strong enough for miniguns. Install cameras, both regular and IR.
-Program tracking and facial recognition software for turrets for autonomy. Buy and cannibalize kinects for help and inspiration with sensors and body and facial recognition, look through other already available solutions as well.
-After these are done, work towards getting turrets mobile with some treads.
-Build three redundant IFF systems for company to avoid friendly fire with automated targeting: Buy cheap phones, alter them so that they query -> answer through bluetooth automatically, ask to spray paint a glyph on mission suits in IR reflective see-through shellack, and hook up an IR leds on suits on a separate system, set to light at query. Hand these out.
-Decide you want to magic up your specialty. Find Lyubov. Ask if Tesla would be willing to help him along the way of finding a teacher. Be told she'll ask.
-Decide to go after other venues for now. Go to The FUTURE Shop. Inquire after someone who could teach the magical side of hacking. Get told the name of a rather expensive group that can teach him personally, lessons to some measure of functional confidence would cost ~250k. For instructional material, he can get a collection of DVDs for 40k, or an actual book for 85k, and if he's looking for examples of magical hacking code to purchase and pick apart, each instance usually runs 5-15k.
-Go ahead and buy the book.
-Start learning magical hacking from book. Damn you book, stop keeping things back from him!
-Start making 3D map of Istanbul that would let him translate where the company is on the map and send data on enemy and friendly positions to helmet HUDs. Hook up a GPS, a transmitter and three 3D surface imagers on a large RC car, on pointing straight ahead, two pointing to the sides.
-Try to find Dmitrii to ask after a stealth charm for said RC car.
-Drive around in car when bored of reading and coding and no urgent tasks, always make sure to roll it back in the house. Shamelessly rip off Google Maps for pictures, driving around with a camera rig occasionally to see that it's accurate.
-Talk to Armas about compensation for editing work. Also ask whether he has ideas for venues of selling finished videos.
-Go to the psychiatrist once per week. Complain how living in murderous house and being surrounded by constant magical radiation makes him a dick and gives him cancer.
Satai Orders
$ - Complete assigned company jobs
$ - Murder a certain gargoyle in retribution
$ - Focus relentlessly on improving control and understanding of mindscape
$ - Attempt to learn to separate, recognize, and manipulate mental inputs
$ - Work on building useful mental constructs
$ - Discuss mind manipulation with potentially well-informed parties
$ - Examine others' minds if and when possible
$ - Seek additional sources of information on magic, particularly mind magic and rituals
$ - Read through all available written resources on magic-related topics
$ - Keep sniping; attempt more rapid target acquisition and precise shots
$ - Keep training with Hillevi, using new perceptions to improve chakra skill
$ - Seize opportunities for personal profit which present themselves
$ - Continue looking after Stacey
$ - Go out with Verusha and/or friends to magical night spots when possible; build contacts and enjoy self
$ - Take careful, measured steps toward resuming habitual magically-oriented promiscuity
Grisha Orders
G - Go to the Arena with Lev, and have fun!
G - Have some Fun™ with Vlad and Amen before leaving for Italy, since he asks so nicely~ Invite Anguisher.
G - Introduce Anguisher to Amen, get opinion. Amen likes him!
G - Go to Italy, bringing Anguisher and some motorcycles for planned biking adventures with Lev.
G - Study under Anguisher in the arts of pain and villainy!
G - Study on top of Lev in the arts of fun and Fun™!
G - Keep the town in line and take frequent day trips to really enjoy Italian life. Bring Sake when possible!
G - Don't neglect martial arts training- see if Camella will help since there's no more dojo to use.

I also must admit, seeing Go Ping there, meticulously assessing each practitioner's ability for the now clearly optional training, makes me happy-I haven't had a chance to talk to the guy for a while, and I've always thought of him as a pretty cool guy.

….WELL, that was a hell of an informative morning. By the time I'm done hearing from everyone, it's past lunchtime and I'm cooking again. That is-until Tesla calls. Long story short-I find I like the guy. He called Lyubov just long enough to give her a job then hung up before she could ask a single question-or I could try to talk with him. Further, the job's simple at face value but fraught with complications: Lyubov needs to get inside of what is supposed to be a SECRET AORB base in Istanbul, and… improve the efficiency of a woefully outdated divinitech generator within. I have to say, I like the science god's chutzpah.

While Lyubov's mulling the challenge over, I bring her with me to go spend an afternoon with Placid. He shows us both his progress with the souls I gave him-and rather impressive work, at that-and listens raptly as we tell him more stories. He is, as he consistently ends up, a wholly calming and pleasing entity to be around, and I find myself nearly regretful when we leave three hours later. Placid promises to have the souls ready for us by the next time we visit-and I get the feeling he might have felt a bit bad he didn't have them ready this time.

When I get back to the mansion, I explore the previously inconsiderable ability Hummingbird mentioned to me before… and finish unlocking the mobility boosts the bird can offer me. I now have to constantly regenerate to sustain it, but my body can be made to shift directions without regard for gravity-just like before-but at speeds wholly comparable to an actual hummingbird-and THAT is new. Couple this with Dunter step, and I can move fast enough I can rip a shoe apart on my foot just from the sheer force involved-it's rather impressive, and… means I might be looking at dodging bullets in the not-to-distant future. Which, I have to admit, would be cool as shit.

I'm four hours into acclimatizing to the ramped up performance-and frankly getting used to being able to accelerate to roughly fifty miles an hour in less than one step-when Matvey knocks on the door.

"Hey-come in."
The man in question does as told, walking over with a report in hand.
"That the report you mentioned this morning?"
>[Matvey]"That it is."
"And what about the receipt from Oyak?"
At that, the officer pauses.
>[Matvey]"…That… is for three things. One-I am paying you back for the blood expended repairing the house after Ohotnik's antics."
"Rather diligent of you. That's one. Next?"
>[Matvey]"…A quarter of my winnings from the arena, more than enough to cover the charms expended in the process."
"Two for two things I want to hear. What about the third?"
>[Matvey]"A request. I would like to move offsite and live in a house of my own. I have no intention of leaving your service, but I would feel more comfortable elsewhere and in a place where my pet does not cause regular harm to your holdings."
Well that's something-though as I recall, there were… noises… last night that sounded rather horrifically embarrassing.
>[SB]"I had my shade record the altercation"
Ah, excellent.
Well, since I've already snap-decided to let him what with how he brought it up, I play with him a bit.
"…'Feel more comfortable' huh? Is it Amen or the people you live with?"
>[Matvey]"Amen."
There's not even an iota of hesitation to him when he utters it.
"Okay. Hell, I got no problem with Titus' camping, I see no reason you can't do something just a step more involved. You do know that I'll fully expect you to haul ass if I need you promptly, right?"
>[Matvey]"Understood, but there is another thing."
"…Well, go on."
"I would like it if you would allow me some time off in the coming days. I could use some rest and time to dedicate myself to some personal issues and training. I would also like it if you'd allow Zhenya to accompany me, both to the new living site and in this vacation time."
"Zhenya? Sure, go for it. Though I have to ask: how much time off are you talking here?"
>[Matvey]"A week."
"Starting now?"
>[Matvey]"Tomorrow night if possible, I need time to move my things."
"And you're aware that if actual shit goes down I'm rescinding that faster than a kid'd castrate Chugainov, right?"
"Fully aware sir, you wouldn't even need to ask."
…Gotta love this approach, compared to Gloom. I smirk a bit as I give my confirmation.
"Sounds good, officer. And try to enjoy the down time."

Matvey nods as he leaves-leaving behind his report.

Matvey's Itemized Undersewer Report

The Path Down
1-------Encountered first instance of resistance in the form of a clutch of warrior-cast Sahuagin, a more powerful, but less intelligent variation of the sewer level creatures. The creature's toughened skin and hard muscle was able to resist firearms and grenades we threw at them. Places where the skin was thinnest were prime targets for melee and the creatures were willing to expose them if distracted by raw meat or disoriented by flashbangs-which proved incredibly effective. But by far the most helpful tool for removing the creatures were the demonic grenades, which killed half the clutch at once.
2-------The next instance of reportable encounters was the informally named Driver Pit, home to a Draconic-Elder weaponized mythic beast who was thankfully dormant as we skirted quickly and quietly along the far side of it's domain. A major hazard in the area and notable in that it apparently destroyed a large hobgoblin arena recently. Findings: Avoid at all costs.
3-------After the Driver we encountered a strange sight, a normal man toting a hefty anvil-shaped hammer all on his own. Contact was established, after nearly beginning a violent altercation due to misunderstandings, now cleared. His hammer was at all times accompanied by the sound of clattering chains echoed through the caves, despite there being none on the hammer itself. He identified himself as Fighting Fin the Einher. He was on route to a mission to cull the breeding magical population of the undersewers. The einher may request additional backup from Gleb in order to prevent the Driver from spawning.
4-------Further down the tunnels we encountered a rogue de-masked wyld goblin that was banging on walls on the opposite side of a giant chasm, presumably in frustration. It was half again as large as the Sahuagin encountered earlier, and attacked us in a blind rage when attempts to sneak around it failed. We were forced into conflict with it on a narrow ledge where it gripped solid stone walls to support itself and lunged at us to attack. Rostislav threw a demonic flashbang at the creature, but within range of myself, endangering me. My blade was able to absorb the blast by striking it and channeling it into the creature, causing its eyes to burst. The creature attempted to rise and attack multiple times after that but it's impressive durability eventually ran out. It died when the vertebrae in it's neck were fully separated. It is unknown whether it's seeming lack of intelligence and rage were a byproduct of it's masklessness or something else entirely.
5-------The battle with the Wyld Goblin destroyed our only path forward and forced us to use an alternate route down through the massive chasm, making replication of our journey excessively difficult. Ricky and Lucy were able to carry us down and ensure a gentle fall, and we landed at the bottom atop piles of bones.
6-------A creature called a Grue going the opposite direction confronted us. A vaguely humanoid mass as far as appearances go. I later learned such creatures are generally feared for their ability to control flesh and inclination towards the dark, being weakened by the sun. It let out telepathic spores to communicate with us and asked one question, where someone known as Hillel is, after responding we did not know this Hillel it moved on. The spores were later removed by the arena before I entered a match.
7-------While still in the chasm we were ambushed by several mutated masses which were once people gifted with bloodlines by Elders. They were hiding amidst the bones that carpeted the floors. At first they only manifested tentacle appendages which came up from the ground to attack us, seemingly endless in number. The others made noteworthy performances against the mass with both firearms and melee. As we steadily made progress through the tentacles the first central heart-like being producing them emerged. A grenade directed channeled into it by my sword was able to destroy the first heart, but several more popped from under the bones as the first died. I killed another in a similar fashion as we made our escape.
8-------The last barrier between us and the arena was a stream of magma populated by Magma Dwarves. As none of us could withstand the heat involved by even be near it Ricky and Lucy took us across themselves in exchange for the last of the meat supplies Feodor brought with him.

At the Arena
1-------At the entrance of the arena we were hailed by a man in heavy armor. He identified himself as Body, an Einher, and he was on break from several months of missions and was at the arena to unwind. After brief, but pleasant introductions we were offered his advice as a regular gladiator in the arena and I learned the following: It is ill advised to see the chairman Sugarskull, an eccentric candy golem, directly until getting in one exciting match. SugarSkull isn't the real power behind the arena, he acts as a puppet for the Greek ruling dragon who owns the primary stake. The arena offers conquest and submission matches. The levels of competition being Sport where even mundane humans could compete, Mortal for those with chakra, rituals, innate magic, or martial ability that take them above mundane humans, Blood for challenges a bloodliner or equivalent could be expected to deal with, Ascendant for who are as above bloodliners as bloodliners are mundanes in terms of power, and Legendary for dragon level competitors. The other aspect of the arena, the Meat Circus, was made from a fragment of Amen taken long ago and converted into a servant structure, reworked into being totally obedient. It serves as a one stop shop for food, entertainment, and gear in the arena. It creates everything to order, customized at the buyer's request and always of the highest quality, it's works being prized for their craftsmanship.
2-------I spent the better part of several hours competing in the arena, fighting in Blood Conquest matches, the first against a Valcor of the Ibruhem vampire clan who was clad in heavy organic armor festooned with gems, whose defeat cost me significant injury to my right arm. The second match was against a popular fighter known as the Buraboor, a bloodliner who was fitted in a more slim fitting suit of organic armor. The fight seemed to excite the crowd to no end, myself still having an injured arm and being a rookie against a favored fighter who flung tentacles at me in a perilous fashion resulting in the loss of all the charms I carried and leading to a climatic set of exchanges. The fight was enough to appease SugarSkull and Body took me to meet him after my fight. SugarSkull rewarded my match by giving me use of an instant transportation system to and from the arena for myself and potentially others, barring his desire to consume them on a whim, so just myself for now.
3-------After my fights Feodor and Rostislav parted ways with me, being given free use of an instant passage to the surface carrying the rest of the money, a one time perk. I was left to my devices and used my funds to purchase the bioarmor familiar I now wear and my dog before the returning to the Redcaps to fulfill the intent of my guide agreement with them and began making my return trip.

Return Trip Summary
1-------Leaving SugarSkull's a man dressed as a butler appeared from nowhere, bypassing all means of detection. It stated it was looking for a young girl named Hillel (Morning Star), last seen wearing 'questionable attire and a petrified butterfly hair clip'. I again said I did not and it promptly left, politely asking to for me to keep an eye out. Later reports indicated that this was an Elder golem and that after it left us it encountered the Grue outside of the arena and the two fought, barring many from entering or leaving. Due to the level of entities involved it may be in the company's interest to investigate the matter further so that we might either avoid the conflict or if within our capacity make preparations to capitalize on it.
2-------A Traveler, an Acolyte of the Fourth Horseman, was spotted from afar, appearing to move towards SugarSkull's Arena. We avoided the entity entirely, later reports on the incident confirmed he was not there to join in the fight between the Grue and Elder golem, but as an entrant into Legendary Conquest bouts, supposedly very exciting to watch. Footage may be available.
3-----Now having resistances to the heat of the magma stream Ricky and Lucy asked that I slay some of the local Magma Dwarves. I attempted to kill several of the ones on the outskirts of their settlement, but eventually they roused a militia armed with magic arms and armor. Their defensive measures were impressive but eventually the defenders crumbled. I sustained extensive injuries during the battle due to a magical device they had which negated the defensive value of my bioarmor. We were blocked from returning to the arena by the previously mentioned conflict between the Grue and the Elder Golem, but I was able to continue onward.
4-------The path back through the chasm was unremarkable for the most part, a large structure I hadn't seen before served as an exceptionally long staircase back to the ledges above. From afar we could see a figure, a man in traditional knight's armor riding a motorcycle up the sheer wall of the chasm vertically. He approached us on the top and inquired about my injuries, after he was sure I was fine we chatted and I acquired contact information before he continued on to the arena.
5-------In the next series of caves a large, flaming wooden puppet tried to attack us but it's fire had no effect on anyone present, Ricky and Lucy having disappeared at the sight of potential conflict as per usual. When it seemed to realize it was incapable of damaging us with it's flames it left and we continued.
6-------Having to take an alternative path back up we moved until we reached an underground city. It was exceptionally large and well maintained. A man clad in golden armor and accompanied by crows antagonized us as we entered, asking us to leave before it attacked us, forcing me to retreat through the city itself as he attacked using multiple magic blades, crows, and even parts of the city. At the exit he finally caught up with me and levied multiple strikes at me, but the Redcaps provided last second assistance and I was able to move beyond a barrier point, where it seemed the man could no longer follow. We promptly left.
7-------A Crow Corpse Knight of Gilgamesh's, patterned after Enkidu blocked a bridge we had crossed going down. We were unable to determine what the creature's orders were and without knowing them we couldn't safely cross the bridge without risking activating it and instigating another fight. With that path blocked we were forced to take a detour to find another entrance to the sewers. Ricky offered one solution, a passageway owned by the Leprechaun Bonzi, who I had at that point not yet been introduced to. The passageway was a hidden well leading down into a small cave with a door to his bar. After knocking we found that he had long since transformed into his Glurichaun night shape and has a notable separation of memories between forms, forcing me to wait until he changed back.
8-------While waiting a Reaper agent came upon me, questioning me about an AORB agent that was killed near SugarSkull's arena. I complied with his requests, recognizing both the risk this could pose to us if TitanCorp were to learn we fought and being too injured at this point to put up a fight. He fired several nonlethal shots with his rifle at me as he questioned, but when he came to the conclusion I was not involved he left me to my injuries.
9-------Eventually Bonzi opened his door after I paid the toll of blood required (having been assured they simply use it as a safely rendered foodstuff that cannot be used to hamper us). In the future I would recommend introducing any and all important figures in the company to such contacts and in the case of Bonzi establishing relations with both his forms to ensure he is useful to us at all hours.
10-------I used to sewers to walk home and restore myself, the Sometimes Merchant having intercepted me on the way to tell me that he had a contract to discuss with you in person. I was then rerouted to the scouting mission and so ended my trek.

Contacts

Gianni Contacts: (I retrieved these for you after noticing they were owed to us for assistance lent to the mafia. As a note the various vendors haggling styles and inclinations were not given, as the mafia has elected to inform all of these contacts of us in such a way that they would be the ones to adjust to our own needs, preferential treatment in short.)
1---Juliano - Supplies illegal mundane weaponry of the firey or explosive variety, of note are the two Davy Crockett's he has in stasis.
2---Delgoro - Chemical concoctions, namely potions, poisons, and gasses.
3---Franco Senior - Supplier of fleshcrafting materials, the goods are potentially disturbing to any uninitiated fleshcrafting in action, redistribute the contact with care.
4---Galileo - Magical weapons vendor specializing in knives.
5---The Greek - Runs a shop that sells stolen, repurposed, and retooled vehicles of the magical persuasion, like demonic sport car engines or kirin motorcycles. Has connections to vehicle companies in Azerbaijan with useful skills.
6---Gregory - Can put us in contact with out of luck immigrants. Located on the docks and only available at night.

Undersewer:
1---'Fighting Fin' of Mac'O'Rory clan - Mortal Scottish Einher, and worker of bone. The only means of available contact is through other Einher. He could be very useful if you want to make use of the bones from that large creature we killed by the water.
2---Bike Knight - A bike riding knight who would be interested in purchasing the excess custom bikes we have in the mansion. He also provides lessons assuming the students are willing to provide him drinks and fun.
3---Meat Circus - An entity derived from a portion of Amen, taken by a prior owner and wiped, rebound, and repurposed into being an obedient structure which serves as an all purpose stop for arena goers, using fallen gladiators as material. All purchases are made to order, custom workings of a distinctly organic origin. What can be imagined can be purchased-for a price. The service typically deals in gold or barter and has discounts for arena competitors.

Personnel Report

Andrei: Andrei is growing increasingly mentally unstable for some unknown reason, but not in any way that seems to negatively effect him. If anything, he's programming more effectively.
Camella: Camella's soul is showing signs of draconic influence, altering her magic and increasing her overall magic content. She is not aware of this and I have yet to make mention of this to her and am awaiting your call on this.
Grisha: Grisha has recently undergone moderate body modification through Gianni to increase her physical beauty and reflexes. While her inclinations towards causing pain and suffering in others is well noted, she has recently been exploring magical means of furthering her knowledge in the field. It would be wise to disallow her continued access to Amen, although the damage may already be done, care should be taken to find out if this has had any ill effects on her that she herself has yet to notice or that may jeopardize the company.
Feodor: Feodor purchased a magical surgical golem to further his medical skill and has been seen loaning it to Gianni occasionally. He is currently in the process of gathering a squid spirit animal from what I gather and is taking great care with the process.
Iosef: Has made contact with Johan and is currently working to help clear a backlog of experimental rituals for him in exchange for lessons from the demonologist. A call to Johan has revealed that Iosef seems to be naturally inclined towards such rituals and has taken at least three of them without any side effects. He has been made more powerful, quick, enduring, and resistant to harm as a result of them and may be minorly demonically inclined now. He has been verified and registered with the Church via Karma.
Ivan: Acquired a singular body modification for his eyes, otherwise nothing of note. Addendum: He and Igor spent roughly four hours talking about something, but neither will say what.
Lev: Asked me for help recently, wanting to know about his heirloom sword and his past, recent trips to the Hobgoblin arena having made him suspicious of monstrous taint in his background. The sword appeared to never have been a sword at all, but a magic gate to a demiplane. The Redcaps were brought on to assist and after looking over Lev's dried blood they were able to determine the construct was Hag in origin and Lev has dormant Hag lineage. A method to awaken his blood was procured at no cost to the company, allowing us to enter the demiplane. A brief expedition was made, the terrain seems inhospitable to non Hags but I was able to continue on with my bioarmor. The singular structure visible proved to be the home of Lev's father, a full Hag who sat atop an orgy while other Hags, similar to Lev in appearance fought below him. We attempted to leave after Lev asked him several questions, he attempted to lock us down but the gate sword allowed us to escape. Lev has expressed interest in returning to kill his father, any further expeditions will require overwhelming magic to breach active defenses from Lev's father however.
Rostislav: He has acquired multiple graftings from the Meat Circus. He is significantly more physically potent, now eight times as strong as a normal man and three times as fast after a grafting of composite flesh golem muscle. This coupled with his newly acquired regeneration and more durable bones make him a suited towards deploying heavy weapon very easily or as a direct melee combatant should the situation warrant it. It has also become apparent that while his new form is looks no different for all intents and purposes he engenders an effect on any humans that see him making them fear his presence.
Vlad: Elected to take multiple body modifications from Gianni up to the threshold of what a human body may handle. He is significantly stronger and larger than he was before, his increased size is now nearing the threshold for believability and he may require a magical guise to move in town without drawing undue attention. He is of a scale with the Nazinauts, armor included.
Titus: Starting to breach into the field of magitech-or divinitech. Still not sure. He has acquired a contact in the form of an entity made from divine lightening, but trapped within the shell of a dryad within a hidden grove. The positive relations he's established with that contact have proven lucrative and Titus has a small supply of divinely charged gems at his disposal.
Zhenya: Has used her arena winnings to purchase magical arms and armor from the arena. She can now be relied upon to provide charges of all seasonal energy through her new pistol and otherwise prove a incredibly strong, exceeding the strength of an ogre.

Misc

Iskander-I have identified Iskander as having a very unique natural aptitude towards aerial maneuvers, similar to that I noted of Hummingbird in our bout. He may be able to adapt aerial maneuvers and lessons of the Hummingbird to the human form as best as a human is capable of and could be an ideal middle man in honing a human style based from them. I have not revealed any sensitive information to him, but he seems eager to expand his skills. He seems very malleable and as such what you could request of him seems nigh infinite, but having him adapt the style for us and become available upon request to reteach it or otherwise redistribute it seems suitable. Taking him into the fold is also possible, but not recommended given his father seems connected enough to bring the orphans into Ito's at his request.
Psychologist-There have been questions raised as to how discreet the dragon bound psychologist actually is and whether or not he can be trusted for our continued use. Several company members are making appointments to him already and may be at risk if the fears I've heard are correct. My sword assures me 'Problem Talkers' that are draconically bound are historically dependable-I do not know if this can be assumed to still be true, given how out of date my sword's knowledge is.

I chuckle as I read through the report-Matvey clearly made an effort to refrain from the stodgy formality normally expected in such documents-and I appreciate it. It makes for solid evening reading, and it occupies my focus as I drift through the house towards my room. While I read it, I fixate on the Arena-and it's Meat Circus. Frankly, it sounds like a place I would love-and I find my impulse for decisive action urging me to take a jaunt down there myself… with as much of the company as audience/betters as possible.
>"Question: what powers would you use?"
That, I find to be a thoroughly EXCELLENT question, and devote myself to it, and the underlying question of what I keep hidden and what I reveal.

>It’s true that you just don’t have enough ways to close the skill gap yet between yourself and people like Hillevi and Duke, who have both been fighting and training for literal years.
I know that. I really want to find ways to close the gap though. It’s obvious that I need ways to close the gap, if I want to be able to compete and keep myself alive. My personal skill doesn’t match my available power.
>Why not start by looking at tricks that are unique to you? Your hybrid healing ability, for instance, merits closer examination. If the underlying principles could be harnessed to power other forms of magic, you’d have an instant edge.
It’s something I’ve thought about more than once-and now that the ever-wary SB is encouraging it… well…
Yeah. I think I’ll do just that. I just need to stab myself so I can use hybrid healing.

I find a non-magic combat knife in the armory, one of a couple dozen originally issued to the Russians by the Black Army, and I head up to my room.

Lyubov’s been in here; she left a bunch of printouts and loose notes on the bed. I glance at the paperwork casually before deciding that whatever she’s been up to, it involves way too much math and engineering bullshit and talk about magnetic fields for my taste.
>She’s got a nearly complete electrical and computer engineering degree from U.C. San Diego. Her ‘other self’ enrolled in their five year masters’ degree program.
Well. Good for her. Hopefully I won’t get any blood on her paperwork.
I take my shirt off and turn my attention inward, focusing on how my body naturally reacts when I’m not trying to suppress my hybrid healing. I slam the knife into my gut. The pain is certainly there, and even though I can largely ignore it, the very act of plunging the knife into myself distracts me just enough from my self study that I miss whatever it was that allowed the hybrid healing to work. …Irritating.

>I still find it frustratingly difficult to observe. I always have, as has Einrik. There’s obviously an obfuscating factor to the magic itself. I think you may be the only person who even can tell how it works.
Well I obviously can’t watch myself and stab myself.

At that moment Lyubov returns to the room. She smiles at me, an easy, comfortable air to her electric soul.

AN IDEA STRIKES!
“Hey Lyubov, here.”
I lazily loft the knife into her hand, and she instantly looks confused as her hands dart to catch it by the handle.
[Lyubov]“Um. What’s this for?”
“Can you stab me with it?”
Her body language, and her soul, immediately change, becoming slightly uncomfortable and alarmed.
[Lyubov]“What?”
“Just stab me with it. Anywhere’s fine.”
Her mouth, for a ephemeral moment, opens and closes wordlessly as she processes what I’m saying.
[Lyubov]“Is. Um. Is this for a ritual or something? What’s it supposed to do? I mean, I know you can heal from a normal knife wound like, instantly so it’s got to be a ritual or research- or is there a reason you want to do this in the bedroom?”
Inwardly I chuckle at her implying I might be getting off on being stabbed. Though I do note she looks like she’s not rejecting even that silly notion out of hand.
“I’m just testing an idea. If I’m not totally looking inward I’ll probably miss what I’m looking for, and I’ll need to be wounded again to try to see.”
She stares at the knife for a moment, and then looks back at me, obviously torn. Hummingbird lands on my shoulder to impart some of his regal wisdom on me.
>[Hummingbird]”One can hardly fault her for not wanting to harm her mate.”

I put on my best puppy dog eyes expression, earnest and shameless begging. I even touch up my Soul Guise to not only appear spiritually stabbable (man I love memetic effects), but to also add as much weight to my flagrant pleading looks as possible.
“Why won’t you stab me, Lyubie?”
>Lyubie?
Oh come on, you have to have heard Sake calling her that.
>I wouldn’t know what your upjumped spirit animal calls her.
Still not getting along then.
I suppress my sigh at my brother’s conflict as Lyubov’s soul comes to a decision: Apparently that did it. She nods seriously, and I can see in her soul that she was touched by the impromptu pet name.
[Lyubov]“So. Fine. But if it is something so delicate, you should let me see your soul too. I may notice it if you miss it.”
>I don’t think she’ll see the hybrid healing mechanism, but it certainly can’t hurt to give her a shot at it. You’ve already trusted her with far greater secrets and she’s proven remarkably loyal to you.
I can’t fault the logic of having another set of trustworthy eyes on the event. I comply with her request, and I drop my guise for her. She’s seen everything else to me there is to see, so why not?

Her eyes betray her surprise at my ridiculously complicated soul. Between my eye-twistingly tesseracted-connection to Shadowbro, my energy-laden dual-pathed Gate to Hummingbird, the overflowing pathway to Sake’s tri-part soul there’s quite a bit of external noise and ambient motion around my spirit. Coupled with how my divine-flecked cannibal stained spirit is built on a skeleton of soul-scars, the way my oversized chakra gates and my soul’s constant drawing of power through its Conceptual bind adds even more noise to it, and how the standard structures on a soul are more or less placed at random on mine, and my soul is frankly a confusing mess to look at in the best of times.
>If she still had a human mind I’d be worried about your soul’s structure hurting her, but as it stands she’s capable of looking without risk.
She doesn’t have a human mind now? Is that because she’s got that Gate of Self thing going on?
>That, and some very minor modifications Tesla put into place when his lightning bolt passed through her crown chakra, intended to help keep her sane. Shunts so she can look at things people normally would be brain damaged by, like her own conduit, or our soul. Now, pay attention to yourself.
Lyubov has taken a stance and has the knife ready, her soul steeled against the urge to not stab me. I guess she likes me enough that this is a little harder for her than I thought. I’ll have to make that up to her somehow I guess-
>[Hummingbird]”Focus.”
As Hummingbird imposes his mental help on me, I look inward, keeping a very close eye on how energy between my two bloodlines is flowing. Lyubov lunges forward, and just as the knife tip touches my skin, I enter accelerated thought courtesy of Shadowbro. With him and Lyubov handling everything else, and Hummingbird helping, I’m free to watch what happens.

What happens is pretty amazing. Energy from both my bloodlines starts to gather near the wound as soon as the knife pierces my skin. Proportionately more energy is added as it starts to pierce the fatty tissues and penetrate the underlying muscles on my abdomen. I am only vaguely aware of the knife snicking against a rib initially as it pierces my right lung. A spell matrix forms-no, it grows like a living thing all around the wound, its primary purpose to redirect all the ambient magic energy available in that specific region into a secondary matrix that starts to form just as the knife finally lodges in my rib, stuck right at the hilt. The two spell matrices, clearly composed of differing energies, manage to overlap like a set of doubled images without ever seeming to touch. At the beginning, at least.

The gathered summer and winter energy begins to, for lack of a better term, spray like droplets of energy.
>Discrete packets, or possibly quanta of energy? I’ve noticed there are certain patterns to how loose energy coalesces. And I’m viewing this from your memory, I still can’t make any detection progress on my own.
As the summer and winter energy-imbued spell matrices begin to interact in what should be a catastrophic explosion of flesh and magic, instead the tiny amounts of explosive energy (devoid of any trace of court energy thanks to the violent reaction), are caught by… something. It’s not a spell matrice-I’d see it if it was-but… it’s as if there’s the… shadow? A spell matrices mirage, hidden atwixt the two opposed spell matrices encircling the wound. The ‘mirage’ matrix soaks in every iota of power sprayed out by the Winter and Summer matrices, and uses the (in aggregate) massive amount of energy to power a regeneration effect I’m having trouble even seeing thanks to how complete the energy scavenging matrix is. …Hadn’t really noticed the effect was so pervasive in it’s localized magic drain, given the short timeframe it operates on and its automated function.

Curiously, the mirage spell matrix, despite sucking it’s surroundings and encircling spell matrices dry, doesn’t bloat-instead, it funnels all the newly court-neutral energy into my flesh, healing me even as the knife’s still in my body.

Lyubov pulls the knife free, the wound healing as quick as the blade is withdrawn thanks to my hybrid healing ability. I smile at her. A normal smile, the sort I’ve noticed I tend to save for her.
>This is intensely fascinating. No wonder it’s so hard to tell what’s going on from the outside, it’s like a miniature internal conduit in terms of energy efficiency.
>[IT]”Can’t he just say you built a temporary chakra between two spell matrices? Because that’s what you did…eh.”
>[Hummingbird]”Indeed, but Sir Giant’s observations grant little insight into the way the regeneration itself works, only in the way the safe conversion of energy occurs.”
>Given that that is a valuable trick all by itself, I think we made good progress today. Unfortunately, even if we can’t see how the transient regeneration spell matrix is set up, it’s obvious just by how much energy it requires that it is a very inefficient design. It’s like the power scavenging function and the regeneration function were designed by different people, or evolved out of different lines of research. They fit together-just not as well as they should.
That could well be what happened. I think if I worked on it, I could switch out the existing regeneration matrix and put in something more efficient. I just need to know how to use non-court energy to power it. Also-isn’t this like building a chakra just for the purposes of healing the wound?
>…It is. Granted, it is less like a human chakra than, say, a Shadowfiend’s or an Angel’s… curious. Which means it’s time to do outside research.
Well, got a starting point, at least.

As the entire conversation took place in accelerated thought, I didn’t make Lyubov wait more than a few seconds for me to actually say anything.
“Hey, perfect. Thanks Lyubie.”
She smiles back at me, obviously shaking off the discomfort from doing something that felt wrong to her.
[Lyubov]"I really am curious about what that helped you with."
"Well... I finally caught part of the whole 'oh this magic trick turns a rule of magic inside out and makes it your bitch' thing that makes my fastest healing work. And... I... need to do more research-but not on myself. Need to see more high-tier regen in action."
[Lyubov]"So... the simplest thing I can think of would be to watch arena matches, I guess. Not the little arena Lev's been going to, the big one Matvey went for. And maybe Owner's Arena? Matvey got an invitation or something to it, too. He warned me the map required Conceptual magic, so yeah, I'm not ready to even visit that one as a spectator."
"Conceptually eh? I could probably go."
>Ah, the ‘wonders’ of being able to ignore degrading spirit and brain damage thanks to pervasive auto-healing.
[Lyubov]"Ask him to show you the coin for Owner's Arena then. He said he has a fight there in a month. A duel because he fought someone that some Transcendent people wanted to fight, and they figure he would be fun since he beat the woman they wanted to kill."
"Hm. Yeah, I might have to go to the arena... when I finally figure out how I want to fight. Bit too many options. And too many things I should probably not show off in an arena."
[Lyubov] “Do you need a rifle to stand in for Silja now?”
"Eh, not really. I... kinda like the idea of Iron Trick and the mere. Melee and ranged artifacts, dual-wielded: What alternative am I gonna find to trump that?"
Lyubov’s soul flickers in confusion.
[Lyubov] “I don’t even know what Iron Trick can do. How come you- uh. What?”
Lyubov looks really confused mid-sentence and I’m momentarily glad I set Iron Trick on the dresser with my shirt. I’m sure he’d have had some snarky comment about his innate ability to be hard to remember.
>Try writing it on a note for her, so she doesn’t forget again.
I grab one of Lyubov’s notepads, tear a strip from a blank page, and write on it: 'Iron Trick: Armas' Buntline: Artifact, can't remember past that.' Then I hand it to her, and she reads it.
"Is that sticking, there? And seriously, don't ask questions about the artifact if you want it to take root."
She nods clearly suppressing a few thousand no doubt bubbly questions, and says nothing else about the gun.
"Right-so, anyway, two artifacts, each one handed-I think I'm set on that. My question’s really what do I do? I mean, I... have options, but few of them are ones I feel okay with throwing about in public."
[Lyubov]"What do you feel is ok to use in public? That's the starting point, figure out the building blocks first."
I grunt as I start ticking off things.
"Well, Self Soul Binding's definitely okay-and makes my external binding for Rocco seem less noteworthy since it's not indicative of pure external ability. But... I don't know how to lift bindings- which I have to assume is somehow possible, hard or not. And I can't show off binding editing. So functionally, that's out. I can use my lower ability regeneration, the one that's not hybrid, but that just keeps me going. And I can't show off soul guises, really."

I tap my chin.
>Your poison should be completely fine.
It’s sort of a surprise, being reminded about the doonongeas poison glands Gianni installed in me, and I can’t help but exclaim about it.
“OH RIGHT, THE POISON!"
>Very smooth.
Lyubov’s grinning at me, obviously as amused as Shadowbro is. I keep on trucking.
"Man, I keep forgetting I have that. So that's healing and contact harm covered, okay... what else? I just can't get enough of HB's soul bubble trick- and there’s no reason to hide it."
[Lyubov]"Hummingbird wouldn't even want to be hidden."
"No doubt."
The bird in question preens at the looks he gets.
>[Hummingbird]”The female giant has some measure of understanding of my splendor.”
[Lyubov]“Um. What are you doing with the bugs? Dávgon's bugs. In the jars?"
"Now there's something. The Kudoku bugs. I've got to have a couple hundred by now just from how many jars are producing. But those are really discreet assassination tools as-is, rather than duel-viable, you know? They need a bunch more work to be ready for active combat like that. Or to have been completely reworked."
She shrugs at that, obviously trusting that I know the state of the bugs well enough to know what I’m talking about. Which I totally do.
“Do you think I should do the swarm? ...I never even told you about that, did I."
[Lyubov] “Swarm? No, I don't remember anything about that. Is it new?"
"The Hummingbird here can, well, turn me into a swarm of hummingbirds. All of which are me- so I'm still totally fine while even one's around. The Hummingbird himself included. It's why I was okay with Hillevi doing soul damage last night. With more than one body around, her damaging one, no matter how bad, is just damaging a node in a decentralized system."

I put up a fist, and Hummingbird instinctively knows what I intend. He bumps his talons against my knuckles. It’s a bird-brofist. Which is fucking awesome.

[Lyubov]"Wow. So he just. Converts your entire body to a flock? But. There must be thousands of birds!"
I have a shiteating Smile as I respond to her.
"Five thousand and change, yes."
[Lyubov]"That's got to be really weird."
“You have no idea-I get all that sensory feedback. Still need Hummingbird to handle pretty much everything in that form."
The bird looks so smug. There are no words for his smugitude at how effective and amazing his new trick is.
[Lyubov]"Right. That's... yeah, I guess it'd be really good in an arena. Just don't get hit by a fireball or something right? Are they all as strong as Hummingbird is?"
“Sort of-they have the oomph, but even he can't manipulate all those bodies as well as he can just his own. What the swarm can do... is disperse. He is, after all, controlling them, so-"
>[Hummingbird]”Even I have yet to master having each member of the flock fly an independent flight path. But it is possible for me to have them fly in formation, and then move groups around as I please.”
"-Okay, so apparently he couldn't, say, have each one go on a wholly independent flight path, but he can handle at least a goodly number of groups."
[Lyubov]“Squadrons of hummingbirds that can spiral through armor. Is he handling everything they do himself, or can he program them?"
>We talked about that actually.
>[Hummingbird]”Turning them into automatons completely defeats the purpose of using them in a battle. Combat should be a test of a warrior’s skill, not his ability to collect and create mindless drones!”
[Lyubov]"Because if he's just doing everything manually, programming could free-
"He insists that would be cheating."
[Lyubov]-ooh. Huh. Could he do a partial swarm instead of completely turning you into birds? How many can he make and have full precise control over?"
"Still working that out. Especially because SOMEONE doesn't want help working out the system to full mastery before telling us 'oafish giants', just so they can retain their position of superiority!"

Hummingbird clicks his beak at me, and puts some real force behind it. It is far more audible than it should be.

[Lyubov]"Ok. So you have Hummingbird's momentum tricks, the swarm work in progress, the soul bubble, and the thing he does where he bores through stuff. You have your poison. Hummingbird can deliver the poison too, right? Like, couldn't he have all the swarm put it on their beaks?"
"Naw, it's in my body-the, uh, Armas Body option here."
[Lyubov]"Couldn't you make some and coat them in it as they're being made?"
It’s a slow torture for me to admit this, but…
"They... aren't... immune to it. It's a problem, I know. But it's hell to get around."
[Lyubov]"Oh. Uh. How long can they last against it?"
“Yeah, already asked HB about that- I'm still warming him up to the idea of suicide bombing.”
[Lyubov]"So that's Hummingbird's main suite of abilities, all of which sound pretty cool for an arena battle. And you can go into the fight with a bind, you just don't want to show off yourself editing binds. But it could be done between fights, right?"
"There's a few problems there. For one, I need to keep the bind as-is to benefit from its Conceptual nature. Long story there, I’ll get into it another time. And, more importantly, it's more or less why Hummingbird can do the swarm."
[Lyubov]"That's one problem. What are the others?"
"For another, if I throw on more bindings, I couldn't change them, because having them edited at all is tipping my hand that one way or another I can make that happen. And of course, there's the whole 'I don't know how to remove bindings, and each binding added slows soul capacity growth."
[Lyubov]“I guess I didn't quite realize how big a deal being able to edit bindings is. The other two reasons are understandable, but if you believe you should hide that you even know anyone who can do it to you... yeah. Ok, so you go in with the one bind. You have your artifact gun, which I leave entirely to you to judge how to use. But your mere, it requires getting up close. It can block Matvey's sword, and it has that heart thing going. Does it work against anything with a heart? If it does, how is your, uh, monster anatomy?"
"My monster anatomy is... lacking. On the plus side if it's got a heart, and I stick this in said heart…”
I affect a patently fake Russian accent (as we’re speaking English).
“…well then I am their very own Bad News Bears."
She smiles at that bit of levity.
[Lyubov]"It is an ability you don't mind showing off in the arena, right? It is a good way to quickly end a fight. As long as you can get close and know where to strike. So we need anatomy books or corpses to dissect or something to learn. But Dávgon was asking about a research budget anyway, for divines at least, and I think it is a good idea too. Not just divine subjects, although it's useful, but all monsters we could meet."
It’s hard to argue with that. Especially since she keeps talking.
[Lyubov]"So getting close is not a problem against many foes because you have those footwork tricks you learned from the goblins, and the other sort of footwork that Matvey also knows now, from Ricky, I guess? He mentioned them, and what you do and he do seems very similar.”
>I wondered if she would notice that.
[Lyubov]"Anyway you need something that will let you close the gap against enemies who can match all that. Have you experimented much with soul bubbles? It offers resistance to blows, so could it be shaped to push you along in unexpected ways? Like pushing a beach ball hard into the ground and it bounces away, sort of."
>Interesting idea.
"Hm. Frankly, so far soul bubbles has been Hummingbird's territory, as to make a soul bubble of any substance it needs to be stupidly precise in how it's maintained-otherwise, it just unravels when tapped. But... recoil, that I think, Hummingbird could-“
>[Hummingbird]”Tell the female that I can indeed use the soul bubble to rapidly shift you around. It is trivial to force it to intersect and rebound against surfaces”
“-yes, HB could do that.”
>[Hummingbird]”In fact it almost not worth mentioning that I can do it. Such a simple task should be assumed to be within the repertoire of the pinnacle of birdkind and-“
“...Yes Hummingbird, I know you are the pinnacle of all that a hummingbird could be. My only concern though, is Duke, Hillevi? Both of them blew through it, and neither of them is, in the grand scheme of things, that strong. Placid and the like are definitely beyond them, and no doubt could crush the bubble too."
[Lyubov]“So are they just powering through it, or using a combination of techniques to weaken it first and then push through? If they are weakening it first, maybe there is a way to design ablative patches that prevent the strongest part of the bubble from being weakened at all. Or maybe there are ways to conceptually harden the bubble. Or, you could even give the bubble technique an actual Name to help improve it. You haven't done that right? Or have you and you just kept it secret?"
“No, no Name. The issue is frankly their superior expertise lets them circumvent my higher regen.... it's like me having a factory that churns out hammers, while they have master-crafted, overly durable ones that can smash any hammer I throw at them. Really, it makes sense given both have immensely more experience with their powers than I do."
[Lyubov]"So you have outrageous regeneration of your power, and you can spam it all you want, but you cannot muster the precision you need. Do you have anything that would let you store even more power, so that even if you cannot make higher quality hammers yet, you can make really big ones? Battery charms or something?"
“I've thought about those, but then the problem is how do I keep some other fucker from using the battery charm? It's really irritating trying to plan for fighting heavyweights, I have to say."
[Lyubov]"Maybe the same answer as with your mere and your poison glands and your other major things? Make the storage charm a part of you somehow? Actually, if you had like a one-use charm that was somehow grafted to you, when you used it couldn't you regenerate it right back again?"
>That… seems likely, actually.
>[IT]”It sounds like Dragon Organs, pumped full of power.”
“Wait, isn't Titus working on Divine Batteries or something? I felt something like that last time I took a peek at his workshop."
[Lyubov]"Yes, he's been experimenting with different gems. He's got a friend who empowers them with divine lightning, and hooks them up to the gauntlet. We had a good talk about different sorts of insulation... But, yes. I wonder how the vampires took him walking into their home with his gauntlet, anyway?"

I grab for my chin again as I plunge deep into thought. Ah, good old chin-always gives my hand a perfect spot to pose.

"I'll have to ask him about that when he gets back-and if they really had a problem they would have called me."
Lyubov abruptly takes us back to the original topic, as she is wont to do.
[Lyubov]"I don't really understand the mechanics of a soul bubble, but if it's anything at all like a magnetic envelope, there should be ways to cycle the energy feeding to it to create resonance in the bubble itself. There might be, um. Rates of power input that are more stable, very high cyclic rates instead of flows, which would naturally make the bubble stronger in some parts and less strong in others. It's very dramatic to watch patterns form from standing waves. It's something I've been thinking about for that plasma envelope thing I've been working on. But resonance is a phenomena that seems to show up in pretty much everything else, so why not souls too?"
>…
>[Hummingbird]”Is the female questioning my methods?”
"Probably. But Lyubie, that'd fall under 'learn a fuck ton more about this', which is still my problem."
She emphatically shakes her head.
[Lyubov]"No, it's just experimenting with varying the way power is fed to the bubble. Predicting patterns would require a lot of knowledge and simulation, but just finding resonant frequencies only requires trial and effort and energy."
>[Hummingbird]”I grasp that she is proposing a way to improve the technique in a tangible way, but she is being unclear.”
>Just tell us what you’re having trouble with.
>[Hummingbird]”I am not ‘having trouble’ with anything except her inadequate and unclear explanation. Until I have got it down I am not going to share what this proposed modification to the technique entails.”
"Would you like to explain it to Hummingbird? Because he's refusing to share his info until he's 'got it down'."
[Lyubov]"Uh. I'll explain it in magnetic fields because I'm still very new to the soul stuff but I have like four years of memories of playing with magnets and electronics in physics and engineering classes. So, when you make an electromagnetic field it is done usually by pushing electric energy through a coil, and the field forms at angles to the coil itself. The more power you put into the coil, the bigger the field becomes, until the coil breaks because it overheated."
This is logical. This is high school stuff. I even sort of remember watching a tv show about some of this on PBS. But I let her keep talking.
[Lyubov]"If you have multiple coils near each other and they are running at different frequencies you get fields interacting and shaping differently, and there's some loss in some places where they interact, but there's also some stable parts that you can use as actual envelopes to hold like plasma or gas. And that's because the fields were flipping back and forth and in some places they interacted and became a standing wave that is stable.”
Okaaay, I sort of understand the idea of a standing wave. Sort of. She must have picked up on my confusion, because she starts clarifying with an analogy.
[Lyubov]“It's like in a swing, if you push at the right time the person on the swing keeps going higher because you're adding energy to them at just the right time. And if you push incorrectly they quickly slow and stop because the energy is fighting what's already there. But in a 3D field you have to accept some places of loss and some of large gain. You'll get really neat patterns of very strong and weak spots, I think."
>That… that’s remarkable. Why didn’t we think of this? Well not me specifically, I have my Shade to run-why didn’t YOU, Armas?
No comment.
>[Hummingbird]”Her approach and explanation are sufficient for me to start working on this at once. The power cycling and pocket-bubble techniques do indeed seem sound.”
I think there’s a problem with her theory though. And I start to outline it.
"I like the cycling and pocket creation ideas though-and so does Hummingbird. But, Soul bubbles, and soul manipulation in general, while able to be expressed in physical space are not rooted in it. I don't suppose you know anything about how to manipulate fields that exist in a state where dimensions aren't really a thing?"

Lyubov gives me a quizzical look. It’s a look that actually… looks pretty good. Slap a pair of librarian glasses on her and-

>Please pay attention to what she is saying.
[Lyubov]"Dimensions are just a way of describing how many degrees of freedom you have. Mathematically there has to be at least one dimension to anything you can experience at all, and if it is interacting in the real world it just means that it is three plus some extra number of dimensions."
I can feel Hummingbird and Shadowbro chuckling at me.
Not my fault I didn’t get it.
>It is though, you could have asked either of us, or Dávgon.
I make a fake pouty face at Lyubov.
"Oy. Stop making mister High School here feel dumb as shit. Little miss 'cheat my way into a college education'."
She smiles warmly at me.
[Lyubov]“Sorry. And, I had that one year in Moscow. Before I dropped out."
She didn’t sound very sorry. I smile back.
"Sophistry and you know it! Anyway-besides trying to find ways to verify I'm properly working with energy flow rather than against it to build cohesion, and using multiple field sources to form pockets-which I have to assume will be great for the swarm form what with each body generating their own-what else stands out to you?"
Lyubov purses her lips thoughtfully.
[Lyubov]"To start with, pick just a few field sources to work with and keep them static initially. It's easiest to see how frequencies interact that way. Watch for how the bubble projects back in the extra-dimensional part of the array if you can. It might be that the pattern you want shows up in physical space only if the field sources are rotated with respect to the real world. Actually, just make testing rotations part of your research protocol."
>[Hummingbird]”The female is putting a modicum of thought into this.”
[Lyubov]"If you need to monitor the way the physical part is forming, why not try putting uniform force on it? Have Sake blow rice or something at you, just hard enough to test it for weak spots but not so hard you're uncomfortable. Resonant frequencies will make patterns in the bubble just seem to appear on their own."
>She just gave us a protocol that anyone could follow, and get results from through brute force repetition.
"That should give me a good instinctual foundation to run my body through-“
Lyubov does ‘frowning librarian’ pretty well too, it turns out. Actually, I think I’ve seen her mom make that same face at her.
“-hey, don't look at me like that, I bet the other Armas preferred to learn things intuitively as opposed to theoretically!"
She finally smiles in that Lyubovian way of hers.
[Lyubov]"That’s true, but it’s not the point. Well, anyway, I guess if it is instinctual you will be faster with it when it counts."
"Way I understand it, I just hardcode the actual data into my Id and can instant-access it. Like... instead of having to calculate out how hard to throw something and at what angle to make it land in a certain place, I, from my perspective, just 'know' the answer. ...Now that I think of it, that's quite a bit like Savantism, isn't it?"
Whatever Lyubov was going to say is interrupted by Sake entering the room and sniggering.
[Lyubov]"Hey Goldilocks, what's so funny?"
Goldilocks?
>Don’t ask. It’s funnier this way.
>[Sake]"I totally had the best idea ever for how to get that freaking puppy! I'm just gonna hit it with a Double Hundred Eight Ball! Even Ohotnik's gotta get staggered by that!"
He bursts into another fit of sniggers.
[Lyubov]That's... sort of excessive isn't it?"
>[Sake]"He'll survive it probably! Anyway, it'll be fine!"

He plops himself atop Lyubov's head. She reaches up and strokes him.

>[Sake]"Anyway Lube whacha jibba-jabbering with Bro about?"
Lube?
>It’s more meaningful than Lyubie. And technically it’s your fault.
[Lyubov]"How to turn the kite thing I was telling you about into better soul bubbles for him. Not the literal device, but the ideas it is based on."
>[Sake]"Oh, that thing you talked about with big words and stuff. Lemme see..."
I can feel my weasely brother sniffing and snuffling his way through my recent memories. I very deliberately blink, and just allow the intrusion.
>Certainly easier than catching him up.
>[Sake]"OOOOOh, that's the plan-yeah, that sounds cool!"
[Lyubov]"Does it make the kite make more sense now?"
>[Sake]"Just make it already so I can fly it!"
[Lyubov] “I think the first one I build won't be very portable but it will show off that it's doable, and I'll be able to upgrade it right away with magitech parts. Superconductors, either magic ones or mundane ones with magitech cooling, will make it very small. And a divine electric power supply. So, the flyable one will be ready soon."
She smiles at me when she notices I’ve been making faces at Sake, who is busy making his own back from atop her head.
[Lyubov]"Think of drones with wings that can be dynamically shaped and can also be used as speakers if you want. And I think I can expand it into shield systems that register as being almost all mundane."
"That does sound good. I'll still need to actually see them in action though."
[Lyubov]"Yeah, me too! It’ll be a lot of work to get there."
She rapidly switches topics as a new idea strikes her.
[Lyubov] “Oh, did you get to meet that Anguisher guy Grisha brought home?"
The crusty, oft-Cursed old man without a shred of empathy in his body that Grisha brought back like a skuzzy puppy.
"I've seen his soul. Is he as bad as he feels?"
[Lyubov]“Yeah. I talked to him for awhile. He's just in constant agony, so he learned techniques to move the pain around. He has all these different curses, which are like a divine one, a bevy of wizard curses from the Mad Drunk, and a mind curse from a leprechaun he angered. The divine one is the most interesting, I realized it's actually a corrupted einherjar seed. I asked him about that, and he explained he'd tortured a valkyrie until it snapped and started handing out corrupt einherjar seeds. The angel that punished him must have had a sense of irony, I guess."
>[Sake]”That guy is a riot, he’s such a mess!”
[Lyubov]"But the curse was written mainly in runes, and was corrupted so that it was literally cutting into his soul at the same time as it was powering a fleshcrafting matrix to grow these horrible little flesh eating worms in his gut."
That’s...
"...Okay, I have to admit he's more interesting than I thought."
>What I find interesting is how easily she read the divine parts. Remember, she has essentially zero training in curse theory. This was all innate.
"Hm. Wonder if they'd be good for the Kudoku jars or the golem?"
[Lyubov] “What do you say Sake? You analyzed one. And by analyzed I mean ate."
Sake’s shovel paws tap out a beat on top of Lyubov’s head as he ponders the question.
>[Sake]"I think the worms could make the bugs tastier."

Oh man, not him too! Duke was bad enough, but…
"...Sake have you been eating Kudoku bugs?"
>[Sake]"If I say yes, will you be mad?"
“So that's a yes."
>[Sake]"You said it not me!"
"Sake, come on!"
[Lyubov]"So is it like when Duke did the thing with the bugs and his own pee? Is that how you did the trick with the blood and Bagga, Sake?"
Sake’s soul goes… wary? Sketchy, anyway.
>[Sake]"I do not know for certain that I know what you are talking about Lyubie-and hey, look at the time, I should just get going now..."
He starts slinking to the door..
[Lyubov] “Hey come on!"
Lyubov reaches over and grabs him by the scruff of his neck. Sake hangs in her hands like a big furry green limp noodle, and whines at her.
>[Sake]"Aw. Aw Lyubie. No fair. Come on."
She collects him into her arms and releases her grip on the scruff of his neck, just holding him against her chest.
[Lyubov]"Yeah, no fair. If you don't want to talk about it, just say so."
Sake is alternating between bristling at the effrontery of being handled like a little weasel pup, and snuggling into her arms, his long noodle-like body nestled between her breasts… rather phallically now that I think of it.
>Is that all you ever think of? Frankly I’m surprised he’s being so docile for her. Anyone else he would be attacking for doing that. Even you.
>[Sake]"So yeah, it's like that trick."
[Lyubov]"It's how Toso made his medicine, too?"
>[Sake]"...Yeah..."
Toso?
>One of his weasel brothers. I’m really surprised by how close they are, if he told her all that.
[Lyubov]"Could you show me sometime? It'd be useful to be able to give people a portable way to heal. You can't be everywhere, and since it's a divine trick I could learn it."
>[Sake]"Um... you... want to make healing goo from your pee? What?"
[Lyubov] “I'll figure out what I'm making it from after I learn the basic technique.
At this point I just have to jump in and rescue the conversation in general.
“That's excellent to hear you're so gung-ho about being a team player Lyubov-when can I expect the first batch ready for testing?"
[Lyubov]“We'll just have to wait and see, Armas.”
At this point Sake pulls a happy face and wriggles free from her embrace. He flies off to find some new mischief. After he’s gone, Lyubov decides to say something else.
[Lyubov]“Oh, also, actually, I talked to Zhenya and she's OK with letting you observe her getting her new body mods, but she wanted me to be present too. Maybe you can talk her into letting you channel for Gianni? I sure couldn’t, she dug in at letting us watch. I'm personally interested in building a divine fleshcrafter emulation package so it'd be useful for me to watch you do the channeling, and I figure it’d be useful for you to get the practice in, right?"

She wants me to work on her friend. While she watches. What can I say to that?

"...Okay, we’ll see."
[Lyubov]"Uh. Zhenya did say something like 'everyone gets to go to the Zhenya show' and she mentioned she felt kinda weird about it, so. When you help her can you be casual about it? Like it's nothing to stress over?"
Damn, there goes some of my fun.
“I will not go out of my way to make a comical scene, how about that?"
[Lyubov]"That is perfect."
She leans over and kisses me.

And thereafter I have a pretty good night.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 29th, 2011
PERSONAL FUNDS: +$350,000.00+$19,000.00 $3,233,660.00
BUSINESS FUNDS: +$386,125.00 $1,781,109.00
CASH: $6,120.00
SHADOW PATIENCE: 90%
WINTER ENERGY: 160
SUMMER ENERGY: 50/50

Smacking my lips I wake up with a bit of brain coffee, and start planning my day.




What's my plan?
119 posts omitted. Last 100 shown. Expand all images
>>
No. 497894 ID: 9b3d17

>>497890
Ah, the joys of practically being unkillable!

Agreed. Brofist him, don't hold back, and WATCH HIM.
>>
No. 497896 ID: 5d98c3

>>497879
Man, Triad Dragon is going to kill us so hard Europe explodes.

Anywho, Ur-Lucifer here seems legit. Politely greet him, without promising or implying anything whatsoever.
>>
No. 497901 ID: 14bafe

>>497894
Einrik's bro-fist destroyed our arm? This one is probably going to destroy all of us.

For Blade, I believe he hired us for a total of one thousand dollars? Man that was forever ago.
>>
No. 497907 ID: 5d98c3

>>497901
I think it's still a good idea. Maybe if we're lucky he'll punch us into last week, then we can have time hijinks with ourselves!
>>
No. 497928 ID: 48f625

>>497907
I'd rather not test that theory myself. Got to know the limits and the guy who is both Lucifer AND Prometheus is pretty much PAST those limits.. for now. Tis a goal for the future though; A two way fist bump with Owner and Lucifer.

Still, this is an honor. Be respectful, but ourselves. If he liked our work, maybe we should inquire what he liked? Would certainly be quite the experience to receive a review from Lucifer.

As for Blade? That is going to be something in of itself. Blade did see us 'die', so if he brings it up say that due to some friends, some brothers-in-arms you could say, you were able to escape the horrible fate.

In terms of talking to him about the triads, be sure to go with what works. Blade is very much the 'action now, paper work much later' sort and is quite cocky and still thinks it's but a dream. We can use this as a means to get some of the disciples we like to join us in all but name. Say that it's to train them in their job properly so they will be able to do the jobs that are beneath him. Could also be used as a sign of good faith, trust and as 'payment'. After all, what's one or two guys when Lo Fang is about to get HUNDREDS more?
>>
No. 497950 ID: 5d98c3

>>497928
Lo Fang is very, VERY dead. His soul will likely be made into a desk lamp. Do you mean Triad Dragon?
>>
No. 497959 ID: 48f625

>>497950
I actually meant Blade getting plenty more instead of lo fang, but I must admit, part of me enjoys the idea of a Lo Fang lamp when we need some 'Lo lighting'
>>
No. 497977 ID: 5d98c3

>>497959
....We must offer Camella a million dollars for Lo Fang's soul, just so we can that pun. Hopefully keeping Lo Fang awake that he may know what it is to feel nothing but puns for always and eternity.
>>
No. 498261 ID: 252e1b

>>497890
SUST, giving away that much information is a bad idea (there's a lot one can learn by taking a brofist hit like that).

>>497977
He's probably worth more than that. Let's try to figure out a value for him that's fair. Camella's our friend, business comes second with friends. Just asking "would you be interested in selling" would give her a chance to think about it. We can do some nosing around to get an idea of market values, maybe talk to that dealer in second-hand souls we know of.

>>497896
>>497928
I agree with being polite, but I'm going to take it a step further. Don't say anything of substance. Assume every aspect of Lucifer's presented personality is tailored to make us feel like talking to him. Think about the persona he's presenting here: babbling geek. Armas has never felt threatened by those kinds of people. Lucifer is an ancient power in his own right, and Owner's willingness to treat him like he's not just a peon indicates such.

"Hello. It is nice to meet you," and then just stop. Say nothing else. This guy is incredibly dangerous and it will be in our best interest to just let him do all the talking. If he asks why we're being so quiet, "I intend no rudeness, and I offer no slight or insult. I just don't have anything I wish to say."

And that's it. That's how I think we should deal with him.
>>
No. 498294 ID: 14bafe
File 136259230443.gif - (4.93KB , 237x257 , Aftermath.gif )
498294

I just want to offer up my imagining of what would happen should this fist-bump occur.
>>
No. 498349 ID: 5d98c3

>>498294
The gavel's a nice touch.

I take it you're supporting this proposal? Come on man, how often do we get an opportunity to gauge how physically strong these omnipotent beings are? If we ever fight them, they'll just erase us from history or kill us with Hate Lasers.
>>
No. 498454 ID: c6ce12

>How do I respond to this… eccentric dragon?
This >>498261 sound fine, I would like to hear what he has to say to us however.


>And past that: what AM I going to tell Blade while I bring him over to the docks, now that the trial is over?

Here's what I'd like to do with Blade, assuming the conversation with Lucifer doesn't abruptly change our plans or whose incredible power and pull causes massive ripples that push us like a wave towards other, more important things.

The main objective for our walk/drive with him towards the docks is to establish our new working relationship with him and spin it in a way he'll both understand and be, if not extremely happy with, then comfortable. It's mostly a formality, all the pieces have been set in place and the dragons have officiated the part we'll play, but this is the kind of formality that's important. So maintain the front that we're here to take the unimportant tasks off of his hands and make it so that he can just be him and do his new job.

As we arrive at the docks we should have him allow us to conduct an inventory of his new holdings. There is a lot of potentially valuable and interesting things Lo Fang had, we shouldn't need to take any of them from the facility. Our position as advisor should allow us to openly use them and move things around at our leisure if we spin it right. So while this flurry of activity is going on mention that we'll need to take several /long/ hours looking through his predecessor's belongings, cataloguing supplies, disarming wards, and that he's perfectly welcome to join us as we facilitate the grunt work for him. Basically after making it sound as unappealing as possible he will hopefully decline and leave us tour Lo Fang's former facility and examine things. I'd like to see what's left of his disarmed death factory, where he got those rage drugs that got Labombard addicted, what he was doing with those hopping vampires, and generally see everything he kept hidden from us. We can have a couple people sent over to assist the process for appearances. And under the guise review or disposal we should eventually get Savoy's arm if that's still around, look through all the tomes on magic Lo Fang has and have Shadowbro use our memories afterwards to transcribe a set of copies and do the same for various files.

>>497890
As amusing as the thought is we should not give Lucifer a brofist. SUST.
>>
No. 498522 ID: a37cd4

>>498454
Upvoting the whole of this sensible post. I'll also add that if we do go to the Triad soon, making sure to recharge/filter/control the gates of selves so that they don't immediately die is of import.
>>
No. 499025 ID: c6319f

>>497890
SUST brofists. They are a precious resource that must be conserved for the worthy.

>>498261
>>498454
Upvoting both of these posts.

We should be polite but non-committal in our communication with Lucifer. He's up to something and I doubt it's good for Armas. We can't operate in his level of political arena at this point, but it's possible we can delay his machinations by not waltzing directly into them.

As for Blade, as fun as leading him to believe he's part of some kind of secret anti-dragon freedom fighting organization and that Ich-Hunter is a traitor to their own kind or something, objectively, it'd make it more of a hassle to control him and make sure he doesn't step on all the wrong toes. Part of making him the Triad Boss instead of us was so we didn't have to constantly manage everything. For now, let's keep it simple. We can confuse the hell out of him as time goes on.

As we take stock of Triad resources, we should make special note of their research on the Reaper shock gauntlet. Titus might be interested in that.

We should also phone Camella back. Ask for a report on the soul, explain how we put Blade in the seat of power(with our typical trickster flair), and offer her $2,500,000 for Lo Fang's soul. Yes, yes, it was $5,000,000 that was the figure involved in her and his little wager, but Armas making sure it settled in Camella's favor is surely worth half of that already, isn't it? Of course it is.
>>
No. 499049 ID: 47a120

SUST Brofist: you just met him and every dragon in turkey is watching and will you see regenerating from a node.

Lucifer is on par with Owner, its a stretch to assume he is trying to trick us into something; the only reason for him to trick someone as lowly (relatively) as armas is personal amusement or to get at armas' high tier contacts like tesla, ogg, or Owner.
>>494146
This post applies equally to Lucifer as it did to Owner. Being rude to him out of fear of giving out a secret and giving him the cold shoulder when he is being friendly is uncalled for and not wise or beneficial. Sure, don't go spilling secrets in-front of all dragons of turkey, but the ideal approach is to get him to do most of the talking. The more he reveals about himself the better equipped you are to deal with him verbally. Since he declares to be a fan of Armas' work I would start by asking him more about that, such as what are his favorites and what he liked most about them, and from that veer to third parties that he also finds amusing to watch; while paying attention to his likes and dislikes.

Camella: I would first ask her what she intends to do with the soul before making an offer. And keep in mind she has her morals so no "I am going to soul-sculpt him into a lamp for the lulz".

Also, you have been given an open contract on lo-fang's life by an arms dealer, don't forget to collect.
>>
No. 499221 ID: 252e1b

>>499049
I can get behind this. Just so long as Armas doesn't give anything away or commit to anything, I'm cool with pumping Lucifer for information.
>>
No. 499660 ID: b7d2cc

I find myself, briefly, possessed of an insidious urge to bro-fist this dragon I literally just met. It's such an inanely jocular idea that I know SB would jump down my throat for even considering it.

>>497928
>>498261
Well-a dragon Owner seems to think is of genuine note is currently expressing severe interest in me-and is in an appearance that feels so relatable and nonthreatening that I'd be a fool to assume it incidental. Maybe he’s trying to be polite. But I doubt it. It just doesn’t match the way every dragon in the room is paying Attention his way, nor does it seem befitting of a being who pre-dates draconic civilization and states it in his introduction. I incline my head in recognition as I make a concise-but polite-greeting to he-whom-babbles.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you."

If he's bothered by the brevity of my reply he doesn't show it, practically exploding back into gleeful breathless rambling the moment I've stopped speaking.
>[P.Lucifer]"Well I'd hope it's nice to meet me! I mean it's not like I can really meet me myself you know-making Self replicas just isn't the same and I don't have an external viewpoint and really utterly cogitating the motivations of a being makes an encounter a bit different than a normal how-do-you-do doesn't it-"
At this point the dragon slaps a palm to his head and drags it slowly down his face. I watch Blade in my periphery, his face incredulous at the last wave of babble-fu which washed over me, as Lucifer reaches into a pocket to pull forth a tiny replica of earth. The curio is complete with a floating moon, and both planet and moon observe lighting that doesn’t at all match our current surroundings. At a guess, it's a real-time display of where the sun's light falls on each celestial body: a curious format for a timepiece, to be sure.
>[P.Lucifer]"Oh my these kinds of trials always take forever to go over every bit of minutia- and really I'm not sure I have the time what with the verdict already rendered and really it was absolutely smashing seeing Owner sitting in again, I mean he hardly does that-really, a treat to be enjoyed anyway how are you?"
Finding the fact that it's still hard to even consider this guy -this dragon- as a potential threat as vindication, I remain dedicated to my path of silence. And Lucifer, it seems, abhors the conversational vacuum I allow to exist, swiftly acting to fill it.
>[P.Lucifer]"It really can be hard to quantify how you're feeling can't it-I rescind the question it's far too multifaceted and bite-sized chunks of data verbal confirmations or numerical values either way it's better than something so nebulous right?"
I grunt noncommittally. Oddly, the longer I don't talk to him, the more profoundly I find my idea to talk no more than exactly required to be completely rational. Curious indeed-and still I can't detect any traces of a memetic effect or any sort of pervasive magic.
>[P.Lucifer]"Is something wrong-you know I still didn't hear how you preferred to be addressed and I'd hate to unwittingly call you a Name you don't care for since what's the point of calling you anything other than random sounds at that point, I know I certainly wouldn't like someone addressing me as Glorpledink or the like, it'd just be plain strange."
Nothing for it-I actually HAVE to respond now, or risk being rude to a Dragon of substance. As of yet, that's just not worth it.
"I intend no rudeness, and I offer no slight or insult. I just don't have anything I wish to say."

Lucifer blinks at that like an engineer pondering a social dilemma, before a smile as nefariously Cheshire as any I've seen slowly curls across his face. And just like that he doesn't look so affably harmless.
>[P.Lucifer]"Hm-goooood. Caution- I like it. Well, best of luck on the rest of the experiment!"

And with a folding of space, Pre-Civilization Dragon 666 simply stops being there. I don't need to look at Owner or any other dragon to confirm the tension in the room reduced markedly with that one’s departure.

I take a deep breath and turn to Blade, still at my side and currently frowning at his hand while waving it back and forth.
>>498454
>>498522
>>499025
"So Blade, we'll need to head to the docks so you can see what you're working with-oh, and I'll need to take possession of the Lieutenants you see frozen around you to do some observation and potential modifications before you can use them-you'd hate to have faulty underlings, right?"
>[Blade]"…Shouldn't my hand be all wibbly-wobbly? Normally when I dream, things move like they're in water."
I get the distinct impression he didn't hear me- which has very interesting implications for the method of communication Lucifer was actually using, since Blade seemed to comprehend him just fine and the dragon did not seem to be speaking any louder than I.

Still, I really do need Blade's attention- and so I speak up.
"Blade, we need to get going shortly."
>[Blade]"We do? And how come you're alive again? There's usually a reason for that in dreams."
"Really, does it matter?"
"Guess not."
"So, let's see about getting you set up there."
>[Blade]"Sure, I guess having a dead guy show me where my new job is sounds reasonable."
At that, I glance over to Owner, who smiles at Blade's delusional ambivalence.
>[Owner]"Well, if you happen to need a lift, I can provide that."

And before I've had time to accept, Blade, Einrik and Labombard-all four of us reappear in a familiar section of the docks of Istanbul, not far at all from where I hid in a crane's control box while firing on a Reaper… ah, good times. I smile at the memory. That, and that I get to watch Blade fall on his ass from the sudden change in location.

Einrik makes his farewells, thanking me for the chance to make more draconic contacts before he starts hoofing it back to the mansion, citing a previous engagement that he's now at risk of being late to. For his part Labombard plays the enthusiastic tour guide, mildly confused rank and file Triads parting like water as the Loup Garou takes it on himself to show Blade where everything is; meanwhile I find myself dealing with Go Ping, the still-frozen Lieutenants behind me.

Go’s face is impassive, but his soul is anything but tranquil. He’s host to a riot of questions and emotion he’s schooled into submission
>[Go Ping]"So."
"Yeah."
>[Go Ping]"Dragons came and took everyone-and now you're here. I can't help but wonder at a connection."
"Yeah…. You're probably not going to believe it just yet, but Lo Fang was doing some very heinous stuff, including, but not limited to using your fellow officers as factories to produce disposable copies; which is very, very illegal, what with the unwilling formation of Gates of Self and mind tampering. So, the Draconic courts intervened, Lo Fang's been ousted. By that I mean they killed him because that's apparently the only kind of judgment they render, but hey, it's okay; he had that deal with Camella, so now she owns his soul."
Go Ping the normally-zen openly blanches at that.
"Did I mention he was also harvesting the souls of those derelicts that incessantly attack here in search of drugs? Because he totally was. ANYWAY, I think the important part to focus on here, is that thanks to my interference in the matter, the Triad as a local group will not be disbanded. After I get them fixed, you'll even have the rest of your fellow former disciples back. May Lee among them."
>[Go Ping]"That's not possible, May Lee-"
"Was copied, and thus only the copy died- in fact, most of the people you knew as fellow students were copies, what with how the Gates were used. The individuals hosting the Gates of Self still exist, as do the last set of copies Lo Fang made. Anyway, point is all that's really changing is who holds the position Lo Fang held."
If I couldn’t see his soul, I’d think he was being impossibly cool about a delicate subject. As it is, his soul betrays his muted consideration of the implications- and the swift decision to focus on more immediate matters.
>[Go Ping]"So. You are to be our new boss, then. I should have-"
"Hah, nope: no way I want to deal with the headache and hassle that an organization this big would demand to keep afloat. No, I'm just a consultant for the real Head-that guy."

Go Ping looks past me to Blade, still dressed in a ripped leather jacket and dusty jeans, his police caution-tape-wrapped sword as always close to his side. The Triad raises an eyebrow at me questioningly.
"Yeah- dragon politics, what do you want me to say? Anyway, you can either help by showing me all the wards and such that are going to need to get reset to acknowledge Blade, or let me find them myself. Your call."

Thus I incessantly make small talk with Go Ping, distracting him from really considering who that May Lee 'golem' really was, as he meticulously shows me to ward node after ward node, built into walls and anchored to the pier piles. Though it takes me the entirety of the rest of the day, I get Blade set up as the Primary user for all the wards… and myself as the Root User, or admin. Because hey- when you can SEE soul magic and 90% of the wards are nothing but, it's not exactly hard to slap in a new binding. It's not even like I'll taint them Divine, as Lo Fang favored that magic format for his wards. Small favors, it seems. Entertainingly, the wards fire warning messages to Lo Fang's soul as I forcibly re-configure them. The moment I'm done Labombard sidles up beside me, and gives me a rundown of what the place has as Blade continues to bemusedly gawk.

-For one, they have something along the order of seven hundred tons worth of assorted mundane munitions in storage, so it's safe to say the Triads are well armed, at least by paramilitary standards. M-16s solve a whole lot of problems in big enough numbers, after all.
-Lo Fang HAD a Soul-Catching Room that is now an empty hole in the warehouse-the 'evidence' was appropriated by the dragons, so that's out.
-The Triads have an impressive set of magic drugs that make a whole lot more sense now that I can actually look at them with proper senses. Pretty much all of them are derived from the Einher seed model, and use a sliver of a Gluttony fragment to power the effects. Not unlike a magical knockoff of PCP- and excessively addictive. This seems to be what has been marketed to the homeless population, and it's produced off-site by another Triad base in nearby Greece.
-The 'special' drugs Labombard took are not here. I can rely on Labombard for confirmation on that. He tried to tear the place apart (figuratively) when he couldn't find them, but the shipping manifests show that the specially made still that produced the alcohol-based narcotic was shipped out not three days ago to China. It seems unlikely that will ever be seen again.
-I get a headcount, which is handy: Lo Fang had a total crew of 486 Triads, counting the lieutenants. Not too shabby.
-There's a large basement that has cots that were occupied by a couple of dozen Triad vampires who are currently all dead. No really, and it seems fairly unrelated to what I've been doing. There was a magical disease that targets vampires that infected the populace-and Lo Fang being Lo Fang instituted absolute quarantine, leaving all the vampires to his name to die, rather than being responsible for spreading the disease any further. Go Ping is able to confirm the disease is called 'Falling Blood Syndrome' and that the disease has run its course. As long as no vampires come in contact with the corpses, there should be no problem. Lo Fang was going to burn them today.
-I find no less than a full one hundred and eight separate Ward Nodes, layered concentrically around the office Lo Fang used to occupy. With the wards reset, all those defenses now bow to Blade… and to me. Not too bad when it's a bevy of divine wards and sensors designed to alert interested parties of potential breaches. While the wards certainly couldn't keep out a dedicated foe, their sheer number and variety assuredly would detect the intrusion, one way or another. A quick review of the Viewer records confirms my suspicion that the linked nature of the various wards was the critical factor that kept Allview from being able to see the compound previously: as soon as I had tampered with the first ward, Allview had the ability to see in. Perhaps it was a side effect of the Divine nature of the wards that resulted in a synergy effect once 108 of them were linked. It probably bears investigation.
-Lo Fang’s high end communication system and switchboard is unmolested in his office, a part of his desk.
-There is an extensive collection of dossiers on file in Mandarin, which I earmark for Svetlana to copy and index in our ever-growing database. Shadowbro obliges me by playing courier.
-Also on file are various research reports. Of note, there are a couple of reports specific to the Reaper gear: both the high voltage gauntlet, and the older research that dead-ended on their time dilation charms. There are also notes on some sort of resurrection ritual. I give everything a once-over and forward the papers home with dossiers. Titus, Lyubov, Labombard, and Dávgon are the obvious choices to review this stuff in depth.
-Most importantly of all, I find a mummified Italian arm lingering forgotten in a cabinet, and claim the last remnant of my old foe Galileo Savoy for myself.

And it's right around when I've decided I now have the world's best butt scratcher that my phone rings again. Right, Camella tried to call me before-surprise, it's her. I sit down at the desk to take the call.
>[Camella]"Armas? Can you talk?"
"Sure. You caught me when I was rather thoroughly occupied before, but I have a moment. I'll go ahead and guess this is about a certain contract."
>[Camella]"Yeah. Soul just popped up, and I'm not sure what to do with it."
"Frankly? Sell it to me."
>[Camella]"Honestly, fine-you want it, it's yours, I don't even need this really, so-uh…."
"What is it?"
>[Camella]"The soul is… is now gone."

I had every intention of asking further questions past that, but as I see a certain familiar spirit whizzing through the air at hypersonic speeds, I can figure out what happened.
"Yeah-yeah that's not a problem. It's over here now."
>[Camella]"No shit? Hold on…. huh. The Contract has your name on it under mine now, so…"
"That would seem to make the soul officially mine. Second guessing just giving it away?"
>[Camella]"Heh-hm. Nah; you do better with magic stuff than I do, and you don't have to worry about contamination rates or anything. Think of it as… prepayment for inevitable future bitchiness, because we both know you've probably let things slide while I've been away."
A smile as wide as any splits my face at that.
"Do my ears deceive me, or are you mockingly making self-depreciating comments like a properly snarky person?"
>[Camella]"What can I say? I actually needed a vacation, and this town's been quiet enough that I got just that."
"Careful saying things are going well-"
>[Camella]"Psh. Something bad happens, I'll just sic Grisha on it until I can contact you. And if you can't stop it, we were fucked anyway. By the way, did you know they heard about you out here? I don't know if you've heard of them, but the Savoy family, the Italian royal family, is a big deal here-and they're magic to boot. Who knew?"
I knew.
>[Camella]"Short of it is, they asked us about you- and everyone did what they should. Andrei and Lev were the first asked, and they both reported it to me. I made contact, provided your number, and advised them to ask you, if they had questions, owing to the whole 'you are the one they were asking about' part. Right about when they were getting insistent I answer questions is when Lo Fang's soul showed up, and when I tried calling you. Well, after you didn't pick up they left, and none of ours have seen them since-it's like they up and disappeared. I… don't suppose you know more about them than just 'they're magical' so I at least know what we're potentially dealing with?"
"Yeah, happens you're in luck here. Basically, when no one's looking at them, they can be wherever they want. So, so long as you're watching them uninterrupted, they don't outright have magic, but…"
>[Camella]"OH! That clan that you called in to help the guys with their home problems, back in Russia! I could not for the life of me remember their surname, so I wasn't sure why the name seemed more familiar than it should have."
"They seem to have any tone or anything readable in how they spoke with you, what they asked?"
>[Camella]"Well, given they showed up pretty much right before Lo Fang's soul showed up, I'm going to make a wild guess, and say that you did something big and public?"
"Draconically public."
>[Camella]"Armas what did you do to Owner."
"Ah, I'm totally telling him you said that-probably get a laugh out of him. No-he was actually just there to watch a show. I jimmied the Draconic courts into ousting Lo Fang, and installing someone else."
>[Camella]"This wasn't just a hit, this was… what, a sanctioned execution?"
"With real reasons for it. Anyway, we're 'consultants' for the new management-who I happened to get to pick. Oh, and I currently have possession of 90% or so of the Triad's officers, and will be giving them spiritual care until they're well enough to return to their duties."
>[Camella]"…I can completely envision him just sitting there, watching you take over in all but name like that-hah, okay, guess I'll need to ask him about this when I get back."
"What, you can't call?"
>[Camella]"He's not a phone person. So-we've got an indefinite source of steady work that we can cherry-pick to suit our abilities and needs, and have semi-unlimited access to masses of more traditional footsoldiers, is that right?"
I eyeball Lo Fang's soul in all it's ire-filled glory, it's eyes transmitting a silent wish for my demise that puts a little extra curl on the ends of my leer.
"Yeah, that's about right."
>[Camella]"Okay-I'll think about how to switch things up so I have something for you when I get back."
"Sounds excellent."

After we say our goodbyes and hang up, my Brother From No Other Mother makes himself known.

Thank you for not getting yourself entangled by Lucifer's probing.
What can I say, the guy came on kind of strong.
I spoke to Sometimes Merchant. The exclusivity and privacy lease on the sewers under the Triad docks is due to expire on the last day of the Wyld Hunt. That's November 8th. He's open to negotiating an extension. Just call him when you're ready.
Excellent.
I also confirmed that if we kill both of Jet Fang's bodies we will have met the requirement for the five years of NeverNever time.
I'm not sure how I feel about murdering a guy that's under our indirect control now. I'll think about that. What did the Yakuza and Tong have to say? And Rocco?
The Yakuza send their congratulations on a clean take-over. We've been invited to negotiate territory lines tomorrow morning so that we're not stepping on each others' toes. The Tong were less cordial, more passive-aggressive in their wording, but the message is essentially the same-and it seems they'll be part of the same talk as the Tongs. Rocco's invited you and Gianni over for drinks and dinner tomorrow night, to talk about this. He alluded to wanting to talk about other topics as well.
What do you want to bet the Savoys leaned on him to get more information?
Seems likely. But he's also going to want to make sure the territories stay clear.
Anything else?
Lyubov sent me a text message that she's working on finishing Matvey's gauntlet before his arena fight next week.
That's right. She wanted to work on it with me. I guess she's getting help from Hyougo?
She indicated such, yes.
How do you think Matvey will do?
Between Lyubov, Sake, and I he'll have a fair amount of resources invested in him from the company. He's learned the basics of the Breaking concept and he has his sword and biosuit. He'll have access to some of the shadow-killing thermite Igor is now making, as well as the contents of the armory. The fight is not to the death, so even in the worst case we won't lose him. All in all, I approve of placing bets on Matvey.
Fantastic to hear. What's this about Igor?
Igor has developed thermite which can burn shadows and souls alike. It's extremely lethal to shadows.
Right. I can think of all sorts of ways that would be handy. I take it you're pleased.
Very.
How about the Triad disciples?
I've moved them to the mansion for now, Gates and Clones alike. They're in a draconically-imposed stasis, and will remain so until we pump enough energy into them to break it. At that point we'll have to hook the Gates up to some power supply, and evaluate their filters like Lyubov suggested. Considering that we have Lo Fang's soul we should be able to deal with this at our leisure.
I don't want to wait too long, Blade's not competent. He will need the disciples' help.
Agreed. Do you want to make contact with Elwen Embla, or simply rob her?
I have to think about that. Maybe I'll feel Rocco out on his opinion of her.

At this point Blade wanders into the room, and, with a look of grave consternation, asks me a simple question.
>[Blade] “This isn't a dream, is it?”
“This is as real as anything else that's happened to you.”
>[Blade] “What?”
Oh for crying out loud...
”I said, it's real.”
>[Blade] “But, how are you alive again?”
"That is an interesting question, isn't it? My death and how I came to be here standing before you very much alive. Well, simply put, I managed to fake my death at the hands of that... assailant- and no I won't tell you what I did, it wouldn't be a very useful trick if everyone knew it, would it? No, of course it wouldn't.”
>[Blade] “What happened in that room?”
“Certain events were put in motion, and today is a result of them. Did you know, Blade, that you are one of the few I've met to fight a dragon and survive? It is true, few possess your character. Knowing that, I knew I had to help you gain the tools necessary to accomplish your goals; tools both martial and political. Speaking of which, you work for a dragon now. Don't worry, I honestly believe she poses no risk to your wellbeing.”
I really do, at that. Ich-Hunter knows I'm the one who did this, and that Blade's one of Owner's pets. She may be pissed, but she'll have to treat him seriously.
“Blade, the world is a larger and more wonderful place than you may have ever imagined, and now you've got more tools at your disposal."
>[Blade] “Well, yeah. It'd be easier if everyone recognized I'm going to be a great crime lord. Thanks.”
”Seeing you in place as the Head of the Turkish Triad is its own reward, believe me.”

At that, we shake hands-not of my volition, but because that's how Blade thinks this should happen, and that's that. Labombard implies he'd like to stay in the Docks for now so someone of substance besides Go Ping is there until I've got the rest of the lieutenants fighting-fit. I make my way back to the mansion in the deep of night, and find a smile persists on my visage the entire way back. In all, I can't say the plan could have gone better-and even if I have to wonder why Lucifer helped me, the point remains that I'm entering a very profitable period of my life, with this Triad Setup. On my return to the mansion, I reward myself with some of Dávgon's beer.

Really, the hallucinogenic fermented deer piss tastes pretty good.

On my way to my room, I spy a certain secretary busy burning the midnight oil as she works through the dossiers from the Triad compound. Beer in hand, I enter.
"Svetlana, I heard you got a chance to chat with Lyubov?"
>[Svetlana] "Briefly, yes. Does that mean she called you too?"
"She did. Did she try using non-standard phrasing about certain topics with you?"
>[Svetlana] "...Yes, she did. How she felt about her situation in particular."
"Did she talk about Hyougo's parents with you, at all?"
>[Svetlana] "She didn't, is there a problem?"
My eyes flick toward that frowney-face charm memory-shielding she's wearing.
"An old problem that explains a lot. I'm just guessing, but I think you and I are free and clear to say whatever we want, and that Hyougo's... gossip detector, or whatever it was Lyubov was trying to avoid tripping, just was on Lyubov. Besides that, we're in the mansion, and besides that we've both got mental defenses in charms. So I'll be candid, but this is pretty sensitive material."
>[Svetlana] "I understand. Is this problem something I can help with?"
"Maybe. You've got a unique perspective here. Besides Hummingbird, you're the only one in the house who has been a parent."
Her eyebrow quirk along with the corner of her mouth briefly. Hardly more than a twitch.
"Einrik passed this along, and some of what Lyubov mentioned to me corroborates."
>[Svetlana] "Am I correct in believing the issue relates to Hyougo's parents in some way?"
"Yeah. She was seven when she was turned into a witch. Apparently one of their family friends decided that instead of being a loyal and true friend, he would fuck with Hyougo's parents' minds."
Her expression shifts from serious to grim.
"Probably left loads of hidden directives, hooks he could use to control the new witch. We may never know all of it, since Hyougo realized something had been done and... tried to fix them."
>[Svetlana] "She was seven, how could she understand a mind's... complexity? She didn't succeed, did she?"
I take a pull from my beer and continue.
"Lyubov used the phrase 'perfectly predictable doting parents' and hinted that they'd lost a great deal of themselves in the process. They're polite, they're text-book nice, but they're not very complicated. And they're not who they were, and my guess is they probably aren't the parents Hyougo needed, just what she thought she wanted when she was seven."
>[Svetlana] "They don't say no."
She's clearly speaking from the experience of raising a seven year old.
"There's a lot they don't do. Lyubov's probably Hyougo's best friend and substitute big sister figure right now. Probably Lyubov's the only source Hyougo's got for getting all the normal interaction and approval and validation a kid needs. Eight years of having parents who are mockeries of themselves, and she's one of the most feared and powerful beings on the planet. At a guess she's had nearly zero face-to-face interaction with anyone who wasn't asking favors, her parents, or an old fart centuries old wizard- until Lyubov poked her nose into her life."
>[Svetlana] "I feel... conflicted about that."
"I know what you mean. On the one hand, she kidnapped Lyubov. On the other, she's a kid, acting like a neglected kid would."
>[Svetlana] "I can't fairly say it is a bad thing Lyubov is with Hyougo; but if she makes a mistake, if Hyougo feels betrayed...."
"Then at the very best she's got a hurt teenager who could kill the entire company in a fit of pique, yeah."
>[Svetlana] "How much of a deterrent would Tesla be for Hyougo, if she felt like doing... something? In practical and political terms."
"Wizards and top tier gods like him are in the same power bracket, practically speaking. Lyubov would likely be his instrument in that fight though, that's why he's got a witch saint after all. Also, Hyougo's proven to be bad at making high-power friends. Odin cooperates with her in her own territory, but most of Hyougo's allies are far weaker than she is. If it came to a fight... I don't know. And hopefully Hyougo feels the same way."
>[Svetlana] "Hopefully she pauses to think if it comes to that. But that is the worst-case scenario and we can only work to prevent it, right?"
"That's the absolute worst case scenario where everything goes wrong, yes. And I'm having trouble thinking of things I wouldn't do to try to prevent it."
>[Svetlana] "Likewise. Without meeting her, I don't know what I can do."
"Lyubov's going to see about swinging an invitation for me. I figure we'll ask the same for you, and try expanding Hyougo's circle of friends. Turn us from 'those people who want to take Lyubov back' into 'Lyuov's family and friends.' And maybe even 'Hyougo's friends' too."
>[Svetlana] "I would be more comfortable remaining as 'her friend's mother'."
"I've only dealt with wizards and witches four times, that I know of. Besides Hyougo, the others were all adults, and two of them had been wizards for a century or more. Standards for politeness among wizards tend to be on the abrupt side."
>[Svetlana] "Teleporting in the middle of the night."
"Yes, that's a good example. Apparently Hyougo was playing dress-up with Lyubov, whatever that means. I'm hoping it was just benign fun, but..."
I shrug and polish off my beer, idly enjoying the flickering distortions in my vision. Ah, the wonders of a metabolism that can be set to any speed I want.
>[Svetlana] "I think she would say something if she was really bothered by anything. Eventually."
"Do you want me to bring up the idea of you meeting Hyougo? I can understand why Lyubov would want to start with me. I'm tough, I can roll with weirdness, and I'm not bad at making friends in dangerous situations. You meeting Hyougo could be valuable, could remind her that there's more to Lyubov than just Lyubov being her friend."
>[Svetlana] "I am... wary about the idea. If Hyougo does not want to be reminded that Lyubov is more than just her friend, I could upset her. Which is something I don't wish to do."
"Right. Well, as a parent, do you have any tips for socializing her?"
She sighs.
>[Svetlana] "Be patient, talk about things she is interested in, indulge her, but only to a degree. And do not condescend to her."
"Act like Lyubov, in other words."
>[Svetlana] "She is good with children. I'm proud of the job she has done helping you raise your wards."
The news about Lyubov and Hyougo, being what it is, is a little depressing. I decide to compliment her, to offset it a bit.
"As an employee you're doing good work. If there's anything you want to bring up, or think I should hear, lay it on me."
>[Svetlana] "Well, there are some security issues that... concern me."
Uh oh. More news that's no bueno?
"Worry you, or are about you?"
>[Svetlana] "Both, actually."
She sighs, and I nod at her to continue.
>[Svetlana] "The AORB database contains some sensitive, and troubling, information. Matvey's sword belonged last to the Yorgin head, which could cause tension or invite retaliation as it was implied that it was stolen. Further, it is noted as having a degeneration effect on its wielders. Satai has been identified as having a fondness for... exotic women of magical leaning, and it is proposed as a possible means of subverting him. Big Crazy is under consideration for AORB Agent status, which could cause conflict in the future, I don't know how well you trust him. Arena records are generally available on company members, which may be more information than you are comfortable with existing, though it could also be seen as advertisement. And..."

She pauses for a long moment. I let her catch her breath.

>[Svetlana] "I was the target of mental interference while I slept, from what I believe to be a Fae source."
Fuuuuuuck. Lyubov will kill me.
"When?"
>[Svetlana] “Three nights ago."
Okay. Okay. Damage control.
"Has anyone checked you?"
>[Svetlana] "Your brother agreed to do so under terms I found acceptable."
Ok bro, why didn't you tell me?
You were focused on other concerns, I patched the security hole in Amen's defenses already, and she's fine.
We need to talk about keeping me in the loop, later.
“Any damage?”
>[Svetlana] "...I should tell you that while not harmful, my mind was altered. Knowledge of how to perform Contract magic was implanted in my mind and I had a... strange dream. I don't remember all of it, but I believe I'm under contract to write a contract for an individual. I don't know who, or when, or any specifics. I simply don't remember them."
"Any hints in the dream?"
>[Svetlana] "I don't believe I am required to write a specific contract, the terms have yet to be decided. Most likely. And I feel like it is a contract that binds me to complete it, rather than punish me for breaking it. But I don't know for sure, I'm sorry."
"I'm guessing the only way out would be with proper application of Conceptual magic of some sort. Breaking, maybe."
>[Svetlana] "Perhaps, Satai may know better, my understanding is that the Contracting package he acquired is more robust than mine."
"His is Devil contracting, as I understand it, and yours is Fae, but they both rely on the same mechanism of being written in the NeverNever itself, correct?"
>[Svetlana] "That is my understanding, yes."
"...and your price was agreeing to fulfill a contract of the Fae's choosing, to his specifications, when he wants it, with someone of his choosing."
>[Svetlana] "Possibly. I don't know to what degree the Fae can dictate the terms of the Contract, or the parties it concerns, only that I am required to write a Contract."
"Do you know if you were targeted specifically, or if he was just looking for any mortal?"
>[Svetlana] "I don't know."
I nod.
“I'm not objecting to my brother giving you your checkup. I think it's fine, I know he's done a good job, and I know he's inclined to treat you well because he values Lyubov very highly, and he values your work at least as much as I do. However I'm curious why you didn't tell me personally."
>[Svetlana] "I intended to inform you of the situation personally, but your brother examined me and I was under the impression he would notify you."
"Right. Anyway, it's the implications that concern me. I generally let people do what they want, but I expect them to work together and cooperate. I normally don't get involved unless things have escalated to punishments and damage control. But now we've got two Contract writers in the house, and it's probably time to take some preventative action. A crash course in Contracts for everyone under my authority is probably overdue anyway."
>[Svetlana] "I can put together an information package on what Contracts are, and the more common risks. We could also employ Contractual measures, but that may be a little overbearing."
"A printed information package for study, and memory downloads offered to our less... studious members so they'll actually know these things. What kind of Contractual measures were you thinking of?"
>[Svetlana] "The most straightforward and effective measure would be a Contract that limits how members of the company can enter into new Contracts. As I said, an overbearing measure."
"Quite. Education first, and perhaps an offer of voluntary preventative measures."
>[Svetlana] "Are you concerned with Satai or myself abusing our skill to take advantage of the others?"
"Not so much you or him. There's plenty of other parties out there who can make Contracts, and a general education will help if people encounter them. I want you to draft a test on it. Passing the test will be mandatory, but employees will have the option of getting memory downloads or studying traditionally."
>[Svetlana] "I should be able to put together the material in the next few days, with input from Satai. I assume it is a high priority."
“Yeah. We'll send copies of the test to Camella too, so she can administer it to the Italy group."
>[Svetlana] "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss with me, sir?"
"How's the Cookie Lady? I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks now, but Lyubov mentioned you'd made friends with her."
>[Svetlana] "She was doing well the last time I saw her. I told her Lyubov was out of town for the next while, but nothing else."
"Setting aside the whole employee-boss relationship, and just talking as girlfriend's mom and daughter's boyfriend, how're you doing?"
She heaves a small breath.
>[Svetlana] "I could be doing better."
"Pretty much how I've felt this week, too. Want to talk about it?"
>[Svetlana] "Not... particularly. But I don't object either. My issues are simply... wearying."
"Sometimes talking about it can help."
>[Svetlana] "I suppose that's true, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with complaining to my employer about my personal issues."
"Try a test issue and see."
>[Svetlana] "Last it was measured, eleven percent of my soul's magical signature was Amen's energy. If I don't out pace the contamination with my own soul growth I will mutate spiritually, and then physically, into something other than human."
This again? Didn't we go through this with all the soldiers?
"I thought Lyubov had gotten you to get chakra lessons?"
>[Svetlana] "I have been since Go Ping was available as instructor for a week and Labombard has helped me since. But I still have the smallest soul in the company, I am the most vulnerable to magical contamination."
"Have you talked to Davgon or Labombard about your options?"
>[Svetlana] "I decided to give myself a week of proper instruction, and to compare relative contamination to see what degree of response is necessary."
"What options are you aware of?"
>[Svetlana] "Fast enough personal soul growth, spirit animals, and purposeful counter-contamination. I'm sure there are others though."
I remember something Arkvad mentioned to me that would be relevant to this.
"There are. In fact, there are techniques in chakra use that let a person eject energy. Their own, or another person's. I happen to know of a massage parlor run by a Yakuza who also happens to be a highly skilled masseuse. The parlor is all above-board, or so I've been led to believe, and the Yakuza's other work doesn't intersect with his parlor."
>[Svetlana] "That sounds... more than ideal."
"Gianni and Arkvad have gotten massages from him before. Arkvad specifically to eject excess magic energy."
>[Svetlana] "Thank you, that is a worry off my shoulders."
"His name is Baki Yamada, and if you have trouble getting an appointment feel free to drop my name. He's met me, we respect each other."
She nods.
"Mind you, it's still a good idea to pursue chakra. Baki's not always going to be available."
>[Svetlana] "Of course. Learning an energy dumping technique of my own is my goal."
"Check out the 7777 Methods of Chakra book. Just don't touch chapter 13, that's the whole reason we leave the book locked up."
>[Svetlana] "I'll speak to Labombard about it."
I pick up my glass of beer and polish it off.
"Anything else you feel like talking about?"
>[Svetlana] "We've already talked about Lyubov's kidnapping, and my... Mental issues."
"Sake's been sleeping on her pillow at night. He just curls right up on it and sleeps there with me."
I don't know why I blurted that out.
>[Svetlana] "Lyubov expressed concern about him, when we spoke."
"Just general concern?"
>[Svetlana] "She asked me to make sure you two were okay while she was gone."
"I miss her. I figure, keep busy, don't dwell on it. But I miss her."
>[Svetlana] "I do too. But, ah, I suppose it is your first time losing her."
"This isn't permanent. It's just... the house isn't the same without her. It's weird, not hearing her chatting with people, and her lab being deactivated- it was funny, she was just starting to get into the Science part of her conceptual nature. And I miss her help with Placid and Hillevi, and her keeping an eye on things. For most of the household she's way more approachable, so she'd notice issues before I did, usually."
>[Svetlana] "I can be more diligent in reporting issues as I notice them, if you would prefer. I haven't been quite sure what your policy is."
I laugh a little.
"I haven't thought out a policy yet. But if you see something you think is a problem I'd like to hear about it. Or for one of the officers to hear about it, if you think they're more suitable for the issue."
>[Svetlana] "Understood. Actually, I do have a question."
"Yeah, shoot."
>[Svetlana] "It is about your.."
She makes a face of distaste.
>[Svetlana] "Your slave. Do you know if she is being cared for properly?"
"I left her in Satai's care expressly so that she could have some portion of will. The binding schema on her is so complete that she'll respond to subtle cues and even poorly worded statements from me. Do you know the role she plays in Silja's recovery?"
She shakes her head.
"Probably for the best. Just know that Stacey's continued health and well being is important to Silja's progress, and that the medical procedures she goes through are performed so that she feels no pain or discomfort, and only mild disquiet over it. That's the only reason she was purchased."
>[Svetlana] "I am more concerned over her behavior. She is... extremely reclusive and refuses to engage in conversation while maintaining the utmost of courtesy."
"You're a witch saint's mom, she's probably aware of that. Or is this is a problem she has with everyone?"
>[Svetlana] "I think the latter. The only person I have seen her interact with at all is Satai."
“You think he's told her to keep to herself?"
>[Svetlana] "I don't know. It's possible and would fit with his tendency to share information only as required, but that doesn't mean anything."
"I set the policy of her not joining us at meals, mostly to keep things low-key until Silja's better. Honestly I'm not very happy about owning her, but it seemed like the best solution to a problem Silja had. Well. Nearly best. The very best solution would have required Silja giving up some options before she had any freedom of movement or much context. And even then I'm really not sure it would have been the very best solution, since it would have meant someone else would get infringed on. And even if that's all well and good under the laws magic people follow I'm not required to like it."
>[Svetlana] "I understand that some things are necessary, but she isolates herself far more than seems healthy. And if I'm saying that...."
"Right. Alright. I'll ask about it."
>[Svetlana] "Thank you."
There's a lull in the conversation, and just as I'm getting ready to leave and retire to my room, she asks me a question.
>[Svetlana] "...Is there anything you would like to talk about?"
And my mind goes to something I've put off this week.
"I got a photo album from my folks earlier this week. I wanted to go through it with Lyubov, share some of my past with her. And I'm just putting off even opening the album now. I didn't realize how much I was looking forward to sharing it with her."
>[Svetlana] "That's... sweet actually."
"I bet you'll like my folks. I'm sure they'll love Lyubov."
She looks mildly surprised.
>[Svetlana] "Hmm. You know, we have all of our photo albums and things here. When we have Lyubov back, you can go through each others' pasts together."
"That'll be fun."
>[Svetlana] "Do you have an idea of when Hyougo might approve a visit for you?"
"No, could be any time. Lyubov's supposed to call and elaborate on it."
>[Svetlana] "Well, thank you for that talk. I do feel better now."
"Yeah. We should do this again sometime."

I think I've made a friend of her. Or at least, she sees me as more of a person. And her own issues and suggestions were quite relevant.

Fucking fae.

With my mind in a rare sustained state of complete (for me) sincerity, I find a concern regarding the Triads driving me towards another stop, in search of answers to problems yet-to-be.

I slip through Ivan's door on something of a mental limb, wondering if my read of the guy's character from spiritual observation and personal exposure is on the money. At the moment he's in a dead sleep and making not a whisper of noise or shifting an inch, as silent and unobtrusive as if he were on the range lining up a shot.
"Hey, Ivan, I need mister stoic professionalism, get up."
In the darkness a pair of eyes snap open as steady breathing shifts. He sits up, eyes bereft of grogginess, and looks at me without a whit of concern at my sudden appearance.
>[Ivan]"What for?"
"We're effectively taking over the Triads. I'll give you a sec to digest that before we move past that."
I commence with some theatrical foot tapping as I wait. It's not long.
>[Ivan]"I'm relevant how?"
I recall the mess that was the Triads trying to gun down a few Reapers, all of them scrabbling like normal people, lacking coordination or overwhelming firepower-and being mowed down like leaves for it.
"Triads are mostly Chakra and nothing but-maybe some charms. If they're to really be of use against magical targets, they need to know how to engage them from a distance and pour on the pain as fast and hard as possible. I'm wondering if you can give a mostly-human perspective to that, and come up with potential training plans for them. It'd be nice to be able to mass-deploy them as a hammer against foes outside their weight class. Think you could do it?"
A few more seconds pass, visions of sniper armies briefly flitting across Ivan's soul.
>[Ivan]"Yes."

Man, I love Ivan.

"Excellent. You won't be restricted to mundane armaments completely, but the goal is cost effectiveness of outfitting and minimalization of timeframe to train. The faster and cheaper they can get off a sucker punch to a magical heavy from a dozen-odd blocks away or more, the better. Talk to me when you have some proposals, we'll see where we stand."
>[Ivan]"I will."
"Great to hear. Oh right-how's the lip reading coming?"
>[Ivan]"Better if Lyubov was here."
This time Ivan's soul shows a pair of lips moving almost too fast to read.
>[Ivan]"But still good."
I briefly find myself wondering if I could trade some of my minions in for more Ivans-no, bad Armas, bad!
"Good work Ivan. All right-"
And with that 'farewell' issued, I ghost back on out of the room as a soul vigilantly sets itself to pondering in my wake.

Well, that was a day.

SUNDAY, MARCH 20th, 2011
PERSONAL FUNDS: $7,936,660.00
BUSINESS FUNDS: $9,242,094.00
CASH: $0.00
SHADOW PATIENCE: 30%
WINTER ENERGY: 163
SUMMER ENERGY: 61/61

I wake early, and cook breakfast for everyone and ghost the meals into their rooms before I head out for the Docks. En route I call Labombard-and big surprise, Blade's awake. …Not so surprising, when Labombard admits to… 'laboring to impress upon him the need to be a light sleeper and assist in the training therein'.

For his part Blade's hands jitter more than a little as he nurses a cup of coffee. He starts a bit at my arrival, but his urge to bluster shoves him back into the bravado drenched mannerisms I'm more accustomed to seeing on him.
>[Blade]"A-ah, is there something up?"
"You could say that: A discussion of borders and territory, with the Tongs and Triads."

Naturally he has some complaints to voice-and they're really irrelevant. I just whip up a Soul Guise to make him want to listen to me, to do what I say, and apply, on top of that, a honeyed tongue. He shortly finds himself confused why he's sitting at a meet with representatives of two massive criminal organizations, the room's air heady with cigar smoke. Interestingly, no one of magical significance was sent by either side-and the men introduce themselves with titles that indicate they're more than one notch below leader. Interesting-in a way, that could be taken as an insult, but in another… it could be indicative how likely they think the conversation will give way to violence.

I watch Blade talk with them-and find myself frankly a bit astonished. Both of his conversational partners are far more eloquent and insidious than he, yet his near-deafness forces them to abandon the softer, subtler tones of speech they'd prefer, and they seem to flounder, when forced to shout as if in response to a drill sergeant. And beyond that, he makes utterly outrageous claims as casual reference to fictitious past accomplishments, so astoundingly wrong that they no doubt desperately want to call him on it… but they can't. I find myself enjoying my current role simply as observer.

In the end, however, one particular snag comes up, rather independently of Blade's action. It seems the Tongs and the Yakuza both think they have claim to the same section of territory-a five mile stretch of the bosphorus, not too far north of the Docks that are the heart of the Triads in Istanbul. And at first, it's looking like they're going to get into the same old stalemate over the issue that they clearly are used to-until Blade, again, steps in because that's just what he does.

So now Blade's got to decide who's got a right to the land, and is looking to me.

And it struck me that frankly neither of them have a better claim than the other. The Tongs held it first, but lost it for thirty years-and then after that, it's been in limbo for another five past, with no one getting the rights because the other party'd inevitably attack. I'm getting a distinct Hatfields and McCoys feel from this entire little dispute-and I wonder….





How CAN I get two stubborn groups to let a long-standing grudge over a section of territory go, and actually get the area put back into protection racket use?
And am I going to be the one saying it, or do I advise Blade to say it?

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS:
TRIADS: Puppet Organization
MAFIA: Very Good
SAVOY HOUSE: Intrigued and Confused
TONG: Neutral
YAKUZA: Respected
BLADES: Respected
WYLD GOBLINS: Profitable
DIMIRKAN CLAN: Wary, but Happy that Marriage Arrangements are In-Progress
MUBARAK: Poor
ZOSIMUS: Good
NEONAZIS: Livid
AORB: Neutral
POLICE: Suspicious
OWNER: Amused
ICH-HUNTER: Livid
HYOUGO: Happy
DORJPALAM: Neutral
MAMMON: Covetous
WHAITIRI: Happy
TESLA: Good
ODIN: Neutral
SHEN: Angry
MOM & POP: Not Worried
ARKVAD/H&H: They'll Toast Your Health
WINTER COURT: Unknown
SPRING COURT: Unknown
SUMMER COURT: Unknown
AUTUMN COURT: Unknown
WYLD COURT: Unknown
>>
No. 499805 ID: 9b3d17

V ALREADY DONE ADDED FOR CONTEXT
T> Become aware that dealing with the Laine Corp gets results.
T> Fast results. As in, within the past fucking week he's twice as strong as before, lined up for a suit of armor, gets special blood to filter it in to vampire blood for Squiddy, and other benefits, just from being with Bagga as his minion.
T> Realize that if blood is a vampire's soul, then altering the metal in the blood might alter the soul.
T> Obtain incredibly fine shadow-metal powder from Igor.
^ ALREADY DONE ADDED FOR CONTEXT

T> Talk to Gianni, Feodor, and Davgon about possibly replacing his current blood with a different metal. Offer interested parties an audience to what will likely be a hilarious and painful experience at the minor cost of keeping him from dying horribly.
T> Wonder how one goes about getting something like Squiddy for himself.
T> Train with Bagga! Beyza! Whatever she calls herself!
T> Prep for GIANTLAND trip.
T> Prepare to find another place to live - unless Feodor manages to secure him a room in the manor.
>>
No. 499831 ID: 14bafe

Speaking of the WYLD GOBLINS being under Profitable status, is there anything that we want in particular from selling them first hand information on the trial of Lo Fang and the subsequent change in management of the Triads? Because that sounds like a thing we can sell.

For the dispute, I dunno. How about they settle the matter once and for all with a game of Janken, or basketball.
(The idea that they share it, or the Triads would take it crossed my mind, but naw)
>>
No. 499882 ID: 76c597

As they say, compromise is the art of making sure no one is happy with what is decided. Presumably Tong, Triad and Yakuza all have different interests and favored businesses. Prostitution, drugs, gambling, things of that sort. Suggest they share the stretch of prosperous Bosphorus (heh) businesses along their traditional business models. Protection racketeering is discontinued, but they weren't getting any of that ANYWAY, and the stretch of street is open for ‘business’ from any group. The other two will fall on whichever group breaks this together.

So guys, what’s the plan for Lo Fang’s soul? We need to do something with him. I suggest we have a talk with him. Yes, we basically had him killed and assumed control of his 70 years of hard work. Yes, he hates us with all the burning ice of the Buddhist hells. But he’s stuck with us now, and he knows it. We literally own his soul. And he’s an ice-cold businessman. He should see where we’re going with this, right?

Use him as a resource for the company- his knowledge and skills are exceptional. We can make him a golem body that still allows him the myriad pleasures of flesh, and he can continue on as he was- except that he works for us, now. Being an officer of vast wealth and prospects isn’t the same as the boss, but its better than being a disembodied soul slaved to a madman’s will. I’m assuming the soul contract makes it feasible to accomplish this without a chance of him stabbing us in the back, but if not, we can have our Contractors or SM draw up a new contract.
>>
No. 499913 ID: 6868bc

The classic solution for two different parties bickering over an area of land is to have one party divide it into two parts... and the other gets first pick. That might work.
>>
No. 499988 ID: 76c597

We could also offer them two glasses of wine, one of which contains deadly poison.
>>
No. 500059 ID: c6319f

Armas is ultimately indifferent as to which organization walks away with control over the territory, but it is in his best interests for both parties to walk away at least accepting of the decision. I suggest that the matter be decided with a test of strategic prowess, to determine which of the two organizations is most capable of administering the territory in question to its full potential. A fair and unbiased competition that both groups can walk away from with their honor intact, regardless of outcome.

The matter will be settled with a single match of Go, to be played immediately between the representatives. And Blade will be the one to suggest it.

It is a thematically appropriate contest to decide the territory's master, the goal of the game is to control more area than your opponent. A reflection of the broader contest between the two groups. Armas will also benefit from being able to closely watch the representatives of either group and how they tactically approach the game, how they respond to different tactics, loss or victory, and ultimately, concession. A small sample size, but still quite useful. If either party objects to the suddenness of the game, Armas can interject that life's complications are often sudden and unexpected and it is primarily the ability to navigate these troubles that determines one's competence, in his experience.


After the meeting, phone Rocco and set the time for the dinner at 8:00PM. Then phone up the Savoys and call in that meeting we have pending with them. Dinner, 8:15 on the dot. We'll be waiting. My hope is that we can keep the conversation to idle chit-chat until just before the 15 minute mark, at which point we turn to Rocco and say something like "Oh, I invited a guest, I hope that's okay." and then have the Savoy representative teleport in and make us look cool. They should be punctual, what with the teleporting.

Other stuff:
We should really talk to or read the memories of Lo Fang's soul to confirm a few things.
-Elwen Embla's role in the Gates of Self setup
-Learn what the 'very red, and very pole-like' object inside of the Triad terracotta soldier that was stolen was
-Find any personal hidden accounts or stashes of valuables or the like. I would like to give Camella half of anything gained this way, since she did do us the courtesy of simply giving the soul to us.

Svetlana Orders:
-Receive Mandarin language package, devote primary database building efforts to incorporating Triad dossiers.
-Go to Baki Yamada's massage parlour for excess magical energy removal.
-Begin learning energy ejection chakra orientation with Labombard's help.
-Construct magical contracting awareness education package and test with Satai's contribution, distribute to company.
-Negotiate terms of Contract for providing contracting services with 'Sir Shadow'.
-Worry over Lyubov's situation and phone her every few days to make sure she's alright.

Igor Orders:
-Finish Labombard's pocket watches. Hope they're okay for a first try.
-Invite Patere to visit the mansion and ask her more about what he has to do for the wedding.
-Try to gain a better understanding of how his Dark sight works by using shadow metal to isolate shadows in specific, static, states and observing them closely. Mostly use rivets.
-Ask that smith-friend of Boss' that Boss told him about to help him meet other smiths in the marketplace. Since he didn't do very well by himself. Keep an eye out for noteworthy smithing techniques and magical wares.
-Receive commission from Gianni.
-Keep working on Golem and company armors while practicing rituals.
-Finally make HB those Matryoshka Nesting Hummingbird dolls, spaced to allow liquid shots be stored between layers. Be surprised at how little trouble he had with what originally seemed like a really tricky project. Worry that means he messed up somehow.
>>
No. 500098 ID: c98119
File 136332100141.png - (33.17KB , 750x723 , Igne.png )
500098

I have to agree. A game of Go would be an obtuse, but meaningful way to decide it without causing any real strife. For the most part, I agree with the plans for the Mafia meeting as well, but other than that, here are my thoughts.

While I agree that we should make use of Lo Fang's soul, I am highly against giving him a body. At least in the short term. Scour his soul for as much information as we can before we do anything. Safely if possible. We should burn the diseased vampire bodies. Maybe one sample to make a vaccine, but we do NOT want to keep the bodies around. The implications would only rot our opinion with the vampires and we don't want to cause a huge problem which would draw ire. They make better money as job providers than enemies.

Also, make SURE to visit our wards. Seriously. We need to do this. We keep pushing it off but we honestly need to.

Beyza Bagga plans.
>Spar with whomever is available and willing at the mansion. Push yourself as far as you can, then a bit more, get healed and recover, then push yourself again.
>Water the pitcher plant and "water" Igne. Music, chatting, proper care, the right soil, temperature, moisture levels and neutrients. You are going to do whatever you can to make sure those plants are properly cared for and that Igne grows nice and strong.
>Socialize! Enough being a whiney git! Intereact with the others and try to learn some proper social skills.
>Look into finding some magical florists. If found, see what's available, what they do and how much they cost. Need to see if they have what he's been thinking about.. Maybe Satai and Matvey know some people?
>Train footwork with Lyzyrd. Bit of light sparring too and make sure to socialize with him as well. At the least, this will be good training for keeping track of highly mobile rivals. Make the most of it!
>Beat Ito's training into your body! Grit your teeth, clench your gut, and steel your will! Learn everything you can from the impeeding smack down!
>Look into going to the arena. Talk to Matvey about it, see if a ride can be found. Need to get the gear required to properly learn the footwork.
>Keep promise to Tyrone and Zhenya and help them learn some boxing.
>>
No. 500109 ID: cf49fc

>>500098
>Didn't visit our wards
WHAT THE HELL ARMAS?

Go visit your damn wards, right the fuck now! Seriously. Gawd, if you don't do it this time, I forward the motion that he's been geased.
>>
No. 500113 ID: 14bafe

Oh right, and might as well call in the payment from Mr. Jung for killing Go Ping. Free two million dollars for doing something we were going to do anyway.
>>
No. 500219 ID: 933f92

Upvoting Go like a motherfucker.
>>
No. 500536 ID: c6ce12

>>499660

Armas, don't you think what Lucifer said to us was strange? "Best of luck on the rest of the experiment?" What experiment? Ask your brothers about it.

Let's spend our evening talking to the Wards. Hillevi, Placid, and Silja. The first two are easy enough to reach out to. We can talk to Hillevi after lunch and see how she's feeling, ask her about the little things like if the food is good, if she's bored, what she thinks of our lessons so far, if she'd like anything, you know the basics. And feel free to share within reason, we've been a blabbermouth lately, but Hillevi's variety of inopropriate questions aren't the politically damaging kind thankfully.

We should take Placid out somewhere interesting, I'm thinking a carnival but if one isn't in town then maybe a sports event. It's about time we teach him a little more, I think there was discussion about teaching him what business transactions are and can be since he's starting to offer his services to others when they're in need. I feel we should try to keep our own sensibilities on the subject a bit keyed down. And of course we'll do the normal talk too, ask him about life and how he is, if he has something he needs of us.

Silja is the tough part, we'll need to break her out of the funk she's in with us and cheer her up. I recommend tickling and cheerful small talk, carry in some of Hillevi and Placid's youthful energy...man it's weird to think we need that when we're in our twenties. Time acceleration and the burdon of being a handsome, hilarious, totally amazing guy, right?

And we have our plans with Rocco tonight, we'll need a nice suit and we should probably bring over a delicious beverage to share. Unfortunately for us Duke drank us out of alcohol so maybe a quick trip to Bonzi's is in order before we grab Gianni and head to wherever Rocco wants to meet. We probably should have learned that, whether or not we'll be in a Mafia controlled based or say, his home.

Anyway, the basis of the meeting is that Rocco is going to be an ear for the Savoys so we'll need to be careful with what we feed him. I can't really imagine what the Savoy's would want or what we could really say that's specifically a secret to them, but hopefully preparing for it gives us some leeway. He didn't come upfront with what he wanted to discuss besides territory so that will be something we'll have to deal with at the moment. On our end we want to learn a couple things. For one what the territorial boundries the Mafia claims are, what they do in them, and how it interacts with what Blade is doing. We also need to ask him about Embla, get a feel for what he thinks about her, we'd be better off asking Lo Fang's soul what she did specifically so we have some idea going into this. In general gather useful information and see where things go, ply our skills where possible to maximize our political gains and make sure we don't cause an incident.

Make a mental note we still need to talk to Stacey later, that Go Ping was not pleased with us and if left alone may fester a negative opinion towards us, and that Big Crazy should probably be talked to later so that we can learn about what he did and see if he knows anything about AORB.

>>499882
I agree on all points, upvote.

>>499913
This is a nice back up plan, Armas can voice it if our other ideas fall through.

>>500059
Your plan for the Savoys seems very unlikely to work and it makes discussing important matters with the Mafia, which this meeting is designed to do, strained and difficult because we have an outside party sitting in and even worse one we owe a debt to. So for that I'm SUSTing that portion of your post. The rest is good though, I favor Guile's suggestion but your Go plan is amusing.

>>500098
One of the main points of this post is flawed. Those bodies would not be significant counts against our relationship with the Zosimus clan, let alone 'rot' their opinion of us. We are by our nature a divine being, anything that is exposed to us for significant periods could become a weapon against us. A small drop of our blood could explode a great many vampiric beings. This is not to mention the fact one of our men has been producing gauntlets powered by divine lightening and been distributing them out to anyone who is willing to test them. All of this they allow and have not raised any qualm. I say we keep a sample around, some to use against others but preferably kept secret to maximize its effect (not for our reputation) and some to develop a vaccine. Burn the excess we have.

Matvey
M-Run self ragged through an intense amount of training as your fight against Samson Aegis draws closer. Draw on extended Eye of the Tiger to advance in swordsmanship, chakra, conceptual magic, and footwork as you can and consult your teachers with the time you have left.
M-Get back to Gianni and Labombard and admonish them for trying to skip out on educating their coworkers on how to socially interact with the supernatural and trying to pawn off memory packets while several individuals are still very wary of acquiring such things. They need to teach them, if Gianni had time for Satai and Labombard has time to go out to magical bars for parties then they have time to make sure we don't get more of our number accidentally shacked up to dwarves and requiring we pay up restitutions.
M-Review the collected information from the database so far, discuss with Svetlana and Labombard.
M-Call Camella in Italy for a check up, coordinate several items like training schedules and your duties as officers.
M-Plan to approach Armas sometime this week to discuss the back pay from several missions that has not been accounted for and the future payment of the company's soldiers, which at this time is paltry compared to risks and the increasing skills involved. The new paradigm with the Triads should change things up, but if he is willing you can go and seek out jobs for the company outside of the Triads.
M-Take Jack Churchill up on his offer for drinks and tap your new sigil. He offered and it's about time you took him up on it, it sounds like an adventure.

Iosef
I-Enjoy the new sandwiches Johan is providing you for the new set of boring rituals he has.
I-Look into purchasing a new fridge so that everybody stops putting their stuff in there.
I-Ask Davgon and Gianni what they know about demons while lazing about their workspace.
I-Assist Igor in producing his new brand of thermite
I-Pick up news around Bonzi's place and gossip about it over text messaging.
I-Visit the Zoo again
>>
No. 500537 ID: f58080

>>500536
Upvoting this well thought-out post.
>>500059
Downvoting the savoy 'meeting' plan there.
>>
No. 500546 ID: 490792

Boris Orders

>Spend most of the time remaining in Italy working with Italian cooks. Thank Angelino for the training. Refuse any payment unless they insist.
>Have plans for the food cart to be sent to Istanbul. The world has yet to see the end of ‘Boris’s Borscht.’
>Grab a gift for the Cookie Lady. Shop around and try to find something that suits her. If nothing catches the eye, buy her a necklace. Old ladies love jewelry.
>Try and spend time with the other Russians before leaving Italy. (Drink copious amount of booze with Vlad, party with Grisha, watch Dmitri do ten whole piles of drugs, etc.)
>>
No. 500555 ID: 47a120

>>500536
upvote
>>500113
upvote

>vamp corpses
Study them with placid and anyone else in the company that wants to take a look, learn how to cure said disease as well as recreate it; have placid scan everyone afterwards to make sure nobody is carrying the disease. Then trade them to SM for meat you can use; the disease is a feature to be harvested, if he doesn't think so offer to purge them of it first.
>>
No. 500746 ID: 252e1b

>>500059
>Make them play Go
I like the idea of using a game like go as the way of solving this dispute, but there has been no mention of how Armas will bring this up.

Drag Blade to one side, and whisper-bellow in his ear sotto voce style so that the other two people in the room can hear the 'confidential' conferring, "You know Blade, this is a chance to either do one side a favor and implicitly be owed one in return. Or you could demonstrate to them both you're going to be a fair judge and split it up fairly yourself. Or you could show them you're going to be conservative and traditional, and use the classic solution of having one divide the turf into two parts and then the other gets first pick. Or you could use this to send a message that you're a savvy and serious crime lord worthy of respect up the line by picking a novel way to solve the dispute."

That last line predisposes him to want to take the novel option. He's not conservative and traditional, he knows he's not fair, and while he might want a favor he will want respect more. The best part is that it makes it look like we actually are advising him.

"A game would work. Turkish Oil Wrestling maybe, I could have a couple of pairs of lederhosen delivered right away for this-"

Armas would get a half-second or so to savor the horrified look on the Tong and Yakuza reps' faces, and then can relent.

"-but that's just a test of strength. You care about strategy and intellect right?"

Of course he does.

"You could pick a game like Go. It's thematic, since it's all about territory control. You could pick some other game, but Go shows you're savvy and culturally aware."

Then let him openly proclaim it like it's his idea. Because that's how Blade rolls.

>>500536
>Wards
It's still morning, and I see this meeting wrapping up as soon as the game of go is over. We can call Hillevi and find out if she's got plans with Einrik today. If she doesn't, we'll budget some time to spend with her. If she does, we won't pre-empt it. Placid may not want to be around a lot of people yet, and if he doesn't want to go to a busy event then we should not force it. Instead we can take some time with him and find out everything we can about the other War Walker who he wanted freed. We need to figure out where the other one likely is, and plan an assault to recover him.

Silja's harder, but we can check in on her and try using soul guises to make her feel less adverse to spending time with us (a new aspect to the guise like "doesn't remind you of Armas Valkonen very much" might do the trick. If she feels comfortable with that, we can learn what she's come up with so far for describing her desired new look.

We should have a short chat with Bagga, and learn he's decided to have a sex change and why.

None of this should take more than six hours total. Figure we'll be done by three in the afternoon.

>>499882
>Talk to Lo Fang's soul
Yeah, we need to learn a lot but an interview should do it. Before we talk to him, we should evaluate his existing bindings and see if there's anything there requiring him to tell the truth. If there isn't, install a "always be honest to Armas and act in his best interests" binding. Also, we should ask SB to pick up the paper contract from Camella if he hasn't already, and read it over ourselves.

"Tell me everything you know or suspected about me, my operation, and the most important people involved in my operation."

"Tell me what you were going to do with Camella if you won your bet with her."

"Tell me what Ich-Hunter said to you when you talked to her about your bet."

"Explain truthfully and in depth what you did to the disciples you installed Gates of Self in, and what requirements will need to be met to keep them stable and sane. The soul-consuming box you set up is gone, and the disciples are in stasis at the moment."

"Elaborate on what Elwen Embla did for you, and what you wanted to steal from her warehouse."

"Tell me anything you know about Elwen Embla which is not in the dossier you had on file for her."

"How could I re-establish the stability and safety of the disciples' Gates without harming them or breaking Dragon Law, in your opinion?"

"What happened to that awesome helicopter that came out for the Lucky Lady job?"

"Tell me what you would have done last year if you came into a sample of a Royal Summer Teleportation Bloodline. Say, an arm-sized sample."

"Help me transfer assets you had hidden away in numbered accounts, in safety deposit boxes and caches, in safehouses, hidden as the property of aliases, and otherwise concealed from mortal authorities to my control. Tell me how to avoid any legal, contractual, or magical traps or disputes which may be involved in gaining control of your hidden assets. Tell me who your heirs are for assets which you openly owned and listed in your will, and what assets are going to who."

"Tell me what you would want in a golem body."

>>500059
>Get the Savoys in on this meeting
Ha ha what? No way, they won't ever go for that. They're trying to learn more about us without outright asking us. If they want to play coy, they're not going to go for playing along with that plan. What we CAN do is ask Rocco if he knows of any parties which will be attended by mutual friends of ours. He'll get what we mean, and we can plan on swinging invitations for either ourselves or some of our people so that the Savoys can actually meet and mingle with us/them in a neutral setting. That's far safer.

>>500536
>Stacey, Go Ping
Make an appointment with Satai to have dinner and discuss shit later in the week.

Make an appointment with Matvey for the same, but for a different night.

Give Camella a quick call and find out exactly which day she expects to return from Italy. Find out which night she would like to have dinner on to discuss company issues and shoot the shit. Ask Camella if she would like us to sound Lyubov out on getting her an appointment to speak to Hyougo about her slider issue.

>>499805
>Giantland?
Zhenya's got a plan and a map to go visit the giants to find a teacher, and she'll likely approach us for permission to go on the trip. There's no reason to deny the trip, but make it clear that she's responsible for anyone else she brings with her and that we'll want a report about it when she's back.
>>
No. 500818 ID: 252e1b

LYUBOV WEEKLY GOALS
L*~Keep up with law studies. Ask Hyougo for e-book versions for studying while on the move (exercising or doing other tasks).
L*~Work on the gauntlet/bracer and extensively repair and upgrade it and bug-test it. Get it ready to go back to Matvey by Tuesday afternoon (Tuesday morning Istanbul time). One of the new features: gauntlet will have a contact patch that can accept those lightning gems Titus gets from Karangya.
L*~Build a very stripped down divinetech generator spell, tuned specifically to generate lightning, and hook it up to personal chakra to convert personal energy directly to electricity.
L*~Give Beyza, Hillevi, and Zhenya each a call during the week. Give Matvey a quick call to explain the new gauntlet functions and to wish him luck.
L*~Talk to Sake twice during the week. Talk to Silja at least once, perhaps twice.
L*~Talk to Mom and Armas at least three times during the week, even if all that’s said is “I love you.”
L*~Talk to Placid every day of the week, checking on him shortly before his bedtime (4 a.m. Japan time, so just before the morning jog).
L*~Text back and forth with SB about different things, provide advice and get help as needed.
L*~Get Mom to make $250,000 in purchases for outfitting a completely mundane workshop in Istanbul. Get Adib to help with getting it set up properly by directing his work via phone and web cam during his afternoons (in the evening Japan time, after Hyougo’s bedtime). This is an ongoing project.
>>
No. 500825 ID: 14bafe

>>500746
>Talk to Lo Fang's soul
>"Tell me what you would want in a golem body."

Personally, I think we should keep Lo Fang's soul in Allview most of the time, letting him roam the city as he pleases and keeping a look-out for anything important (by Armas standards, or those of the Triad), unless we need something destroyed utterly. That's when we put Lo Fang in THE golem, with all of his owned soul restrictions to obey us and whatever in place.
All of the Golem's inbuilt weaponry, with Lo Fang's knowledge of Chakras, whatever it is that he uses to make him a heavyweight (straight up martial arts?), and complete control of all of it for Armas in one package.

Ideas (sorry if these have already been discussed):
Armas still has self-mythic flesh-grafting. Phoenix hearts have gone well with everything else so far, might as well add one to his own body. In addition, infinite hearts once it's conceptually a part of him.

As with Reenforcement, can other chakra orientations be overcharged past what have been used in the past? A massively overcharged stealth orientation sounds like an interesting thing to try out.

If the Meat Circus job is still open, can we use a golem of some sort to carry out a suicide mission from the inside? Seems fairly simple, if the demiplane collapse with it inside there's no way to trace it back to the Laine corporation. Those 'flesh golems from tribute' that the mere can make sound like a perfect match for the job, and if we discuss it with Whitari before-hand instead of just doing it, we can probably just convert some meat directly into golem in a couple of seconds.

Units of blood. I don't think Amen ever actually defined what the were measured in, it could be gallons, barrels, person-worth, or even ounces. Also, knowing how many 'units' of blood the factories produce would be nice.
Speaking of Amen, now that we have infinite regeneration, could we get a copy of those sniping memories from Simo Heya's ghost implanted into us? We could probably get a graft into anyone in the company who wanted one as well.
>>
No. 500862 ID: c98119

>>500825
Alright, SUSTING putting Lo Fang in the golem. Likewise SUSTING the MC plans. I do not suggest putting Lo Fang into anything more powerful than a human body. If we over bound him, he is going to be severely weakened and for the amount of control required to keep him from using the golem against us? Not worth it. Never give the guy wiggle room until we are honestly sure it won't bite us.

As for the Meat Circus, this is a Very Bad idea even if we pull it off flawlessly. We will be causing a HUGE economic shift that will pretty much directly empower SM by a lot. As much good as he's done, he's a businessman first. Practically Lo Fang +.

Also, I believe Amen rates his blood supply by the barrel. Mentioned it in a previous thread.
>>
No. 500988 ID: 31aaf2

>>500059
I support them playing a game of Go, it's a lovely thought and they won't rightly be able to back down without looking scared or surrendering the other plot outright.

The other option of course is a martial arts tournament held 3 days from now, but I doubt they will go for that.

As to who will say it, get blade to. Ask SB if he can communicate it to him without alerting the others. If not, use that M7 trait to tell blade what to do while making everyone else think that he was the one to suggest it in the first place. i.e. Drop on a soul guise to make them want to listen to you, lead with something like 'I remember you once saying' and buttering it up.
Hopefully Blade catches on or the others jump on it before he gets confused.

Go hang with your wards, give the kids a call.

SUSTing putting Lo Fang in the golem or Allview. He is still a dangerous entity and should be given no freedom at all until we make that no longer an issue.

ZHENYA ORDERS
>Approach armas for permission to go to the Land of the Giants to continue her Strength training, following the map Einrik gave her.
>Ask if others can come along
>Inform armas about the true nature of her Gate revolver and the demiplane attached.
>Invite other members of the company unburdened with current tasks to come along for ADVENTURE and training(and company), make a special note of inviting Matvey.
>Propose special magitech headgear idea to Igor, Satai and Lyubov if she calls. Get advice on what would be needed and start production as soon as possible.
>Ask Labombard about the Loup blood addition when mentioned by Igor to have regenerative properties, see if he'll donate.
>Hang out with the newly female Beyza and introduce her to life as a woman. Try not to break her bones while learning core boxing principles.
>Tell duke about trip to Giant Land if approved and see what he thinks, ask if he has any recommendations or requests(a special giant liquor perhaps?) and see if he wants to get in some more spars for old times sake.
>Hang out with Sake and make him know about the upcoming trip.
>Try and spend some time with everyone in the 'company', including Stacy and Placid(can't ignore him forever, and Lyubov seems to like him anyway). Give Amen a wide berth.
>Purchase a new violin and hope this one (finally) stays completely mundane.
>Do some solo training with guns and new strength at max power to get used to them all.
>>
No. 501959 ID: b7d2cc

TYRONE ORDERS
T> Become aware that dealing with the Laine Corp gets results.
T> Fast results. As in, within the past fucking week he's twice as strong as before, lined up for a suit of armor, gets special blood to filter it in to vampire blood for Squiddly, and other benefits, just from being with Bagga as his minion.
T> Realize that if blood is a vampire's soul, then altering the metal in the blood might alter the soul.
T> Obtain incredibly fine shadow-metal powder from Igor.
T> Talk to Gianni, Feodor, and Davgon about possibly replacing his current blood with a different metal. Offer interested parties an audience to what will likely be a hilarious and painful experience at the minor cost of keeping him from dying horribly.
T> Wonder how one goes about getting something like Squiddly for himself.
T> Train with Bagga! Beyza! Whatever she calls herself!
T> Prep for GIANTLAND trip.
T> Prepare to find another place to live - unless Feodor manages to secure him a room in the manor.
SVETLANA ORDERS
-Receive Mandarin language package, devote primary database building efforts to incorporating Triad dossiers.
-Go to Baki Yamada's massage parlour for excess magical energy removal.
-Begin learning energy ejection chakra orientation with Labombard's help. As part of this, he recommends a change in your chakra-inducing yoga, which seems to work just as well.
-Construct magical contracting awareness education package and test with Satai's contribution, distribute to company.
-Negotiate terms of Contract for providing contracting services with 'Sir Shadow'.
-Worry over Lyubov's situation and phone her every few days to make sure she's alright.
IGOR ORDERS
-Finish Labombard's pocket watches. Hope they're okay for a first try. Wonder why he's impressed with them-they're just things you made.
-Invite Patere to visit the mansion and ask her more about what he has to do for the wedding. …Find out the entire CLAN won't step foot in Amen. So. She counters with an offer for lunch to chat. Naturally, you accept.
-Try to gain a better understanding of how his Dark sight works by using shadow metal to isolate shadows in specific, static, states and observing them closely. Mostly use rivets.
-Ask that smith-friend of Boss' that Boss told him about to help him meet other smiths in the marketplace. Since he didn't do very well by himself. Keep an eye out for noteworthy smithing techniques and magical wares.
-Receive commission from Gianni.
-Keep working on Golem and company armors while practicing rituals.
-Finally make HB those Matryoshka Nesting Hummingbird dolls, spaced to allow liquid shots be stored between layers. Be surprised at how little trouble he had with what originally seemed like a really tricky project. Worry that means he messed up somehow.
BAGGETTE ORDERS
BREAD--Spar with whomever is available and willing at the mansion. Push yourself as far as you can, then no more because you can't push harder then you can.
BREAD--Keep being obsessive about caring for your two plants.
BREAD--Socialize! Enough being a whiney git! Intereact with the others and try to learn some proper social skills. Continue being annoying to many. Frustrating.
BREAD--Look into finding some magical florists. Find there's supposed to be plenty in the Bazaar, but it doesn't sound like there's any gung-ho specialists or exotically minded florists there.
BREAD--Keep training footwork with a lyzyrd.
BREAD--Continue to think being mangled by an overenthusiastic Ito is a good kind of training.
BREAD--Look into going to the arena. Talk to Matvey about it, see if a ride can be found. Need to get the gear required to properly learn the footwork. Be told that's allowable so long as she just does shopping-no more arena fighting for the moment.
BREAD--Keep promise to Tyrone and Zhenya and help them learn some boxing. …It hurts when Zhenya keeps accidentally breaking you.
MATVEY ORDERS
M-Run self ragged through an intense amount of training as your fight against Samson Aegis draws closer. Draw on extended Eye of the Tiger to advance in swordsmanship, chakra, conceptual magic, and footwork as you can and consult your teachers with the time you have left. Dangerously bloat soul from overuse but eh, details. Not like you'll sustain this.
M-Get back to Gianni and Labombard and admonish them for trying to skip out on educating their coworkers on how to socially interact with the supernatural and trying to pawn off memory packets while several individuals are still very wary of acquiring such things. Receive rebuff that the sheer number of things they might need to reference is simply too high to conventionally pick up in a short time frame, and that if you want comprehensive coverage for 'just in case' then a memory packet is the only efficient solution. Argue back that it can't take that long. Intake retort that given you're talking about several thousand magical sub-cultures with their own taboos and ways, any of which could be encountered in a magically active city like this, yes, it would take that long, barring memory packets. Digest this.
M-Review the collected information from the database so far, discuss with Svetlana and Labombard. ( http://tgchan.org/wiki/Guns_for_Hire_Database ) Learn they're still sorting out which bits of data are relevant for many of the profiles, but that quite a few contemporaries are already documented.
M-Call Camella in Italy for a check up, coordinate several items like training schedules and your duties as officers. She seems less rigid now-interesting.
M-Plan to approach Armas sometime this week to discuss the back pay from several missions that has not been accounted for and the future payment of the company's soldiers, which at this time is paltry compared to risks and the increasing skills involved. The new paradigm with the Triads should change things up, but if he is willing you can go and seek out jobs for the company outside of the Triads.
M-Take Jack Churchill up on his offer for drinks and tap your new sigil. He offered and it's about time you took him up on it, it sounds like an adventure. …Wake up next day splayed spread eagle balanced atop a radio antenna that is digging into your back atop a highrise, wearing an inside out kilt and nothing but as NNS tries to keep Ohotnik from happily tackling you. On attempting to yawn, realize your wallet is in your mouth.
M-What. Find phone in kilt. Find Jack recorded the evening and sent you a highlights reel…. ah. You're going to go ahead and let that stay forgotten.
IOSEF ORDERS
I-Enjoy the new sandwiches Johan is providing you for the new set of boring rituals he has. This is awesomely smokey meat!
I-Look into purchasing a new fridge so that everybody stops putting their stuff in there. Decide said acquisition entitles you to partial ownership of the kitchen on delivery (-$4,000)
I-Ask Davgon and Gianni what they know about demons while lazing about their workspace. Get a half hour conversation that you don't really listen to since a funny show's on. Pick up 'Don't talk to Demon Gods, and always ask any infernal if they ARE a Demon God since they have to answer.' Sure, sounds simple.
I-Assist Igor in producing his new brand of thermite. Delicious fire that hurts shadows, hahaha!
I-Pick up news around Bonzi's place and gossip about it over text messaging.
I-Visit the Zoo again. A three legged crow with an annoyingly familiar caw keeps perching on your shoulder when you visit. Doesn't poop on you or peck you, so you leave it be. Doesn't look tasty anyway.[/orange]
[color=brown]Boris Orders
{B}=Spend most of the time remaining in Italy working with Italian cooks. Thank Angelino for the training. Refuse any payment unless they insist.
{B}=Have plans for the food cart to be sent to Istanbul. The world has yet to see the end of ‘Boris’s Borscht.’ It shall return by boat!
{B}=Grab a gift for the Cookie Lady. Shop around and try to find something that suits her. Find hand-crafted baking trays from a local craftsman. Surely she'd like that.
{B}=Try and spend time with the other Russians before leaving Italy. (Drink copious amount of booze with Vlad, party with Grisha, watch Dmitri do ten whole piles of drugs, continue to laugh at Vlad's tiny pocket dog, etc.)
ZHENYA ORDERS
(Z)-Approach Armas for permission to go to the Land of the Giants to continue her Strength training, following the map Einrik gave her.
(Z)-Ask if others can come along. Find out there's a limit on three total peeps, since Armas needs bodies for the Triad shindig.
(Z)-Inform Satai, for Armory documentation, about the true nature of her Gate revolver and the demiplane attached.
(Z)-Invite up to two other members of the company unburdened with current tasks to come along for ADVENTURE and training(and company), make a special note of inviting Matvey.
(Z)-Propose special magitech headgear idea to Igor, Satai and Lyubov if she calls. Get advice on what would be needed and start production as soon as possible. Be disappointed the answer from all of them is variations of 'well that depends'.
(Z)-Ask Labombard about the Loup blood addition when mentioned by Igor to have regenerative properties, see if he'll donate. Be forewarned loup-blood treated material is not, innately, something you want to keep around your head. Take advice to heart.
(Z)-Hang out with the newly female Beyza and introduce her to life as a woman. Try not to break her bones while learning core boxing principles. …Break her bones.
(Z)-Tell Duke about trip to Giant Land if approved and see what he thinks, ask if he has any recommendations or requests(a special giant liquor perhaps?) and see if he wants to get in some more spars for old times sake. Duke decides he is going on your trip, irrelevant of your wants. Good job, this probably won't end in tears maybe.
(Z)-Hang out with Sake and let him know about the upcoming trip. He gives no fucks past telling you not to die so he doesn't need to replace a bandmate.
(Z)-Try and spend some time with everyone in the 'company', including Stacy and Placid(can't ignore him forever, and Lyubov seems to like him anyway). Give Amen a wide berth.
(Z)-Purchase a new violin and hope this one (finally) stays completely mundane.
(Z)-Do some solo training with guns and new strength at max power to get used to them all.
LYUBOV ORDERS
L*~Keep up with law studies. Ask Hyougo for e-book versions for studying while on the move (exercising or doing other tasks).
L*~Work on the gauntlet/bracer and extensively repair and upgrade it and bug-test it. Get it ready to go back to Matvey by Tuesday afternoon (Tuesday morning Istanbul time). One of the new features: gauntlet will have a contact patch that can accept those lightning gems Titus gets from Karganya.
L*~Build a very stripped down divinetech generator spell, tuned specifically to generate lightning, and hook it up to personal chakra to convert personal energy directly to electricity. Find this tingles excessively.
L*~Give Beyza, Hillevi, and Zhenya each a call during the week. Give Matvey a quick call to explain the new gauntlet functions and to wish him luck.
L*~Talk to Sake twice during the week. Talk to Silja at least once, perhaps twice.
L*~Talk to Mom and Armas at least three times during the week, even if all that’s said is “I love you.”
L*~Talk to Placid every day of the week, checking on him shortly before his bedtime (4 a.m. Japan time, so just before the morning jog).
L*~Text back and forth with SB about different things, provide advice and get help as needed.
L*~Get Mom to make $250,000 in purchases for outfitting a completely mundane workshop in Istanbul. Get Adib to help with getting it set up properly by directing his work via phone and web cam during his afternoons (in the evening Japan time, after Hyougo’s bedtime). This is an ongoing project.



>>499882
There are plenty of ways I could handle this dispute, as the Triad consultant. As they say, compromise is the art of making sure no one is happy with what is decided. and that could hardly be difficult to achieve here. Presumably Tong and Yakuza both have different interests and favored businesses, just like the Triads. Prostitution, drugs, gambling, things that can put territory to all sorts of different uses. And so I could suggest via Blade that they share the stretch of prosperous Bosphorus (heh) businesses along their traditional business models. Though if I suggested a shareplan, protection racketeering would need to be discontinued, but then they weren't getting any of that ANYWAY. This way the stretch of street is open for ‘business’ from any group, and no one can claim they were singled out. The other two will fall on whichever group breaks this together. It's a simple, logical, and relatively well thought out option.

It's also totally boring, so I label it 'Plan B'

Now, how to give a solution that's both viable, and actually produces good footage for my Allview's database…
>>499913
The classic solution for two different parties bickering over an area of land is to have one party divide it into two parts... and the other gets first pick. That might work… but would still not be too interesting unless I inadvertantly prodded someone into an insensate rage or the like.
>>499988
Oh! I could crib off old lore and offer two glasses of wine, only one of which contains deadly poison. I do, after all, have the ability to secrete exactly such a substance, what with the Doonongaes glands. …But that would likely be rejected unless I leaned on them, and the goal is to leave Blade as much in the commander's chair as possible.

>>500059
>>500098
>>500219
>>500746
…And that's when an idea hits me.

I tap Blade's shoulder an gesture for him to walk away from the table for a brief discussion-something he's more than happy enough to do. He cockily swaggers over and we put our heads together. Mindful of his clear deafness, I 'whisper' in the theatrical sense, my words anything but obscured from the no doubt attentive Tong and Yakuza representatives.
"You know Blade, this is a chance to either do one side a favor and implicitly be owed one in return."
I'm paying more attention to the clearly curious souls of the two watchers as they highlight on my choice of topic than I am to Blade's nodding beside me.
"Or you could demonstrate to them both you're going to be a fair judge and split it up fairly yourself."
Yeah-they want to know what I'm doing here-why I'm bothering to explain this. Is it just for their benefit, is it actually for blade's, do I want them to think Blade needs the reference, is this actually Blade's plan… their own insidiously deep realms of operation with layers of subterfuge keeps leading them on a merry chase as I continue speaking to my audience of three, given HB's simply napping on my tie's top.
"Or you could show them you're going to be conservative and traditional, and use the classic solution of having one divide the turf into two parts and then the other gets first pick."
I can see Blade's disinterest in being what he'd consider old and stodgy-but really, none of my suggestions save the last are really supposed to matter-and so far, I see zero evidence anyone's picked up on it yet. So, with a measured tone and a silvered tongue-
[MMM,MMMM Trait auto-activated!]
"Or you could use this to send a message that you're a savvy and serious crime lord worthy of respect up the line by picking a novel way to solve the dispute."

And I have him. Of course he'll pass on a possible owed favor to prioritize getting out an image he liked, and all it took was some preferential phrasing. With a speculative eye, Blade whispers back to me even as I see the souls of both reps veritably boiling in contemplation.
>[Blade]"So… say I do want to send a message here," He begins with, admirably keeping his voice down well below the levels he could hear it at, "What might be a good way to do it, so's it's all Asian and such?"
"A game would work. Turkish Oil Wrestling maybe, I could have a couple of pairs of lederhosen delivered right away for this-"
There is a delicious moment where I bask in the horrified shock and frantically scrambling souls of both the Tong and Yakuza rep, but one can poke fun for only so long.
"-but that's just a test of strength. You care about strategy and intellect right?"
Blade nods at this as if he'd already considered it all before, if nothing else doing rather well at being committed to faking competence.
>[Blade]"Okay-so, say I do want to use a game, and I'd rather it be all proper, and send the message I'm prioritizing strategory and all of that-which game would I pick?"
"You could pick a game like Go. It's thematic, since it's all about territory control. You could pick some other game, but Go shows you're savvy and culturally aware."

And so that's what he does, in his falsely intellectual way, full of pomp and narcissism-and they have little choice but to go along with it. The offer is fair, ultimately, as neither side knew in advance that such a challenge was forthcoming… and so they sit down to play a game I personally have no idea of the rules of-and by the look on Blade's soul, he's got no clue either. So we let them self-moderate, lest our ignorance give us away-and enjoy the show.

In the end, it's the Yakuza that win. This is, officially, the end of the meeting, as the turf distribution was the only real item on the docket. That said…

I am reasonably sure that guns being drawn are not conducive to an equitable parting of ways.

Which is why I neatly wrap each gun in a Soul Bubble, step up and push down on their raised arms. Naturally, the unexpected input to their stalemate makes both pull the trigger-only for their implements to warp and heat, the bullet-and the gas-unable to escape. I watch both of their souls flash through a myriad of memories at the near death moment, and speak in a measured tone.
"Now, I understand that it is upsetting to learn your opponent was in the Go Club when he was a young lad, and that his recollections of that beat out your hobby skills. But the point remains the match was given, and accepted, in fairness. You wouldn't want to disrupt that, would you?"

Both men jerk their hands out of my grasp, saying nothing to my comment… all the same, that's the end of the hostilities, as well as the talks as a whole. After both reps have left, Blade and I make our way outside, and with a wave part ways.

>>500536
While I'm walking, I find my thoughts returning to a comment made by Promethian Lucifer, just before we parted ways. He said 'Best of luck on the rest of the experiment' just before leaving. …But why would he say that? Even assuming he can see every active project I'm working on, what exactly could he be referencing? The War Golem? The Laine Company as a whole? My personal experimentation?

The question is vexxing, and so I implore my brothers to weigh in with their own thoughts on the matter. Naturally, shadowbro is the first to offer any sort of feedback at all.
>[SB]"There are effectively so many possible things that he could be referencing, both within your work and involving you in general, that trying to pick specifically what was being referenced appears to be a fool's errand to me. It is not at all uncommon for magical beings to be unwittingly used as test subjects, just the same is it's fairly normal to crib off the research of others where you can access it. Simply put, I don't think there's a point to considering this matter presently, as we have no way of reducing the number of potential answers and finding the actual truth."
As far as advice goes, 'Don't worry about it' isn't exactly my favorite, even if I am quite familiar with it. So I take it under consideration, as I wait for Sake's input. The Green furball, as ever, is succinct.
>[Sake]"Well, why not just do that job for Owner, and then get that favor, and then use it to ask what Lucifer meant? He'd have to figure it out for you, right? Way less effort!"
And, other than blowing a favor from Owner on it, it's not a bad plan, persay. Just… not exactly a good one. Hmm.

Well, for now there's just not enough data to make a strong conclusion about that statement of Lucifer's… that said, I'm definitely planning to keep it firmly in mind.

Shaking off the business with the Triads, considerations about draconic plotting, all of it, I instead focus on how I'm going to spend the rest of the morning and the afternoon: I'm going to do something with my wards. Hillevi, it would seem, is out of the running right from the start: I find a note she hastily scribbled stabbed into her room's door with a knife, detailing how she's out sightseeing with her big brother. There are copious doodles of hearts, which make the blood-stained knife holding said note all the more hilarious. Still, this leaves me with Silja and Placid to entertain and use to reaffirm to myself I do give half a crap about people dependent on me.

…Perhaps my honesty is rubbing off on my thoughts, if I'm being so blunt about the rational behind what on the surface could easily be taken as altruism. The brain is a funny thing.

Silja, who initially was averse to the idea of going out for a drink is quickly brought around to the idea by dint of mercilous tickling and liberal wheedling. Placid, of course, says yes the moment I finish asking the question. And so, with Silja held in a Soul Bubble so she's not flopping on the ground with a freshly wetted 'horn', the three of us visit Bonzi's, right when the time's best for those looking for a meal, rather than a good time. It turns out to be every bit the good idea I had hoped: Silja constantly shifts about to inspect the story-filled doodads Bonzi decorated with, and Placid's eminently pleased with the uniformly positive attention he's getting. My choice to attend a bar well versed in irregular customers and quite accustomed to the presence of my companies members proves well made, as Placid, for the first time outside the Laine Company, meets those that grasp he's not normal by any definition and don't seem to care so long as he's not trying to chomp on them.

As I'd hoped, Bonzi is readily available to point us all towards something of a circus event-a Dragon with a rather impressive magical creature menagerie is holding an open house, and there's no cover charge to get in. And so, after Silja's done drinking in the sight of a pub out of a fairy tail and giggling all the while, Placid helps me get her discretely to the dragon's place-a penthouse suite in downtown turned into a portal to a private Demiplane. I can't deny that I'm a bit grumpy that spiritual sensing and all of my magical senses, just like Placid's, shut down on entrance, but after a brief talk with the staff, the host makes an allowance for Silja's bloodvision, and we get on with the sightseeing. The living gallery, as it is, is fascinatingly a collection of 'fake' magical animals-that is, things imagined by mortal minds-or others-that were never actually real. Flying Pigs, Pink Elephants, formless numbers (I am told they are a sort of draconic bogeyman), all sorts of magical oddities can be found, and nearly every one of them is comically irregular and utterly enjoyable. The whole time, Placid is utterly fascinated by the fabricated beings, while Silja takes a delight in the event's entirety. My only regret is the Allview does not function in the demiplane, and so I'll only have my base senses to use, if I ever want to try and recreate the day's outing.

After having snacked at Bonzi's bar and then toured a dragon's menagerie, we finish off with a suggestion from Placid: it would seem he wants to make ice cream for us. While he's busy crafting it out of thin air much to Silja's delight, I phone Rocco and set the time for the dinner at 8:00PM. And while I watch Placid serve the ice cream into bowls of bone he likewise fabricates on the spot, I also phone up the Savoys and call in that meeting we have pending with them. Dinner, 8:15 on the dot and they know I'll be waiting. My hope is that I can keep the conversation to idle chit-chat until just before the 15 minute mark. If I can pull it off, I can do a great reveal with the sudden Savoys.

Confident in my plan, I escort Placid back home and bring Silja back to her roost, of sorts…

And run right into Matvey, who's clearly walking my way with his hilarious mix of swagger, march and mosey. I note he's got a manilla file tucked under one arm. I come to a halt in the hallway, waiting to see what he wants.
>[Matvey]"Boss, there is an important matter we need to discuss."
"Oh? I can think of a few things that could be the point of such a talk-care to narrow it down?"
He flips open the folder in his hands and begins reading. Oh, this'll be good.
"There has been a mission we have undertaken where appropriate pay was not given to those who signed on for the job, namely the mission to siege a Hobgoblin base. Furthermore the current payment structure leaves something to be desired, our men have to split the 25% of the pay they receive amongst themselves which at the current measure of our jobs leaves them risking life and limb for several thousand dollars apiece."
What. That can't be right, I-
>[SB]Actually you didn't.
And if you knew that, you didn't tell me… why?
>[SB]You're an adult, you can fix your own problems and properly learn from them, I believe is the phrase.
Gee thanks.
"...Ah. That is an excellent point. Let's address the unpaid jobs first, then."
Let's see, eyeballing the svartelf, rechargable charms I got-all fifteen of them…
"Let's say each charm's worth around a hundred, just to stick a price on it, so a quarter of the sum value would come out to a four hundred… so eighty thousand apiece would seem appropriate. And before you object to the way the payment distributes, this mission was before you brought your concern to me-and while I'm happy to talk about a restructure, I'm not going to open the door to retroactive pay raises. Besides, we've secured easy access to missions I can assure you will have million-plus payouts courtesy of the Triads."
BUSINESS FUNDS: -$400,000.00 $8,842,094.00
The lack of any surprise in his soul confirms my suspicion he already knows. I find myself rather pleased with my awesome officer's attentiveness-don't need to tell him shit!
>[Matvey]"Yes, the Triads. I have overheard that we have a new arrangement with them. Would those jobs be regular and would there be enough of them to comfortably pay out to every employee?"
"Shouldn't be hard to arrange-their leader's the quintessential figurehead, and knows he has to lean on me hard to not screw this up, bravado or no. For one, he's completely amenable to comprehensive overhaul of the Triad's entire operating methods, just because he 'likes the idea of being a visionary'. So yeah, we're effectively the leaders of the Triads, in that we're what's going to keep it afloat. And wouldn't you know Lo Fang was running a staggeringly profitable enterprise?"
>[Matvey]"Then I would ask you consider putting the whole company on a salary if we are going to funnel their funds into the company's, it would be easier to manage in the long term and not require you manipulate both their job offers and which employees have to go where to keep up appearances."
I rub my chin at that. Hm… if I put them on salaries, then I can lease them out to the Triads at my personal discretion, and it wouldn't be hard at all to make up the cost and then some of funding rather competitive pay. After all, a well paid minion's a loyal one.

I clap a hand on Matvey's shoulder, shoving my Soul Guise straight through the less controlled memetic effects about his own soul as I reinforce his sense of fair-play prior to an order. Not that much reinforcement's required in the oft-grumpy man. Wouldn't want any personal onus of his skewing the results.
"I like that idea-in fact, I'd like you to draft up a proposal on what would be a good rate, in your eyes, for what will ultimately be primarily part-time workers. I'm not really expecting you guys to be married to the triads, and I want them to properly value our time. Say, a per diem rate, so I can freely lay claim to weekends barring pre-arranged and approved vacations and the like."
>[Matvey]"It will be in a sealed envelope and in Svetlana's hands waiting by tomorrow morning, but speaking of being married to the Triads. I had another proposition that I would like you to consider. My personal web of contacts has expanded considerably since arriving in the city and I believe I could bring in more work for the company. For instance the Kheazi clan is willing to name our company as one of the highest repute amongst dwarven circles if we can provide them with the location of the Owner's private arena in a way that he would have no objections to. If you would grant me permission to, I could go out and arrange for more jobs and bring them forward to you for approval and assist in arranging deployment of our employees."
"While I would normally be all for new work, I'd rather focus on getting our image out there successfully by being the Triad's crutch first, and look at that in a few weeks, maybe a month or so after consistent performance with the Triads."
Matvey nods his head at the request, my order already filling his thoughts.
>[Matvey]"Understandable, I will hold off on bringing it up again until then. That's all the business I had to discuss today. Ah- before I go if I haven't extended it already, you are welcome to come see my bout against Samson Aegis in the Owner's arena. I believe you've seen the directions already, it is my understanding that they don't do typical bets there, they trade in favors and the like between the magical elite."
Well now doesn't that sound interesting.
"What's the date?"
>[Matvey]"It is set for next Sunday, the 27th."
"You need anything for the fight, or have you got it handled?"
>[Matvey]"Both your shadow and Lyubov have provided me with some form of assistance, but I won't turn down any aid you feel like offering."
"Sure you wouldn't turn it down, but who wants to see you steamroll someone? Do you NEED anything at this point?"
>[Matvey]"Then no, I'm adequately prepared."
"Excellent. Best of luck, then, though I doubt you need it."

And as Matvey toddles off, I file away these thoughts of putting the company on salary, and focus on a different soul approaching me-Zhenya.

The diminutive Russian that thinks she's a bullet princess approaches me with Giants on the mind, of all things.
>[Zhenya]"Ah, Armas, glad I caught you. I have a few things to ask you about my Strength training. Well you said you couldn't really teach me and Duke has reached the limit of his teaching me as well, so I asked around and your friend, Hellivi's brother told me that I might find some leads in the lands of the giants"
"You want to learn how to use Strength from innately Conceptual beings tied to a different concept? …Okay, sounds fun. But exactly how are you getting to the Giants in question? It's not like many of them bustle about pretending to be human."
>[Zhenya]"Einrik, he gave me a map. I'm hoping he took my humanity and ability to follow it into consideration, so I'll follow that"
"…Have you not looked at the map yet?"
The tiny wannabe titan proffers forth a page of Einrik's vexingly precise calligraphy.
>[Zhenya]"A map to the land of the giants"
I start referencing the directions as I read them against the Allview, stopping after having crossed multiple national borders and more than one passively open demiplane.
"Did you even look at how far this path is on a map? Sure you don't have the tools to figure out demiplane travel times, but there's enough conventional travel… unless you're planning to ride Grisha or a gaggle of Hummingbirds-"
>[HB]"An offer I am not extending to you, female."
"-Big surprise there anyway the point is that this is going to be a considerable time investment. That said, I won't say I'm against it innately, or anything of the sort-but I would have a few stipulations, since, and I don't know if Matvey mentioned it to you or not, we kind of own the Triads now, and that is going to make our immediate future rather busy."
Zhenya is struck speechless for a moment by the 'ownership' I so casually mention.
>[Zhenya]"Wait a minute, you beat the triads?"
I wave a hand dismissively at the claim.
"No no no-the Triads are fine, well and under the control of a personally appointed puppet. No, who I beat, was Lo Fang. None of the details are particularly pertinent here, but the point is there's work to be done."
>[Zhenya]"How did...ok I guess we might be really busy. SO what kind of stipulations?""
"That if you have any plan at all of taking other employees with you, you'll need to convince me that it's worthwhile for them, and for the company."
I can feel a simple form of smugness settling about her soul, as if she's certain she has just the right kind of wordplay ready for me. Cute.
>[Zhenya]"...Well, I had asked Beyza-"
"Baggette got that sex change did he?"
>[Zhenya]"Yeah, she… 'Baggette'?"
"Bagga, Baggette, male, female. Anyway."
>[Zhenya]"…So I asked… Beyza and hi-her friend Tryone as well as Matvey to come, and I think it would be an excellent opportunity for them, and us as an organization. Beyza hasn't been able to power up as much as a lot of the company members and if she can come she'll certainly be able to get something out of this herself, not to mention getting a good read of her new...state. Having strong soldiers is useful for you right? Also this is a perfect opportunity to spread your name around a little more. The most important thing for a company is its name so us spreading word about you to the land of the Giants can only help-"
"First off-that's just not true. Bad PR is absolutely a thing, and if you're not the most rockstar magic types in the area, there's zero guarantee you can avoid such a negative view, not to mention actually getting your ass squished-Giants, remember? If you're going to try and convince me of your idea, at least be factual, hm?"
I chuckle as Zhenya looks a bit perturbed at that.
"Past that let me see if I've got this right. You still want to pursue this now, rather than table it for some later point when the Triads are stabilized and there's plenty of free time again-admittedly not predictably far off, with how amorphous our current work will be-and you don't just want the vampires-which is fine-but you also want Matvey, who is still, for the next few days, my highest ranking officer. As to Matvey: absolutely not, at the very least until Camella's back. Frankly I don't know why you're asking now and not in a week when everyone's back."
She… seems to wonder at that a bit herself.
>[Zhenya]"Well, the map I got will only last a fortnight and I guess that deadline kind of made me want to get this done as soon as possible. I don't really know if there's some kind of magic in the map or some window of opportunity or if it was just the limitation of the method."
"The only reason that would at all make it reasonable to not wait the week would be if you think the route itself would take nearly the entire fortnight to complete. Do you anticipate that?"
>[Zhenya]"I do expect the trip to take a long time, yes. "
"…Why? We've got several mobility enhancing methods, not the least of which being several methods of teleportation you could use to massively cut down on travel times-and you're making quite the assumption, thinking I'll okay what is effectively a vacation no matter how you phrase the potential company benefits, that would span more than a month. I do need workers, after all, so you'd have to sell me, if you want to take it slow and easy, as you seem to be proposing."
She's definitely having to rethink her position on the fly by the spiritual tumult I observe.
>[Zhenya]"I wasn't expecting it to be easy, I didn't know we had ways to teleport other than the help that witch gave so I didn't think that was a standard thing. If we have faster methods to travel, and you are offering them, then I will accept with your thanks. I plan to work myself to the bone to become stronger once I find a way to do so, I never had a vacation in mind at all. If you see it that way well," she deflates a bit "a don't know how to convince you otherwise"
I wave my hands in mock surrender.
"Alright alright, enough with the deep, soul-baring commentary and such: look, if you want to go because you want to get stronger-sure, we can make that happen, but there's a problem, here: relative safety of investment. As nice as seeing you pick up the rest of the Strength Duke and I can't teach you without really messing you up would be, that's not a potential gain worth more than your life. So exactly how do you plan to deal with that? If you end up dying over there I will do my utmost to bring you back just so I can chastise you for wasting assets."
Zhenya smirks a bit at that, and I can see she liked the snark.
>[Zhenya]"Well, I do have a few protection and healing methods available. Lyubov told me about a way Sake used to make healing potions and I was thinking I could carry those as emergency stock. I also plan to purchase some more charms... and I was wondering if the valiant hummingbird would allow me to go unattended."
While hummingbird is busily fluffing his feathers on my shoulder, preening under the attention I hold up a hand.
"Yeah wait woah there: unless you want to keep them, why would you buy charms? We've got reusable ones and the like on stock, just sign them out. …Unless you're afraid you'd lose them or some shit, then yeah, go buy your own, since you're definitely paying it back if you lose some of mine."
Zhenya straight up smiles now, she is enjoying a thought.
>[Zhenya]"Thank you for the kind offer sir, I'll make sure to make use of them when I'm in the land of the giants. I'll have naught to fear with your boon and the might of master bird"
Oh, archaic speech: she's got HB by the balls now-

And sure enough, he makes exactly the call I'm expecting. With a commanding flap of his tiny wings he begins to expound.
>[HB]"I will send a node along the path you've provided, and with the brothers of my mount we shall provide you instant passage. That said, it must be made clear that I will fight only my own battles in this land you giants call the home of your kin, and that beyond attempting to claim you before you can fall in battle or returning you on completion of your venture, I shall offer you no aid. Is this clear?"
Zhenya continues smiling
>[Zhenya]"You are most generous, I thank you for your kind offer"
A piece of HB pull free and forms into a new bird, which promptly vanishes in a thundercrack, already hot on the trail.
>[HB]"It will take some time to complete the path."
I turn to look back at the tiny Russian.
"So, that it? You'll have to wait, obviously, for HB to get the path ready."
>[Zhenya]"Well you extend this favor to all who travel with me?"
>[HB]"It will depend on whether they display suitable manners."
I can already see Zhenya thinking about a certain vampire that didn'y get a sex change.

…Man my life's become weird.

The tiny soldier snaps off a salute with gusto.
>[Zhenya]"I have no doubt it will be ready in the fastest time it could possibly happen. Thank you."
She probably had something else to say, but she's forgotten it now, blown out of the mind by supersonic birds and foul-mouthed vampires. Well, I'll leave her to that.

After the curious conversation with a fellow student of Strength-and, incidentally, the tiniest of Russians-I check the clock…. it's getting close to when I need to head out and meet Rocco. I change-once again adorning myself with a neon orange tie because hey, that's my thing, and with Hummingbird properly on his perch, I'm off.

The meeting's at a restaurant, naturally one that the Mafia owns. it's reserved, in an italian sense that only pays service to the bare minimum of the idea, and the dark wood tables seem to swallow the dim candle light filling the room. Despite it being evening-prime time for a meal out and about, the respectably sized eatery is bereft of occupants, save for Rocco, slowly working on a snifter of grappa as he eyeballs a file before him where a meal would otherwise be. I make my way to his table, picking up the word 'Triad' multiple times in the upside-down words he studies. As I take my seat, having noted how far away the door is, Rocco speaks.
>[Rocco]"So. The Triads have had a change in ownership."
"Yes."
>[Rocco]"Official story with many endorsements by big names stating this is all above board, and that this... Blade is the new leader."
"Mm-hm."
>[Rocco]"And that your company is on board as a consulting firm, for this group."
I don't bother saying anything since this is all clearly rhetorical. Rocco will get to a point soon enough… I hope.
>[Rocco]"But that's not exactly something that seems… accurate. Especially given what I've heard of this morning's territory discussion. No, it seems far more likely to me that Blade is, exactly as should be expected of a person like him in a position like that, a figurehead. What seems accurate to me, is that you are now in control of the Triads-that a prior contractor I have hired, and that was involved with my predecessor's passing, now controls a national criminal operation that operates in the same territory I do."
Still no point yet, I'll just keep waiting.

Rocco carefully puts down the grappa, and closes the folder, leaving us the only ones in the room as he looks me levelly in the eye.
>[Rocco]"So. Lo Fang was a man that… in his way, demanded respect not for ability or power, so much as competence, and reliability, in his fashion. By no means was he an ally, but he was an enemy that was.. familiar. The current shift has, as a matter of course, created a large amount of contention, over how this is to be addressed. The Tongs, the Yakuza-those who come from places more strongly controlled by their dragons are choosing to pretend things are exactly as the official story states. I don't like that-and even if I did, the general views held in my circles contends this can't be done."
He taps a finger on the table betwixt us, his voice still gruff and soft in the starkly quiet room.
>[Rocco]"The biggest concern, is that you are going to perpetuate heavy draconic influence, just like Lo Fang did, and that as a result of the resources you have that Fang lacked, this is going to make a problem. So. The reason your presence was requested, was this: wonder, over whose interests you're planning to serve here."

There are many ways I could answer that, most of them utterly truthful, so many options and possibilities, ranging from placation to threat… and really, the answer that I most want to give-is the most true of all.
"Rocco, I can assure you that I'm pursuing my own interests here, and that my motivations for acquiring such unofficial control are entirely opportunistic. So, unless I've somehow missed being a dragon, I can't possibly be serving their interests, unless they want me to live an amazingly wealthy and influential life."
Rocco rocks back at that, carefully mulling my statement over.
>[Rocco]"Let's pass question that or semantics of wording: let's just get straight to the presumption you're being straight with me here. In that case, what, exactly, is in your interest, then?"
"And that's a question that more than a few would like to know the answer to, isn't it? I'll readily tell you that I have no qualms with your organization, and have quite enjoyed working with them. In fact-"
I check my phone-one minute to go till quarter past-
"I'd say you might be able to benefit, as an organization, from my providence. And as such, you should view my new position as favorably as possible."
A steady set of eyes cautiously probe me, his soul continuing to give signals that would seem totally in place for a nigh-unmagical man when I know mister Armani as anything but. Several seconds pass, and I truncate my planned verbiage to ensure a proper delivery.
>[Rocco]"And what, exactly, is the benefit you are referencing, here?"
And it's 8:15 on the nose now, so I start getting up, still looking at Rocco.

There's a sound not unlike a doorbell that resounds throughout the restaurant.

I smile disarmingly at Rocco's widening eyes.
"Oh, I invited a guest, I hope that's okay."

And then there the Savoys-

There the Savoy is-and I immediately recognize her as the clan's current Head and Matron from the AORB files: Camella Savoy, the woman I briefly considered fucking for no other reason than to send a taunt to Galileo, a final mocking as is my way. And here she is, in the flesh and swaddled in a silk gown that I'm confident would look more at home in a museum documenting classical styles than in a modern setting. I go ahead and chalk that up to excessively traditionally-minded Bloodliners, and offer her an incline of my head to the Savoy Head I frankly assumed would send a delegate rather than attend personally.

With all the dignity of a queen, the venerably aged matrion dips her head back in turn, and sweeps over to smoothly take the seat I vacated, even as I move to claim a third chair for the sole occupied table in the room.

It's Camella Savoy that speaks first, with Rocco's soul every bit as incredulous as his face at her sudden appearance.
>[Camella]"I must say, Mister Laine, that my clan has found itself intrigued. The same day that you make a rather remarkable stir in international politics that my family has a… history, shall we say, of paying attention to, you call in a meeting marker that had langoured for some time-and you use it on a meeting with those our family used to work most diligently with. I wonder, Mister Laine, do you perhaps wish to see the Savoys resume their association with the Mafia?"
I don't need to read Rocco's soul, I don't even need to look at him to see just how badly he wants that.

But of course, the question is if that's what I even want-and to be blunt, I'm more intrigued by the fact Camella herself came when she had to know the meeting would be with Rocco… which suggests that, in this world where Galileo no longer existed, the Savoys would not mind in the slightest to 'once more' work with the mob. Why not facilitate it, if both parties want it and I can get gratitude most valuable for the undertaking?

I consider how to swing my frankly capricious choice to invite the Savoys to a meeting with Rocco to my favor, given how the cards have fallen.





What do I say to Camella/Rocco: what is my goal, now that both are at the table together?
>>
No. 502137 ID: 7dbd6b

I would say that the goal is to have sex with Camella, but you have a girlfriend. Probably the goal is to get these two factions to work together, while making them both as indebted to you as possible for arranging the set-up.
"Well, I was hoping that we all could come to a profitable arrangement for everyone involved."
Actually, now that I think of it, if we still have favors owed to the Savoy clan from the General job, now might be a good opportunity to have one of them scratched out. For putting together this meeting and starting Mafia-Savoy relations again, one favor ticked off.

Anyway, since Sake brought up what to spend the favor on already, I'd like to suggest having the Owner find out the story behind the month of missing memories and retrieve them, without harming or allowing harm to befall any of Armas' associates or family.

Also, in a more immediate sense, we'll want to check what bindings exactly are on that ownership of soul contract for Lo Fang. I was going under the assumption that it was like Stacy's, with the soul locked down harder than a vault, but it seems just like him to have set up the contract in such a way that the soul was free to do as they pleased. Why else would he write a contract that had even a chance of selling his soul to someone on death, if not as an insurance policy against his eventual death? It might be his form of resurrection, and the longer we leave him unattended, the more likely he's gonna be able to pull a body though his own gate of self and possess it or something.
>>
No. 502205 ID: 9b3d17

>>502137
>Anyway, since Sake brought up what to spend the favor on already, I'd like to suggest having the Owner find out the story behind the month of missing memories and retrieve them, without harming or allowing harm to befall any of Armas' associates or family.

First of all, that excludes Armas HIMSELF from protection against harm. Secondly, that information should be OURS ALONE. Seriously, you want to just hand Owner the information we've been seeking for so long? HELL, You want to walk up and tell him, "Hey, Owner, I'm missing a month of my memory! :D"

Hell naw.

>Why else would he write a contract that had even a chance of selling his soul to someone on death, if not as an insurance policy against his eventual death?
Slightly paranoid, but it woulodn't hurt to check.

As to the update: Why the hell are you flipping out over Lucifer's simple salutation? He's a mad scientist dragon, it's not that silly to think he assumes everyone is experimenting on something. Especially among his fellows. Sitting there and thinking "WHAT DOES HE KNOOOOOOOW" doesn't really accomplish much.

Right now, I agree that we should work to get the Savoys and the Mafia back in bed together. Be the massive criminal organization wingman here, it'll reap many rewards.

As for dialogue I have NO FUCKING CLUE.
>>
No. 502703 ID: c6319f

First thing we should do is perform a quick scan of her for any magical items she might be carrying and take a look at her soul. As subtly as possible, don't want to be caught probing.

Our goal here is to get the Savoy and Mafia working together but that shouldn't be difficult, the Savoy's internal situation isn't as stable as it could be. No heir and 7 potentially ambitious branch-kids is a situation that could turn ugly, this is a great way to keep them entertained and preoccupied and Camella knows it. Being a mysterious up-and-coming power player has been working well for our Savoy rep so far, so I think it's the best way to continue until we have something more concrete to go off of.

"I do and I'm prepared to expound on the reasons that they should at length. But unless you need me to provide explicit politically plausible deniability for your seeking out the resumption of association with a socially inferior organization I would opt to not waste the time we have together."

[If she insists(It can probably be broken up into 4-6 sections with Camella's responses to make it more of a back-and-forth. Whatever seems most natural:]
"If you insist. As you implied earlier, your clan has an interest in local politics, something working with the locally present Mafia would allow you more freedom to survey or influence as you would. My significance to local Mafia operations means that the favors I owe the Savoy family can be used to even more completely control the nature of your dealings with the Mafia than usual. The Savoy branch clan has a number of youths who would benefit from the externally focused experiences and entertainment steady work with the Mafia would provide- it is no secret that their Hand's grip is not as strong as it could be. Now, I don't think it's necessary to convince Rocco here of the benefit that could be had for his organization. And of course, though less relevant to you, I would personally enjoy seeing a more active Savoy clan."

"If that's settled, I'd like to move on to another reason I arranged this three-way. Rocco, we need to discuss Mafia/Triad borders, and it only makes sense that your prospective close associates be privy to the details of dealings with your existing Istanbul contacts, wouldn't you agree? Ms. Savoy what do you think about...."
And then we talk Mafia/Triad business stuff nobody wants to bother with.

Other stuff to slot into the overarching conversation:

"I have a male ward of excellent pedigree that I have to consider finding a suitable wife for down the line and I noticed your extended family has a surplus of unmarried daughters."
Just to see the reaction on her face. Though if she does express interest, respond in a non-committal fashion, Placid is too young and impressionable for that kind of thing and political marriages are kind of... eh. Maybe one day. If her response is negative, we play it off as a joke since it actually is one.

On the subject of marriages, Veiko and Tuomo are unmarried and Markku isn't quite so protective of the twins as he is of Hillevi. The Savoy branch clan has half a dozen unmarried daughters and the Valkonen need to think about building up their own branch families again, as well as branching out politically. At least planting the idea of relations between the Savoy and Valkonen during this conversation would do quite a bit to further Einrik's goals with his family and should increase Armas' worth in the eyes of the Savoy. We need tread lightly, of course. And I don't have dialogue for this one.
>>
No. 502718 ID: 248b9f

(different internet provider, same old butt)

>>502137
>Favors owed
I doubt the Savoys will see this as a favor paid. In any case it would be best to give them time to get used to being more active again before presenting it as being such a boon to them that it could be considered a favor. So, don't push claiming it's a favor yet, wait and see first.

>>502137
>Owner Favor
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. This isn't the time to really think about it. Wait for after we finish the mission. It's totally cool to bring it up in the discussion thread, but stuff in the game thread is what's going on in Armas's head.

>>502137
>Lo Fang's plans
Remember, Lo Fang and Dorjpalam both are from cultures that require saving face. Once Lo Fang had the audience with Dorjpalam, the wizard could set terms and Lo Fang wouldn't really be able to turn him down. Lo Fang's best option, from his perspective, would have been to remain hidden and secure while waiting for Camella to get herself killed or to repay the loan, while collecting more information about what was going on and preparing for opportunistic actions against Camella which did not violate the terms of the Contract. Getting the contacts required to get out of a wizard contract is something even we would have trouble with, and we've got way better magical contacts than Lo Fang did.

>>502703
>Take note of Miss Savoy's magic
The Viewers are made for this, and no doubt Shadowbro is paying attention. And if he isn't, now's a good time to make sure he is. ALSO of note: We got a partial reading on Rocco by not paying Attention to him. We're aware that he wants this partnership through inference, but we know just how badly he wants it without looking at him (soul or body, since we're paying nearly full Attention to Matron Savoy right now). We know that Attention sensing can be baffled by sheer stupid luck (like how drunks and children can look in the wrong place for absolutely no reason at all), or by willful unreasoning observation (like how Lyubov counter-trolled in the kitchen), and we can guess that enough deliberate Intent modification (like what we did with the Splintered Intent trick) would work too. Obviously this is related, with us being able to retain information on Rocco's soul state by putting almost all our Attention on the Matron here.

So, it's a good idea to pay Attention to Matron Savoy. Just be sure to coincidentally pay attention to the space where we last saw the other occupant of the room, too. Not to him, that's a waste of time, but to the space he occupies, and anything in it. That'd be good.

>>502205
>Be the massive criminal organization wingman here
>>502703
>Dialogue about this

It's really the only good reason we have for bugging her like this. So we better make the pitch good.

>>501959
>[Camella]"I must say, Mister Laine, that my clan has found itself intrigued. The same day that you make a rather remarkable stir in international politics that my family has a… history, shall we say, of paying attention to, you call in a meeting marker that had langoured for some time-and you use it on a meeting with those our family used to work most diligently with. I wonder, Mister Laine, do you perhaps wish to see the Savoys resume their association with the Mafia?"

"Yes, I'd say that's accurate. While normally I would have taken time to feel out both parties and be sure it could be workable, I felt I could and should be expedient in this case. It's no secret that the Savoy House has cooperated in the past with the Mafia to the mutual benefit of both parties. Renewing old ties seemed very possible, even in light of the comparatively recent... lapse in relations. Especially given that there's a Finger slot free, or was last I heard at least."

"Well, mostly I just keep my ears open. Oh, before I forget, there was another matter I wanted to bring up when I met you, Matron Savoy."

[And that is?]

"Your nieces and nephew. They're single, in their twenties, and all bearers of the Summer line correct? I happen to have friends who are both elligible and from a magically potent bloodline family. In fact, the youngest is my ward for the year. Her chance to learn a bit about city life, under trusted supervision. If you would like, I'd be happy to arrange opportunities for the Valkonens to meet your kin in chaperoned situations."

This next line is fairly important. It spells out what Armas gets out of this (Savoy will react better if she knows our motives include an element of self-interest).

"Yes, the Valkonens. They are my friends, and frankly I like most of what I've heard about your family. Enough that I'd be willing to facilitate this. Besides that, it would be nice for there to be children of the appropriate peer group and... power bracket, I suppose, to be playmates with my kids. When I start having kids, I mean."

At this point the conversation could go into sensitive territory. These answers may not be used, depending on how much Rocco and the Matron know and choose to say.

[Children with your witch saint girlfriend?]

"You're well informed. And, isn't that one of the goals of any successful relationship? For both partners to find fulfillment together? I know in her case, and mine, that would mean having kids and raising a family properly at some point. Incidentally Rocco, I hope this helps you understand my earlier answer a bit better."

[What are the Valkonen boys like?]

"Let's see. There's the twins, Veiko and Tuomo, and Einrik the heir. If I had to sum each of them up in a sentence, I'd say Veiko is cheerful and affable, Tuomo is blunt and fond of jokes, and Einrik is clever and driven. What about your nieces, what are they like?"

>>502703
>Placid as a prospect?

"It may not have escaped your notice that I have another ward besides the aforementioned Valkonen girl. He's very young, and it remains to be seen how he feels about things. Still, I've found myself continually impressed with how he is emotionally developing, and it would be remiss of me to not plan ahead for him in the same way I'm planning ahead for my future biological children."

[Why do you mention this?]

"...no specific reason. Just food for thought."

Which is a better troll than just saying it outright, in my opinion.
>>
No. 502721 ID: b263b0

>>502718
Sounds like a solid post, so upvoting this generally.

>So, it's a good idea to pay Attention to Matron Savoy. Just be sure to coincidentally pay attention to the space where we last saw the other occupant of the room, too. Not to him, that's a waste of time, but to the space he occupies, and anything in it. That'd be good.
We have seen the effect of a 108-partitionned ward against our viewers previously (the Lo Fang one). It could be interesting to use 108 viewers to analyze Camella savoy (and the space of the meeting), to see if a comparative improvement in efficiency can be felt.
>>
No. 502774 ID: c6ce12

>>501959
We need to discuss a business associate of his before the conversation concludes, Elwen Embla. Ask Rocco what he thinks about her, since it is rather apparent the Mafia has interest in her and keeping information security around her controlled as shown by their job offer. We may have need to go into business with her shortly and some insight from someone with a close working relationship would be wonderful. Phrase it in a very easy way, by bringing it up at all to Rocco we complicate the task of robbing her at all, but lets try to mitigate that and keep the two options we had in our head as open as possible. We really do want his opinion here, would she be a valuable contact, how she works, and a contact number if he could provide one.

>>502703
>>502718
Upvotes.
>>
No. 503652 ID: b7d2cc

>>502718
Well, if Cammy's going to forgo most of the opening wordplay I'd expected from someone as blue-blood as her, hey, I won't complain.
"Yes, I'd say that's accurate. While normally I would have taken time to feel out both parties and be sure it could be workable, I felt I could and should be expedient in this case. It's no secret that the Savoy House has cooperated in the past with the Mafia to a mutual benefit of both parties. Renewing old ties seemed very possible, even in light of the comparatively recent... lapse in relations. Especially given that there's a Finger slot free, or was last I heard at least."
Rocco silently nods in affirmation to my assertion-not that I really needed it, since a Thumb's appointment is supposed to be a big deal. For her part, the Savoy Matron regards me blandly, not a hint of speculation getting through her mask-and her utterly invisible soul is solid testament to the quality of her charms.
>[Cammy]"And may I ask what lead you to such an interest in the Hand that you'd dug up old records of past practices?"
"Well, mostly I just keep my ears open. Oh, before I forget, there was another matter I wanted to bring up when I met you, Matron Savoy."
I refuse to grin, I will not show the glee what I'm about to do inspires in me, I will remain professional-
>[Cammy]"And that is?"
"Your nieces and nephew. They're single, in their twenties, and all bearers of a Summer line correct? I happen to have friends who are both elligible and from a magically potent bloodline family. In fact, the youngest is my ward for a year. Her chance to learn a bit about city life, under trusted supervision. If you would like, I'd be happy to arrange opportunities for the Valkonens to meet your kin in chaperoned situations."

The Matron of a royal bloodline and actual Queen-at least magically speaking-arches a single well-manicured eyebrow before measuring out her words.
>[Cammy]"That's a rather… internally-oriented subject to bring up at a table such as this… but no matter. I've found myself rather frustrated at their lack of marital progress to such a point I'll entertain your forward approach. But truly… the Valkonens? I was under the impression that old clan was doing nothing much at all, ever since the change in practices to… insular focus two decades ago."
For all her informalized tone, there's a glint of something deadly cautious in her eyes, and I insure my words stay measured lest I ruin it all on account of not accommodating a prickly persona.
"Yes, the Valkonens. They are my friends, and frankly I like most of what I've heard about your family. Enough that I'd be willing to facilitate this. Besides that, it would be nice for there to be children of the appropriate peer group and... power bracket, I suppose, to be playmates with my kids. When I start having kids, I mean."
>[Cammy]"My, how family oriented of you."
"Hardly: I just have a healthy respect for the value of playmates."
>[Cammy]"Is that so… what are the Valkonen boys like?"
"Let's see. There's the twins, Veiko and Tuomo, and Einrik the heir. If I had to sum each of them up in a sentence, I'd say Veiko is cheerful and affable, Tuomo is blunt and fond of jokes, and Einrik is clever and driven. What about your nieces, what are they like?"
I find I wasn't expecting a sigh every bit as exasperated as a busybody aunt's, and a roll of her eyes.
>[Cammy]"Where to even start. Jenna's calm and collected in the calculating sense, but her younger sister Cianna is an absolute mess at planning. One supposes she makes up for it with prodigal skill in the family arts. Grazia is… obsessive in anything that interests her, and as a result has quite a wealth of knowledge. Ziara and Stella are both in touch with the pulse of the modern world and quite capable of using the internet-"
Wait seriously she thinks that's a point of pride that's amazing-DON'T LAUGH DON'T FUCK IT UP

Cammy continues, unaware of the mirth I'm rigidly stifling.
>[Cammy]"-and Paola is the most flexibly minded niece to my name. Though I expect that if Old Markku's thinking about reversing his viewpoint, he already has more than enough information to assess my clan's progeny on his own, without such a blasé discussion as this-is that not so?"
"I'd rather say he's simply particular about how he portrays caution, but you're correct: he does like such information before making a judgment. And to that end-what exactly do you think is the point of me bringing it up?"
Let her draw her own inevitably inaccurate conclusions from that-oh magical truthsensing and double-talk, I love you so.

>[Cammy]"So, you take your duties to the clan that now calls you Ally seriously, hm?"
"Why wouldn't I? It strikes me as utter foolishness, to disregard or belittle the sheer worth of a strong, dependable bond between allied families-or companies, as it may be."
>[Cammy]"By that, I take it you feel the Valkonens have done well by you?"
"Were it not for the Valkonens, I doubt I'd have had the chance to do many of the things I've done."
At that, she finally stops bothering to hide the frank appraisal she's giving me, and continues with a smirk. For his part Rocco's doing an admirable job of accepting that Camella Savoy and I have commandeered this meeting.
>[Cammy]"Well, I've no doubt that Markku wanted a frank opinion rather than the normal formalities of child description, so do feel free to convey my personal views on them to him."
"I'll be happy to advise him as best I am able when he's planning marriage."
A thin lipped smile is my reward for that.
>[Camella]"Hm, quite. Well-that was interesting food for thought, and we'll have to see what comes of it. Now, to the matter at hand good little Rocco here has been waiting so patiently for."
The bald, goatee-clad man of heavy musculature is only too happy to rejoin the conversation.
>[Rocco]"Well, as the topic was raised by Mr. Laine, I have to admit curiosity as to the Savoy view on possible restored relationships. There's no denying the bosses have made it known they'd like to know what went wrong."
A stenciled brow bounces at the admission, as a stately eye briefly catches my own even as she responds to Rocco.
>[Cammy]"….Armani, was it? You aren't from a particularly old family, are you."
Yet again Rocco proves his competent in the realm of self effacement.
>[Rocco]"I am not, Lady Savoy, and I'll have to ask your forgiveness if that offends you."
An airy hand of command is waved, urging the man to continue.
>[Cammy]"It is no matter-the point you raised is curious, for I admit that part of what occurred to me, when seeing what the meeting with Mr. Laine would request would be, was that my own family likewise lacks a recorded reason, for the cessation of contact."
The two share a long, pregnant look at that, while you act as blandly unnoticeable as physically possible.
>[Cammy]"…Did the bosses present you with any suggested explanations for this, should my answer have been what it was?"
>[Rocco]"Draconic influence, a Wizard's curse, the usual possibilities."
>[Cammy]"So they know nothing."
>[Rocco]"They do not have any theories in which they invest confidence, no."
>[Cammy]"I see."

>>502703
While the Savoy Matron and Istanbul Mafia head continue to share knowing glances, I perform a discrete and utterly passive assessment of the magical signature from Cammy-or the lack thereof. Interestingly, there are six specific places where the signal feels even less 'there' than the rest of her-and I can't help but suspect that to be indicative of charms related to whatever obscures her soul.

The shared gaze shifts at Cammy's impetus from mutual to decidedly one-sided without much delay. It transforms into a decidedly privileged glare, as if C deigning to give him attention at all is leveled on Rocco by the Savoy Matriarch as she briefly inflects a hint of almost British poise into her verbiage.
>[Cammy]“As to the open Thumb-and Ring Finger, don’t think I wasn’t aware-the Savoys would find it amenable to claim both positions….”
A cautious grin precedes Rocco’s interjection.
>[Rocco]”That’s excellent, I’m sure the bosses would-“
A dainty hand is slapped upon the table with all the pomp and gravitas as a judge banging their gavel.
>[Cammy]”I was not finished speaking, and do not recall you as holding such status you can presume to interrupt me.”
>[Rocco]”Yes-my heartfelt apologies Lady Savoy.”
A sniff is his ‘reward’ for a quick placation.
>[Cammy]”See to it that such does not become a repeat transgression-now, as I was saying, the Savoys would like to claim both open positions as rotating work placements, so that all of the youngest generation can be put through their paces.”
Rocco looks keen to speak, but wisely bites his tongue.
>[Cammy]”Further, it is my desire that the serving Savoys be directly beholden exclusively to their Clan Head-“
Rocco’s face goes stony-
>[Cammy]”While I, in turn, network with the Confessors and Dons.”

Oooh, this is great-she is laying the proverbial smack-down on Rocco. Hah-so happy I’m recording this.

For his part, the man who’s so keen to be underestimated and NOT draw attention to himself that he need not mantle is eminently cautious in choosing his response, slowly swirling a now empty cup.
>[Rocc]”…I do not believe I have the authority to approve something like that, nor do I have the pull to sway the Dons or Confessors towards such an arrangement.”
The Lady Savoy looks rather disappointed by that-but thoroughly unsurprised.
>[Cammy]”I see. Well, that is why our family is so keen to have people with certain skills amongst our number. If you’ll excuse me gentlemn…”

Cammy has a hushed phone call using a slim-and somewhat bafflingly bejeweled with actual diamonds man my phone feels cheap as shit now-smartphone, and turns a grin as pleased as a Cheshire cat on the Mafia representative as she shortly hangs up.

Five seconds later, his phone rings, and Rocco, his eyes locked on Cammy, steps away from the table-and nearly drops the phone the moment he opens it. With a progressively graying visage he slowly returns to the table, and puts his mobile on speaker. A voice I haven’t heard for quite some time echoes forth, with all the dignity and professional monotone you recall.
>[Confessor]”It is the opinion of the Dons that the arrangement offered by Lady Savoy by House Savoy of Sicily is satisfactory to our requirements, and that in light of certain administrative weaknesses in Istanbul-“ And oh how Rocco’s hand tightens about his goblet at that, “The Ring Finger will be assigned on temporary placement to assist in the management of local business.”
A throat as reedy and weak as the whispered last words of the dying clears itself, filling the line with a brief wave of static.
>[Confessor]”Is it correct to say that Mister Laine of the Laine Corporation is currently present?”
“Present and accounted for.”
>[Confessor]”Mm-hm. I have been ordered to convey to you the knowledge that the Dons are quite aware that this change in working conditions with an old ally is a result of your purportedly benign interference, and that as such you are offered an invitation to call upon the Dons for a meeting, should you so desire one and are willing to travel to Sicily.”
“A meeting marker-I assume that would be a one-time token.”
>[Confessor]”Correct: it is not in the Don’s interests to make themselves easily available to petitioners given the amount of attention their positions demand of them.”
“Is there any time limit on this, or other requisites to employ the marker?”
>[Confessor]”You wo-“
>[Cammy]”Your caution’s admirable Mr. Laine, but wholly unnecessary: you have a favor in the form of a meeting, to call in whenever and however you want, so long as you’re willing to go to those you wish to meet, rather than demand their presence. The epitome of simplicity, is it not?”
>[Confessor]”…As the Lady stated. If that will be all?”
I share a glance with Cammy-who only rolls her eyes again as she doesn’t quite watch Rocco refilling his goblet to the brim.
>[Rocco]”…Thank you for your time, Confessor.”

The line goes dead.

For her part, the now exceptionally smug looking Savoy Matriarch stands, inclining her head all of a hair’s worth towards me… and me alone.
>[Cammy]”If you’d be so kind as to walk a lady out, Mr. Laine?”
Totally necessary for a teleporter, right-let’s see what she wants.
As you exit the closed restaurant, you glance back over your shoulder-and catch, for just an instant, Rocco’s face contorted not in distress, but unadulterated glee-and he looks quite content to let me witness it.

>[SB]”He’s quite keen on letting others underestimate him, isn’t he.”
Indeed. I wonder how much of that was him actually being overridden by the higher ups, and how much of that was planned for just such an event.
>[SB]”I don’t think we have enough data to be certain, but I’d still feel confident the majority of the altercation was staged-and curiously, not for your benefit, but rather-“
The Lady's. Oh, what I’d give to crawl inside the heads of those that can’t even comprehend that Galileo ever existed, just to make sense of the skewed sense of history they have.
>[SB]”Regrettably-”
Yes I know-completely unfeasible to accomplish.

Finishing the blink I began during that brief moment of accelerated thought communication with my Soul Shadow, I turn back to the front, and continue escorting Cammy out-

That is, until my phone rings, much to Cammy’s delight.
>[Cammy]”My, we are all so busy today, aren’t we?”
“So it would seem. Do you mind-“
>[Cammy]”Not at all-I’ll wait.”

I step aside and pick up the call from… from Camella. No, the other one.
>[Camella]”Armas?”
“Speaking.”
>[Camella]”I have Grisha with me, and I’d like you to try and explain something to her.”
“…Okay? What?”
>[Camella]”Well, you’re aware that she’s… rather capable of making people enamored with her.”
“Sure, couldn’t help but notice all those new pheromone implants and such.”
>[Camella]”Right. Well, she’d been using them to control-“
There is a brief bit of rumble over the line as a conversation is held beyond a covered mouth piece.
>[Camella]”… using them to assist in keeping the population pacified.”
Little bit of mental manipulation for the greater good (that being my own benefit) sure that makes sense.
“Right.”
>[Camella]”Well she is being resistive to the idea that she needs to disentangle her control of the populace before we leave, or else-“
Again the line shunts into muffled noises, before Camella returns. It’s not hard to figure out what’s going on.
>[Camella]”Or else there could be-“
“Put her on the phone.”
There is a brief break in communication before an innately cheery voice tempered with more than a hint of put-upon grumpiness chimes in.
>[Grisha]”Hi boss-are you going to yell at me too?”
“Not unless you want me to.”
>[Grisha]"I don't, really. Can you tell Camella to stop being ridiculous, then?"
"Why don't you first tell me what she asked you, in your own words."
Her response is a Lyubovian deluge.
>[Grisha]"Okay, so I was eating lunch and Camella was all 'Grisha, we need to leave soon, so undo all your mind magic' and obviously that was ridiculous, because I'm using like the tiniest slice most of the time now, and when I said I didn't need magic I was just awesome she was all 'That's bullshit!' and 'half the town would lick your feet if they saw you had mud on them and when I pointed out that it's good that I can't actually get mud on my feet then because of my charm against being dirty that just pissed her off more and she was all 'you went into hundreds of peoples' heads and rewrote them to love you!' but I'm not actually a mind manipulator, it's just you know memetics and pheromones and footwork and general gorgeousness and if you make someone think that you're wonderful for a couple weeks then, guess what, they start actually thinking that you're that wonderful! So there's not really anything to undo here and she won't believe me, but she's all worried about problems when I can just tell them that I'm leaving and they should be good and then why wouldn't they?"


…Aha.

"...Did you actually tell Camella that you were going to talk to everyone before leaving-specifically lay it out?"
I swear I can feel her backtracking through the phone.
>[Grisha]"Well, no, but why wouldn't I say bye to everyone? Are we like sneaking out in the middle of the night or something?"
"Is it in any way fair to say it's assumed, then, that when leaving you'd do anything more than just say goodbye? That's usually in the 'afterthought' category, the farewells, rather than involved discussions-particularly with civilians, which the locals clearly classify as."
I keep an eye on Cammy as she hides a pert smile at what she can overhear behind a well manicured hand, making no move to pull out of audible range.
>[Grisha] "Man, boss, you're doing that yelling-without-actually-yelling thing like someone's mom."
I can't help but chuckle a bit at that.
"And you're doing a pretty good job of being the kid that forget to tell someone they were going to put their toys away. So how 'bout we call it settled and you just let Camella know you already have a plan, and it's all good. Oh, by the by: Got a soul that I totally own now, and it's gonna be a company playtoy eventually. So start thinkin' what you'd like to do to a very high-minded Triad Boss, yeah?"
>[Grisha] "Um, I tried to tell Camella that I had a plan like five times already and then she called you."
>[SB]"For your edification: she made two swiftly aborted attempts that explained nothing, from an outsider standpoint."
Noted.
"Grisha, I know you can't tell me you laid it out in full-but you will, after this phone call, right?"
>[Grisha]"I think maybe she'd believe you more."
"Are you seriously asking your boss's boss to talk to your boss on your behalf, because you can't be bothered to talk to someone? Little miss beauty pageant 'you better love me'? Come on…"
I distinctly note the sound of more than one stifled giggle from behind that obscuring hand-and listen to Grisha grumbling.
>[Grisha]"Camella doesn't like me when I smile."
>[SB]"Well that's entirely accurate."
"Are you telling me you can't make a scowl satisfactorily cute? I thought you were better than that."
>[Grisha] "I did too! I think she might hate cute things, because her cat is ugly and farts on everything but she still likes it better than Vlad's puppy."
There is a soft sound of strangled disgust from far away from the reciever-most certainly NOT Grisha.
"Have you ever considered using political double-talk based assessments of people you don't like when they're in the room with you? It's really quite a bit less likely to blow up on you."
>[Grisha]"Nope!"
And doesn't she just sound so cheery saying it.
"Well, prepare to learn a new form of mental torture: give it a go-and yes, these are 'boss's orders', but only with her, okay?"
>[Grisha]"Fine, fine. Hey, speaking of that, I'll show you this awesome trick that Anguisher had with making souls scream while you almost-but-don't-really pull out little bits of them when I get back with that Triad guy, okay? I can't even see souls and I could still feel it. Very cool."
"I look forward to it-hell, bonus Cookies if you can make the guy's voice crack mid-scream, spiritually speaking."
>[Grisha]"You're the best, boss!"
"All right, you go have that talk now-see you soonish."
>[Grisha]"Bye~!"

There is a brief break in the contact… and Camella's on the line.
>[Camella]"…I'll call you back if it's still an issue."
*CLICK*

As I hang up, Cammy clicks her way over on the heels beneath her full-length skirt, a pleased smile keeping her cheeks faintly dimpled.
>[Cammy]"I must say, you have a very open and… novel way of directing those you claim the obedience of."
"I can't deny that I'm not particularly big on the formalities unless I have to be without quite a bit of tricky wordplay."
>[Cammy]"Mm, and I'd call you a liar regardless if you did so. Tell me: what are your rates, should I wish to hire your services?"
"Well that'd depend on the services rendered, wouldn't it?"
Aaaand you're pretty sure you recognize that particular predatory glare.
>[Cammy]"…Indeed it would. Hm, I've decided: You shall accompany me to Sicily."

She doesn't seem keen to wait on my response before reaching for my hand-

Which is why I'm curiously pleased to feel the familiar cold of Ogrimmir's magic wrap about me.

I give the lady a shrug as I vanish in a puff of frost.

[DISCONTINUITY]

I stand atop a mountain that I instantly recognize as Mount Fuji, not because I'm a geography buff or anything but because the name's written into the mountain with Soul Energy, so, you know, it's kind of easy to tell.

Before me is a shard of ice the shivers and trembles in undulating waves, emitting sound that becomes spoken word.
>[Ogrimmir]"Armas Laine. It is time for you to-"
"Yeah yeah, another job-great timing, actually. So, what's on the docket?"
I'm a bit disappointed the flippancy doesn't even make a hiccup in the Godly fellow's shpeil. Ah, maybe next time.

>[Ogrimmir]"I require your services as a courier, for a piece of mail most pivotal and secret. You are to both safeguard it throughout delivery, and are forbidden from any attempt to divine the message's content for your own perusal, and while so doing make all possible haste to effect said delivery."
"Sure, respect the mail, okay. What's the packag… ah."
That's when I notice the white envelope within the icy obelisk.
"That would be it, I assume."
>[Ogrimmir]"Just so. It is to be placed specifically in the hands of its intended recipient, and no other."
"Accept no substitutes, right."
>[Ogrimmir]"This letter is intended for the hands of Wizard Lunastaroth the Great and Ancient."
"Normally I'd question why you need a physical courier when a Wizard could just will the message to arrive in his hands personally, but hey, you wouldn't explain anyway, right?"
>[Ogrimmir]"Precisely."
"Right, right. So, where's he at then?"
>[Ogrimmir]"The moon-as the only permanent resident he shouldn't be hard to find."

And with that the block of ice shatters into swiftly dissolving motes, the vellum letter of what appears to be hand cut shaping easily caught in my fingers before it hits the ground. Thankfully, the letter seems to utterly block my senses so I don't have to worry about accidentally reading it.

…Right, so, mail for a Moon Wizard-
>[Cammy]"My, that's quite a task you were set."
It doesn't help to detect a Savoy after they're already at your back all that much, but still.
>[Cammy]"Did you know that even Dragons have given up on getting a meeting with Lunastaroth? I do wonder how you plan to complete such a task as this…"
I can't help but notice how much her eyes are fixated on the perfectly blank mail in my hands.






So, what exactly am I going to do about this?
>>
No. 503657 ID: 933f92

The first thing you're gonna do is think about how the fuck you get to the god damn moon. Certainly half of it is Shadow, but it's no insult to our brother to think he can't do it. Ask him for flattery and input but expect nothing but grumbling. Other options include having Duke toss you, somehow doing the Hummingswarm + Soul Bubble for god knows how many miles (from 356,700 km (221,600 mi) at the perigee and 406,300 km (252,500 mi) at apogee), again, no insult to HB but it's highly unlikely it's possible. None of the minions know a way to launch you into space, as far as I know, and Lyubov (Our resident Mad Scientist) is indisposed. A shame, this would probably really interest her.

Finally, the Wizard probably has all sorts of fucking protections and guards against his digs. Let's assume the worst for now: If we go unprepared, it's Final Death. Given the rarity of visits, info on this is likely so rare as to be priceless and unbuyable, and our wonderful eye can't see the moon.

I think.

So that brings up the following issues:

1) The distance is enourmous, and you'll be fighting gravity the whole way.

2) Lack of air, comically, is one of the few ways we can still die. There's a shortage of it in space.

3) Huge unknown security.

4) Return trip, meaning the solutions to 1 and 2 must be repeatable.

5) Finally, talking to the Wizard without dying horribly. Possibly related to 3.
>>
No. 503659 ID: 933f92

>>503657
Scratch point 2.
>>
No. 503663 ID: 6de77b

TIME TO RAID NASA WOOOOOO
LETS STEAL US A SHUTTLE OR TWELVE
IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN
>>
No. 503750 ID: 3f12fc

Well, a new OG Job!

He is smart one, too, teleporting us to a place a few hours ahead, as it wasn't quite spring yet in Istanbul. Still, Armas should wonder as to why it was so urgent to give that mission -then-.

Given the exact timing, it might have to do with Camella Savoy here, who just hinted to be able to bring us along on a teleport: she might have been, ahem, invited to over-hear our mission and thus have her curiosity piqued, and as such OG might have presented us with a beginning to a solution on how to accomplish our mission.

Other possible ways to get to the moon:
-if HB could fly to the moon (Fly me to the moon~).
-Somehow stealing a rocket with Lyubov's help, but this is, while fun, DECIDLY an invitation to later problems.
-Likewise, learning Draconic methods of flight (possibly Hybrid-tech).
-Getting to convince Hyougo or other people to send us there.

Speaking of, our girlfriend is supposed to be a warden against people popping in Japan uninvited. It might be...polite... to call her and explain what's going on, so that it doesn't prove to be a problem later.

Whatever our choice is, we still have to answer the Savoy Matron her question, and she MIGHT be key to this, after all:
>[Cammy]"Did you know that even Dragons have given up on getting a meeting with Lunastaroth? I do wonder how you plan to complete such a task as this…"
>I can't help but notice how much her eyes are fixated on the perfectly blank mail in my hands.
Put the Blank mail in our body via a bit of fleshcrafting, and answer lgihtly "Well, assuming that getting to the moon is the easiest part of the job- which i might need some help for- , i might have to present the Lunar Wizard with something that would pique his interest, be it something he wants, or something that amuses him. Even as young as i am, i can already see that most older powerful being like being entertained."
>>
No. 504126 ID: c6319f

"I'll admit this does seem rather trying. If it were as simple as just reaching the room there wouldn't be a problem," gaze upwards at the rather larger than usual moon, "Hmm, I don't suppose you would offer me any hints on how I might acquire a slice of the man on the moon's time?"
[She questions why she would offer such a thing]
"That's true I suppose, you have no real motivation to help me. In my eagerness to see this job complete and free myself up for other work - a valued but demanding client, you see - I may have presumed to much, I meant no offense."
[Hopefully she relents]

Our goal here is to get out of this conversation without making any firm commitments - because she wants the dick and we have a girlfriend - while hopefully getting some valuable intel for our task at hand. Securing a minimum of interference/surveillance from her would be the ideal, as well. If she gets pushy about the letter, we should store it in a nice little carrying pouch inside our torso and say:
"Please Lady Savoy, I'm a professional and it would be inappropriate to let you peek at my package."
Actually, let's store it like that regardless.

Once we've hopefully persuaded her to let us be for the remainder of the job, we have some people to talk to.
-Tease Sake 'Hey Sake, guess where I am and you're not? Japan!' 'Aw don't worry fuzzbutt, we'll swing you a visit sometime.'
-Ask SB to look into Elwen Embla more and find out what's needed to bring the disciples back up and running. Hopefully this task wont take so long that we wont be party to the implementation. Ask him to inform Matvey, and Camella when she gets back if we're not back by then, that we're on a personal job. Priority is to keep the situation with the Triads from deteriorating.
-Phone Hillevi and ask her to keep an eye on Placid and Silja while we're away for a while on a job, we're not sure how long.
-Phone Labombard and Einrik to ask if they have any info on Lunastaroth. Any known personality quirks or foibles that might hint at a way to gain his audience, that kind of thing. More general knowledge on his modus operandi.

After that we... hmm. Well, we're in Japan and we need to secure a meeting with the moon wizard to hand deliver some mail. Dragons can probably fly to the moon, or an appreciable number of their kind can, so the difficulty in attaining an audience with Lunastaroth must be more than simple transportation. We could probably get to the moon ourselves anyway. The real challenge is somehow convincing him to see us, and not gathering as much intel as possible before making the trek to the moon would be foolish. Our resources in that area are pretty limited sadly. The best I can think of is accelerating the Hyougo/Lyubov situation and trying to find out if the Witch knows anything about him.

But before that, it's the middle of the night and there's probably a reason Ogrimmir teleported us to Mount Fuji. We should spend an hour or so looking around the area before running off to go talk to Witches.
>>
No. 504185 ID: c6ce12

We're escorting the package to its destination, the package is of the utmost importance here so it must be kept safe at all times-including both those in the line who would show interest in it and for instance the prying eyes of a young witch. Our pants, however stylish they may be, is not the safest of places. There are a few good places we can hide it. Inside of our body is what first comes to mind it should mask its magical signature so long as Ogrimmir did not intentionally make the letter stand out. Another would be to ask the Leprechaun Bonzi who could store it, unless that requires him to touch us in which case we will have to ask him to store it with a set of our arms wrapped around it or something equally bizarre. This is all assuming he can store or retrieve at range.

Abeo has the majority of who we need to call about what sorted so I'll just add we should call Svetlana and get what our access to the AORB database can tell us about Lunastaroth. Oh...and MASSIVE note to self. We need to secure passage up to the moon for Big Crazy when we're done, we will not speak of the job but we will send him a picture of us, on the moon and we are going to find a way to take him up here with us after we finish. He always wanted to be an astronaut, right? Let's let him live part of that after this job is over. We NEED to secure Hyougo to teleport him to the moon while asking her for passage up ourself. It's our friend's dream.

There's also the matter of getting to Hyougo. We can't show up unannounced so lets call ahead to Lyubov with something like "Hi, Lyubov. I'm in Japan right now on a very important assignment, need to get to the moon. I'll be dropping by soon, I need an audience with Hyougo so I can ask her teleport me there and put in a word with the wizard who lives on it. Can you ask her about that for me? Thanks, you're a life saver!" in a suitably quick and amusingly abrupt manner. I disrecommend walking around in public. Let's having Hummingbird turn us into a cloud of himself and fly over there. He isn't native nobody will notice, hopefully.

>>504126
Valid points all around, upvote.

>>503750
We don't actually HAVE to see Lyubov, her job is to prevent people from trying to transport live goods like animals from Japan outside of its borders. We will because she's our girlfriend and in area.
>>
No. 505472 ID: c31f72

Now that we own the triads, there's something I think we should check on. Our noble steed, the Emela-Ntouka we rode on while fighting Doony. Since we're obviously too important to spend time looking through Triad records, we should tell whichever minion is going through the records to keep an eye out for it.
>>
No. 505477 ID: b7d2cc

>>504185
>>504126
"I'll admit this does seem rather trying. If it were as simple as just reaching the moon there wouldn't be a problem," I begin, gazing upwards at the rather larger than usual moon, "Hmm, I don't suppose you would offer me any hints on how I might acquire a slice of the man on the moon's time?"
With dainty grace Cammy hops about to a more solid perch as she ticks off her fingers.
>[Cammy]"Well, I suppose I know a few ways - but really, I'm quite befuddled at why I'd share them so simply as that: generosity without purpose is rarely a wise choice for one in a position of power."
"That's true I suppose, you have no real motivation to help me. In my eagerness to see this job complete and free myself up for other work - a valued but demanding client, you see - I may have presumed to much, I meant no offense."
She smiles at that-because of course she's that valued and demanding client, not Blade. Ah, narcissism: so wonderfully exploitable.

>[Cammy]"Well, I suppose if it's in the interest of encouraging good business practices, I could say a few things," she begins, holding up a hand to start ticking off fingers, "For one, Lunastaroth's very much so a classical Wizard - whimsical, irreverent to any and everything except other Wizards, crass, impulsive - really, you've met one of their kind… anyway. I suppose there's three real ways you could approach, if you want to try and emulate a method that's worked. What interests a daring scoundrel such as yourself: A bold way, a patient way, or a messy way?"
I can't help but smile at that.
"Is that even a question? What audacious plan would you suggest to the bold, Lady Savoy?"
>[Cammy]"I'd hoped you'd say that. Well…" she teasingly drawls, buffing her nails with a slender thumb, "The bold way's rather simple: get in his domain - that is, within what he considers his home."
"I take it that such an endeavor is not known for its ease of accomplishment."
>[Cammy]"No, I'm afraid not. He does live quite literally in the center of the moon's core, and the only official entrance - well, there's something of a queue to deal with."
"And patiently waiting in line's not exactly my cup of tea. Right, so what besides 'just get inside' is there to the tip? Any existing knowledge about wards, defensives, any of that?"
>[Cammy]"Well, naturally there are rather vexingly potent anti-teleportation wards that are quite comprehensive: Divine to Demonic, Dragon or Shadow, the way is most assuredly barred - but, curiously, the moon itself has no such wardings."
"So I'd just need to tunnel the length of the moon's radius, then."
Brilliantly even teeth are flashed in reward to your comment.
>[Cammy]"The specific fraction's unknown, but you seem to grasp the gist of it: now, was that all you wanted to know, or was there perhaps another way that interested you?"
With the non-too-discrete flirtatious tone she used, I pick my words carefully while replying.

I ponder that carefully, weighing many heavy factors at once.
"There is… but I find myself hesitating while contemplating how literal your description is. The 'messy way', it wouldn't happen to be likely to ruin my suit, would it? I am trying to make a good first impression after all."
I nonchalantly brush an imaginary mote of dust off my shoulder as her eyes twinkle at the comment.
>[Cammy]"Hm-mm, well. The 'messy' way, would be to remove, or otherwise disrupt the queue, such that insofar as his front door's concerned, there's no one waiting to meet him-such a curiously unusual event he'd simply have to check what's going on."
"Naturally, that would put me afoul of all those in the queue-"
>[Cammy]"Naturally - hence 'messy'."
"Right: And the patient way was-"
>[Cammy]"The line is there for a reason."
"So: bust into his house, bust up the line, or… play nice and be ready for a long game."
>[Cammy]"Those would sum up the possible entry ways I know, yes."

While I consider the sealed envelope in my hands, Cammy yet again leans over to peer intently at it's folded form.
>[Cammy]"You know, I can't deny I'm quite fascinated by what kind of message that is."
With a patently fabricated frown, I unbutton my shirt a few rows - noting a slight dilation of Cammy's eyes as I do so - and feed the envelope into my chest, sealing it within a personalized pouch.
"Please Lady Savoy, I'm a professional and it would be inappropriate to let you peek at my package."
She hides a predatory grin behind lightly spaced fingers that waver in the air.
>[Cammy]"Oh my, and we wouldn't want anything inappropriate to happen, would we? 'Twould be a terrible thing for one's image."
"Precisely."

With a curiously stately giggle, Camella dances back a few steps with the sharp click-clack of heels on stone.
>[Cammy]"Well, you have some work to do, no doubt, so I'll leave you to it. Do call on me when you're… available, will you? I find I need a consultation on a topic I'm certain you're well-placed to advise on."

And with that, she ducks behind a rocky outcropping - and without a perceivable soul, off of my grid of awareness. I don't need to head over to verify that she's gone - that's kind of the Savoy forte, there.

Right, now that I'm alone… I call Sake.
>[Sake]"Murgle… wha? It's early-"
"Oh suck it up, Sake."
>[Sake]"Nnngh… why'd you call?"
"Guess where I am and you're not? Japan!"
Just like that his lethargy is gone.
>[Sake]"What you went to Japan without me oh brother that's really mean you know I totally-"
"Aw don't worry fuzzbutt, I'll swing you a visit next time - wasn't really a chance to get you a lift on the Og Express."
>[Sake]"Oooooh, it's that stuff, huh? Well what's the mission, huh?"
"You're talking to the guy's temporary mailman-or courier… messenger? You're better at anachronistic terms, what'd I classify as if I'm delivering a one-off message, in writing?"
>[Sake]"I've always liked 'runner', it just sounds so energetic, you know?"
"Sure sure… just not sure 'runner' applies when I'm definitely not running the whole way to the destination."
>[Sake]"Is it necessary to make this complicated?"
"Meh. So hey, you don't happen to know anyone in Japan that could maybe chuck something into space, or similarly get things out of orbit do you?"
>[Sake]"Not that's not a total jerk, nah."
"Right-o. Okay, gotta go, we'll talk later fuzzball."
>[Sake]"You better bring some sort of cool presents!"
*CLICK*

…Well.

I clear my throat and decide to elocute something that strictly could stay all internal.
"So-"
>[SB]"Your flair for theatrics must still be quite strong if you'd give up faster and more secure communication methods just to parlay."
"I'd tell you to bite me-"
>[SB]"But you're disinclined to see how I interpret it, yes, yes I know. What do you want?"
"So: I'm assuming you heard the Og mission."
>[SB]"Naturally."
"Any possible travel methods?"
>[SB]"Short of sacrificing the majority of my Shade? No."
"What I'm hearing here is 'find another way'."
>[SB]"Precisely."
"Anything outside of that?"
>[SB]"Nothing I could arrange without considerable asset expenditure."
"Right. Hey, ask Hillevi to call me will you?"

My reply is silence - for about ten seconds, and then my phone rings.
>[Hillevi]"Uh, Armas? Your shadow said you wanted to talk with me?"
"Yup. How was the outing with your brother?"
>[Hillevi]"Oh, it was the best! I got to see a ogres do Turkish oil wrestling while trying to possess one another - it was very informative!"
"…What'd you learn, then?"
>[Hillevi]"That ogres are really easily tricked into doing silly things, and that it's totally okay to exploit that."
"I see Einman’s been giving you top-notch tutelage.”
>[Hillevi]"Yeah, it was great! He also told me a few things about how to make chakra more like the, um, ‘shadow of the family bloodline’, which I guess means you can’t use the chakra but it boosts the family style so... yeah! Seems like a good idea to me.."
"He’s rather sharp, so I’ll have to agree with him.”
>[Hillevi]"So how about you - um, when are you getting back? Kinda wanted to watch some Tee-Vee with you or-"
"That would be why I called. So, got a job I have to prioritize, and it really can’t wait at all. I’m going to be out and about for at least a day or so, maybe a whole week, I don’t really know yet.”
>[Hillevi]"...Oh."
"And I was wondering if you could do me a favor: you like Placid, right?”
>[Hillevi]"Oh he’s the best little brother kind of guy ever!"
"Good, I’d really like it if you kept him company while I’m away - him and Silja, actually. With Lyubov out too they’ll be hurting for some interaction, and you-”
>[Hillevi]"Think they’re both really nice, sure Armas, I’ll do it no problem!"
"Great to hear. I hope to be back soon, so how about a movie marathon when I’m done here?”
>[Hillevy]”That’d be the best! I heard about this guy, uh... ‘James Bond’ that sounds really neat for a mundane!”
“I will most certainly watch James Bond movies with you - until then.”
>[Hillevi]”Do good Armas!”
*CLICK*

...Well, that’s my wards taken care... of... right.

“Hey Shadowbro-”
>[SB]”Naturally, Camella and Matvey have both been informed - I understand Matvey was looking forward to a Giant trip-”
“The thing Zhenya mentioned. Yeah no, not until the Triads are solid. So he and Camella will be networking on it?”
>[SB]”He plans to - he’s also curious if he should follow the... aggressive pricing benchmarks suggested by Satai.”
“You buying what Satai’s pushing for numbers?”
>[SB]”It is... staunch, but ultimately affordable by the Triads and, provided we keep them from diminishing, is likely to be viewed as acceptable.”
“More money it is then - give Matvey the go-ahead on that.”
>[SB]”...If you’d rather not call him, then so it shall be. He’s been informed, and will call you only in the case of... complications in sustaining the Triads. I explained you will need to be... focused while on this particular job.”
“Okay then...”

It’s time to make a call - to Labombard.
>[Lammy]”Yes, you American-”
“Asshole, yeah. Hey furboy, got some business talk here.”
>[Lammy]”By all means then, fire away.”
“So, I need to get to the moon - need some ideas on that - and also any intel you have on Lunastaroth.”
>[Lammy]”Oh, an interesting job, I’d say.”
“Looks that way.”
>[Lammy]”Hm... well, I’ll start with Lunastaroth himself: I’ve never met him, and this will all be simply hearsay and rumor-mongering, I wish to be clear on that.”
“Sure Frenchie, now what’s the scoop?”
>[Lammy]”Well, he’s eccentric - in fact, more along the lines of the Mad Drunk; geniunely out there, if you will - a global menace rendered safe only by isolation.”
“No tweaking the psychopath’s nose, then.”
>[Lammy]”He’s big on mind reading, but with a caveat - only does it if he thinks you’ve... initiated... an intelligence war, if you will.”
“So not even passive scanning.”
>[Lammy]”That is what my understanding of the safe approach, is.”
“How about personality quirks, mannerisms, taboos, turn-ons, any of that stuff?”
>[Lammy]”Frankly too much conflicting material to vouch for any of it on that front - though there does seem to be a consistent sense he’s not very materialistic.”
“So breaking his stuff’s not an instant death sentence.”
>[Lammy]”If you have a reason and don’t personally irritate him, possibly - not that I’d recommend testing him.”
“Right. So, lunar travel plans.”
>[Lammy]”Where are you?”
“Mt. Fuji, Japan.”
>[Lammy]”Ah... I am afraid that’s an area I know little about. Despite the large divine community, Loup Garous are even more stigmatized than normal.”
“...Got it. Okay, thanks for the Wizard tips, I’ll chat later.”
*CLICK*

And on... to Einrik. Who picks up with silent expectation..
“Ein-man, Einster, Einstein-a-rooney, I need to pick your brain.”
>[Einrik]”I hope you aren’t being literal - I rather need it.”
“Cute. So, ways to get to the moon from Japan - specifically, from Mt. Fuji.”
>[Einrik]”You have a curse that requires you to kill Einher, yes? What’s the specific conditions?”
“Have to end their life-”
>[Einrik]”So already spiritual Einher: would killing their living, golemic body suffice?”
That... sounds right...
“I think so.”

...I don’t feel like I broke my magical good word with the utterance, so that makes me more confident on that.
>[Einrik]”Good. Then since Thor, at Odin’s behest, has set up a massive work-placement program training new Spiritual Einherjar in Japan’s abundant Divine community as a free policing force, they should be present - and the Norse pantheon, besides being quite powerful, is rather pragmatic: You could get a ride on the Rainbow Road or some similar service.”
“Sounds expensive or quest-inducing.”
>[Einrik]”Possibly, but then Thor’s keen on picking the curious sort as officers, so it’s not impossible you could get them into a contest of words - and let’s face it-”
“Those who get picked to be Einher aren’t in general masterminds. Okay, a possible, then. What else.”
>[Einrik]”Well, Hyougo is there, and does like Lyubov, but...”
“Yeah. Dicey. Okay, still an option if I can make it clear it’s a professional coincidence I’m here.”
>[Einrik]”Then there are some less... conventional options. I’m actually reasonably certain Duke could hurl you up, were you to get back and ask him.”
“...That’s hilarious, and definitely now on the table.”
>[Einrik]”Well, flight could happen-”
>[SB]”With what air?”
>[Einrik]“No, I mean just go get a missile or rocket, ensoul it, and juice it enough it can get you to the moon. Flagrantly reckless, but in general the defenses around mundane arms of the non-nuclear caliber are effectively non-existent, magically speaking.”
“Hah, being a rocket-man’s creator, I like it. You still got more?”
>[Einrik]”Well, you’ve started to grasp a Concept - Strength, right?”
“Started to? I grasped it right and proper.”
>[Einrik]”You can regenerate, and are not averse to crudeness when it can be utilitarian.”
“...Are you telling me to strongly fart my way to the moon?”
>[Einrik]”Yes.”
>[SB]”NO.”
>[Einrik]”It’s an option, should all others fail. What else... Oh, you could just ask a local Dragon to help - they love getting favors owed by local divines to the point they have automated magical-aid systems for accruing favors. It’s quite likely you might be able to fool the system into assuming you’re a local, and then getting a favor owed in a place you only visit-would let you control the favor’s repayment.”
“Tricky - and also dickish, which I like. But you don’t think that’d properly enrage the afflicted Dragon?”
>[Einrik]”I’ve done it more than a dozen times now, and it seems to be something of an accepted practice... provided you aren’t easily squishable.”
“Right, sounds doable.”
>[Einrik]”If you want to get all creative with the fleshcrafting and have time to blow fixing issues, I’ve heard good things about Hydrogen Peroxide propulsion. You’d likely need to markedly change your form, and I’d question your ability to be presentable, by human standards - which Lunastaroth holds - on arrival.”
“...I suppose I COULD fleshcraft up some clothes on arrival, make silk and such-”
>[Einrik]”Not so likely - off of the Earth, you’ll have to make due with what magic you have access to. I’ve seen the node system you’ve got going with your Spiritflesh Familiar - very nice, by the way - and it’ll let you still get some power but the distance and the sheer capacities the birds have’ll keep you from having anywhere near the power available you’re used to. You could run on empty damnably fast if you’re not prudent in your magic usage, post-atmospheric exit.”
“...So-”
>[SB]”If you must jet there, I could power a single port of new clothes for you - there’s enough energy bleed to do it.”
“Great.”
>[Einrik]”And I suppose you could just ask the local ruling dragon to do it, rather than using one of her citizen’s automated systems. She’s big on public requests, but... how to put it. She’s not that different from a Glurichaun or a Drunken Oni.”
“...Sounds like she could be exploitable.”
>[Einrik]”Utterly - but she is also inconsistent. I’ve had good results from two meetings, but a third... well. She won’t kill you, but don’t be surprised to find yourself inconvenienced rather than assisted. Still, the asking’s free.”
“Interesting. And you know how to reach her?”
>[Einrik]”Of course: I know where you should go for any of my suggestions.”



Hm....
[1]-Shadowbro could get me there without outside help, and it hasn't taken him all that long to fill out his Shade - he can always rebuild.
[2]-Getting more owed questions from Ogrimmir makes whatever hoops the Norse route entails entirely worth it.
[3]-I can totally talk a little girl Witch into getting me to the moon, yup! It has nothing to do with seeing my girlfriend.
[4]-Being thrown into space sounds hilarious, and more importantly sounds free.
[5]-Who doesn't want their own sapient rocket?
[6]-A strong fart would be absolutely hilarious, and I don't care what Shadowbro says.
[7]-I'm a huge troll, not to mention hard to kill, so being a dick to a random Japanese dragon is perfect.
[8]-I haven't really practiced my internal fleshcrafting all that much. Making myself into a rocket sounds like a perfect opportunity to use it.
[9]-I’ve been missing interacting with capricious drunken magical monsters-this sounds like an excellent time to reacquaint myself with one of the funnest sub-groups of magical superpowers.
[10]-I totally have a better idea than any of that! (WRITE IN!)

Trying out a new prompt system
>>
No. 505480 ID: 933f92

>[1]-Shadowbro could get me there without outside help, and it hasn't taken him all that long to fill out his Shade - he can always rebuild.
Personally, let's reserve this as a last resort. SB's shade will be a great resource in time - IF NOT ALREADY. Destroying most of it for something you've other options for is just a waste, really.

>[2]-Getting more owed questions from Ogrimmir makes whatever hoops the Norse route entails entirely worth it.
True. It might also mean fighting more Einher, which is always great. Man, when was the last time you had a challenging fight, man? Seriously. Number 2 seems best - for now.

>[3]-I can totally talk a little girl Witch into getting me to the moon, yup! It has nothing to do with seeing my girlfriend.
Eh. I don't want to push our relationship with Haruh- er, Hyougo any further than absolutely necessary. Similar to [1], it's a consideration in case others falter. Second to last resort.

This reminds me - we might want to get a dimensional checkup on Camella (the shifter) for later, if Lyu can leverage it.

>[4]-Being thrown into space sounds hilarious, and more importantly sounds free.
Total agreement, right behind [2] for best idea.

>[5]-Who doesn't want their own sapient rocket?
True dat, putting it behind [4]. Otherwise, though, other options are more efficient, safe, or so far entertaining.

>[6]-A strong fart would be absolutely hilarious, and I don't care what Shadowbro says.
Hilarious, effective, powerful, safe... Really, SB can learn to stuff it where the sun DOES shine, here. Seriously, it's practical.

>[7]-I'm a huge troll, not to mention hard to kill, so being a dick to a random Japanese dragon is perfect.
Antagonizing a dragon? Well, we can catch up to Lyubov in that respect, anyway, if we want, for something else.

>[8]-I haven't really practiced my internal fleshcrafting all that much. Making myself into a rocket sounds like a perfect opportunity to use it.
This and [6] together seem to be strong.

>[9]-I’ve been missing interacting with capricious drunken magical monsters-this sounds like an excellent time to reacquaint myself with one of the funnest sub-groups of magical superpowers.
Given present options, I doubt this registers on the scale.

So, ideas I like most:

[8]+[6]: Turning ourselves into a goddamn fartrocket. Hell. Fucking. Yes. BEST IDEA. Also, trolling SB is something we do so rarely.

[2]: Seems to be the one with the most interesting outcome and biggest rewards on the side.

[4]: Getting tossed is interesting, and we should be able to correct on the way with various techniques.
>>
No. 505481 ID: c6ce12

[9]-I’ve been missing interacting with capricious drunken magical monsters-this sounds like an excellent time to reacquaint myself with one of the funnest sub-groups of magical superpowers.
>>
No. 505483 ID: c31f72

I'm gonna go with 9, because drunk magic monsters are the best.
>>
No. 505491 ID: 333c1d

>>505477
Quick no-nonsense summary: I think [3] is the best bet (maybe even with a side of [10] if we ask if Lunastaroth ever visits Earth), with [5] being the next-best option (because it means we can bring B.C. with us). Then [8] (it would work, but would leave us short on magic available when we got there), and [2] (which would leave us owing a favor). The other options don't really rate except as emergency options if we completely fuck this up.

>>505481
>>505483
I'm SUSTing anyone in favor of option [9] because that sounds like it could be a potential disaster, and we've got far better options available.

Arguments:
>[1]-Shadowbro could get me there without outside help, and it hasn't taken him all that long to fill out his Shade - he can always rebuild.
Since we only have a vague idea of how involved rebuilding a shade is, we should not make him sacrifice members unless we really need to. Like, if we're in a serious "going to lose people I love or major assets without the help" situation. This doesn't qualify, yet. If we can't finish this by the end of the week, then we'll be looking at begging him for the help.

>[2]-Getting more owed questions from Ogrimmir makes whatever hoops the Norse route entails entirely worth it.
An option, and one we shouldn't rule out, but don't count on getting Answers for killing the golem bodies. We tried that with Abolec, remember? He lost that nifty shadow-aligned golem body, and we didn't get anything from it besides him thinking we weren't a turd (because we were careful to destroy the body with plausible deniability, and we told him what we knew about the Craftsman's involvement in the Rage Fragment fiasco). Call this "Plan C", since we'll end up owing a favor of some sort to the Norse pantheon.

>[3]-I can totally talk a little girl Witch into getting me to the moon, yup! It has nothing to do with seeing my girlfriend.
Besides getting to see Lyubov, this option offers the opportunity to get better intelligence on Lunastaroth straight from a full fledged Witch. Hyougo may have met him, or heard better information about him from other Wizards. Call this "Plan A" since it should get us there safely, better informed and prepared, and with all our energy intact. This is what we should try first.

>[4]-Being thrown into space sounds hilarious, and more importantly sounds free.
The initial throw would have enough force turn us into a paste, and then ablate that paste to ash with atmospheric friction. This is the same way you would shoot an artillery shell into space, and there are lots of good reasons mundane space agencies don't do things that way. In Armas's case, this would be the option that leaves him starved for available magic, as he would need to rebuild whatever damage he took. It also assumes that Duke's throw will hit the moon without correction, a tall order for anyone. Call this the "Plan E" option.

>[5]-Who doesn't want their own sapient rocket?
Doable. There is a launch facility in the south islands of Japan, specifically in Tanegashima. We're about 1,500 km from there, but I'm sure SB wouldn't care if we begged a shadowport from him to get there. The bigger problem would be getting the rocket ready. They may not even have anything on the pad, if they're not launching any missions soon. Get intelligence on this from the internet, or Andrei, or something. Call this "Plan B" and use it if Hyougo doesn't want to help for some reason. BONUS: WE CAN TAKE B.C. WITH US THIS WAY AND HELP HIM FULFIL HIS CHILDHOOD DREAM OF BEING AN ASTRONAUT.

>[6]-A strong fart would be absolutely hilarious, and I don't care what Shadowbro says.
SB's against it, and we would probably vaporize most of our ass in using it as a rocket. As long as better options are available, we don't need to consider this. Table it as an emergency option. In fact, if we do need to pick between this one and [1], make SB pick.

>[7]-I'm a huge troll, not to mention hard to kill, so being a dick to a random Japanese dragon is perfect.
This would limit our ability to operate in Japan, if we wanted to dodge having to repay the Favor. I'm against it, we've got no reason to restrict our options.

>[8]-I haven't really practiced my internal fleshcrafting all that much. Making myself into a rocket sounds like a perfect opportunity to use it.
It's funny, but it'll be magic expensive. Make this another "Plan B" option.

>[9]-I’ve been missing interacting with capricious drunken magical monsters-this sounds like an excellent time to reacquaint myself with one of the funnest sub-groups of magical superpowers.
What. No, why is this even here? SUST, this trail will end in tears.

>[10]-I totally have a better idea than any of that! (WRITE IN!)
Check with Hyougo if Lunastaroth ever visits Earth for any reason. For all we know, he could be her Wizard tutor.
>>
No. 505495 ID: c6ce12

>>505491
I'm actually going to switch my vote to option five because I forgot about my plan to take BC along with us. That said trying to SUST within this system is stupid.
>>
No. 505515 ID: c6319f

>[3]-I can totally talk a little girl Witch into getting me to the moon, yup! It has nothing to do with seeing my girlfriend.
This is my favourite option. We're trying to see a Wizard, she's a Witch. I don't want to play into stereotypes or anything, but shouldn't she have the greatest chance of being personally acquainted with Lunastaroth of any of the options? We could bypass the challenges of meeting him completely if we play our cards right and we're lucky. There's also the chance we can get Hyougo to possibly help Camella get home, which isn't an opportunity I think we can pass up.

>[5]-Who doesn't want their own sapient rocket?
This is a... quirky option, but would indeed offer us the chance to bring Big Crazy along for the ride. Which would be hilarious. Second choice, for me.

>[2]-Getting more owed questions from Ogrimmir makes whatever hoops the Norse route entails entirely worth it.
This is a solid option, but not the best in my opinion. It seems like more headache than it's worth and also that we could end up owing more favors to higher powers. Which is always obnoxious, as our current situation aptly demonstrates.

The rest have significant flaws with them with [1][4]and[9] being the worst.

>>505491
I upvote this in full.
>>
No. 505531 ID: 98378e

>[5]-Who doesn't want their own sapient rocket?
Taking BC along with us this is my favoured plan.
>>
No. 505532 ID: 6de77b

At the very least we should call Lyubov and let her know we're in town. Even if we cant see her because it would just cause problems it's better than her finding out after the fact and being pissed at us
>>
No. 505553 ID: 86c700

[2]-Getting more owed questions from Ogrimmir makes whatever hoops the Norse route entails entirely worth it.
>>
No. 505558 ID: 84b152

[2]-Getting more owed questions from Ogrimmir makes whatever hoops the Norse route entails entirely worth it.
>>
No. 505616 ID: 333c1d

>>505553
>>505558
We only get Answers for killing living Einher. Not spirit einher ensouled in golem bodies. Which is practically all that are in Japan at the moment.

See this post for more details:
>>/questdis/69954
>>
No. 505619 ID: 47a120

Why make an ensouled rocket when you can make an ensouled biocybernetic divinitech reusable space pleasure yacht?
With access to Amen, Placid, Armas, and Lyubov its certainly doable... and a project you SHOULD get on LATER.

You should NOT go to the moon there YET.
Because getting to the moon is easy, its getting to the wizard on the moon that is problem. How are you going to get past the queue?

So before you leave what you need to do is:
1. Go visit lyubov and Hyougo, you are already there. the mission gives you a good excuse to visit, you get to socialize Hyougo a bit (poor girl needs it), you get to visit lyubov (both of you need it), and Hyougo is on in the wizard's networking so we could either get her help in securing an invitation for a visit (bypassing the queue) or leads on other wizards who /witches who are friends with moon-wizard or know more about him.

2. Consult the fleshcrafters you know (starting with placid) and practice adjustments for moon's gravity and lack of atmosphere. By making such physical changes to your biology you can vastly decrease the magic power costs of surviving vacuum (which are an issue due to diminished regen). Remember that the wizard requires a visitor to appear spiffy. So grotesque yet efficient changes should not be used.

3. If the queue is not organized by the wizard himself but by the various interest groups standing in line then finding out (see #1) who has agents standing the queue on their behalf and if they would allow to skip their agent's place in line. (we could thus combine fighting some in line, skipping others with permission, and standing patiently behind one or two).

4. You need to solve the loss of power issue, HB and soul brothers draw power from you and furthermore without constant power regeneration you would have a much harder time on the moon... Carry a bunch of high magic meats with you to replenish from (thanks to CaptainButthead for idea). Also craft 1 soul battery to test out feasibility (spending a week making soul batteries on earth to shave off a month of waiting on the moon is a good tradeoff). I think also perhaps if one of HB's nodes was made giant in size and just sitting in the mansion it could act an anchor to siphon magic into the node system through. Something to suggest to him perhaps?

5. Need to get a way to return from the moon which isn't wasteful. To that end we need to verify (by reading the manual or asking the manufacturer) that the blood teleporting pad would not be harmed by teleporting you back from the moon and then getting some of your blood to someone in the mansion who can be trusted to operate it. My first choice on who to trust with our blood who is currently a the mansion is einrick or maybe it can be trusted to SB's shade.
>>
No. 505733 ID: 08c00b

We haven't been in a good fight for a while and i think Armas needs to get the rust out of his system while also play testing all his new tricks (like thunder shouting) in battle.

I say we wreck every Einher we can find, feed their bodies to the flesh god (cant recall her name), buy absurdly expensive/useful info from Ogrimmir's boons, and sell the info to SM.

In other words:

>smash
>loot
>???
>Profit
>>
No. 506006 ID: c870c5

Throwing my vote in for a lazy post.

[3]-I can totally talk a little girl Witch into getting me to the moon, yup! It has nothing to do with seeing my girlfriend.
>>
No. 506032 ID: 1401db

[2]-Getting more owed questions from Ogrimmir makes whatever hoops the Norse route entails entirely worth it.
As seen with Abloec, we don't get questions for killing spirit einherjar. Sust this unless we check with Allview and only go after living ones.

[3]-I can totally talk a little girl Witch into getting me to the moon, yup! It has nothing to do with seeing my girlfriend.
I call this PLAN B.

[5]-Who doesn't want their own sapient rocket?
Plan A, because it enables us to take BC with us (who always wanted to be a astronaut). If we do that, we should see if, during the travel, SB could shadowport HBs outside of the rocket to make a 'HB road' of nodes and such improve our regen while on the moon.


[8]-I haven't really practiced my internal fleshcrafting all that much. Making myself into a rocket sounds like a perfect opportunity to use it.
Plan D.

[10]-I totally have a better idea than any of that! (WRITE IN!)
Plan C: learn how to step on soul-bubbles and combine this with internal fleshcrafting rocket-Armas as well as strong-jumping and Hummer'(s momentuum to get to the moon. If we do this, don't forget to make a HB road.

Whatever we choose, we NEED to make sure to get a charm with meat storage space in stasis, and pack it full of fresh meat (possibly go hunting for magical meat) for regen purposes.
>>
No. 506240 ID: ca1229

Votes:

[1]
None

[2]
>>505553
>>505558
>>505733

[3]
>>505491
>>505515
>>506006

[4]
None.

[5]
>>505495
>>505531
>>506032

[6]
>>505480 (with [8])

[7]
None

[8]
>>505480 (with [6])
>>505619

[9]
>>505483

Winner: Three-way tie between [2], [3], [5].
>>
No. 506244 ID: ca1229

“I don't think I'll need directions, actually – or at least not yet. I'm going to go with Hyougo for now, and if that doesn't turn anything up... the Rainbow Road looks like a palatable option, although I wouldn't mind stealing a rocket. I might end up doing that on the way back anyway.”

... and I'll get the chance to score some more Answers, per Ogrimir's promise

Shadowbro ought to pop in here to remind Armas of the events of his fight with Abloec, and the fact that killing the golem bodies of Spirit Einherjar does not trigger the “killing einherjar” part of the deal with Ogrimir. Reply to it mentally.

“Oh yeah, that's right. Well that makes that particular option rather more unappealing. So Hyougo's a-go, unless she's not, in which case I'll just have to find a rocket or something... they have a space program here, right?”

This is where the information from Buttz' post (>>505491) comes into play

“Perfectly viable backup plan, then.”

Switching back to speech, finish up with Einrik, “Thanks for the help, Einrik, I'm going to get moving.” While the phone is still out, give Lyubov a call. (Buttz gave his input on Lyubov's side of the conversation)

“Lyubov, hey, sorry for waking you, it's Armas. Yeah, I know it's early but I'm in Japan on a very important assignment – need to get to the moon. Very cool, I know, but I need a favour from you: I need an audience with Hyougo so I can ask her to teleport me there and see if she has any information I could use about the Moon Wizard. Think you can get that organised for me ASAP?”
>"If you want to wait until seven you can petition her properly like everyone else does, when she makes herself available for that. She won't be up for awhile anyway.
“I suppose I can wait, if it means she'll be more amiable about it.”
>”Why do you need to get the moon anyway?"
"I can tell you when I get there, since it sounds like I'll have a few hours of nothing, otherwise."

From there, it's hummingswarm time (we could take a shadowport, but it is 3:30 and we don't want to rush Hyougo). Send a hummingbird off to Tanegashima to wait, just in case Hyougo falls through, while the rest head up to Hyougo's place in Hokkaido using Allview to navigate as necessary. Assuming that Hummingbird flies a little under the speed of sound, to avoid making a scene, that should take about an hour and twenty minutes as long as there are no interruptions.

Upon arriving, give Lyubov another call to make sure everything's good and that you won't be incinerated as soon as he steps onto her land or anything. Remember that you were going to go through your photo albums with Lyubov before she came to Japan. Get Shadowbro to grab them and to ask Svetlana for anything like that of Lyubov's, so you can all go through them together – even Hyougo, if she wants; it's the perfect chance to get her to see you as less of a rival for Lyubov's attention.

Lyubov might even ask Hyougo's parents to bring out her baby pictures, and you can all giggle like the schoolgirls that you are about how cute she was. You could even see about Hyougo bringing Svetlana around.

“You know, Lyubov, I bet your mother has some great stories to go with these pictures. Too bad she isn't here... Who wants something to eat? I'm a great cook, Hyougo. Tell her, Lyubov”

Take a break from the fun to make breakfast for everyone, sending out hummingbirds for any ingredients you're missing. Have hummingbirds deliver everyone's meals to them as a novelty.
Continue the conversation, talking about things a lonely kid might like; Placid's animal collection, Rosti's puppies, Sake being super-jealous that you're in Japan and he's not, your idea about making a were-tank. In general, follow Svetlana's original advice and act like Lyubov.

Having buttered the young witch up with delicious food, friendliness, and hilarious stories about Lyubov getting into life-threatening situations as a kid (yes, those stories are hilarious, I've heard plenty of them from my fiancée's mother), it's time to start working on getting that teleport.

Start off by just inquiring about Lunastaroth with Hyougo, and explain (mostly to Lyubov) that he's a wizard that lives in the moon, he's a very hard guy to get to, all that. If either of them ask why you're asking, tell them about the job – getting a letter to the moon and its wizard inhabitant, all within a week. Tell them about the rocket idea, but make the plan as convoluted as you can. Don't ask Hyougo for anything, just treat it like it's no big deal and that you'll get there with or without her. Ideally you'll manage to manipulate her into volunteering the help.
>>
No. 506246 ID: 1401db

>>506244
>... and I'll get the chance to score some more Answers, per Ogrimir's promise
>Shadowbro ought to pop in here to remind Armas of the events of his fight with Abloec, and the fact that killing the golem bodies of Spirit Einherjar does not trigger the “killing einherjar” part of the deal with Ogrimir. Reply to it mentally.
SUST, as Armas is well aware that while he still needs to kill Spirit einherjar they don't net questions (that was a big goddam disappointment upon killing Abloec's golem form) unless, say, he does it in a way that amuses Ogrimmir (but he can't count on it). This 'feature' about spirit einherjar has been on our mind many a time after all, and wecan think about it by ourself
>>
No. 506337 ID: 697a72

Gonna vote for [5] since no one is voting for [4], which is the best option. Secondary vote is for [2], because I want Armas to fight again. Don't care if we wont get any answers.
>>
No. 507024 ID: 47a120

>>506240
You put me down as voting for 8 on >>505619
But I was voting for 3
>>
No. 507038 ID: f31e57

Right. Let's try 3 first, then go with 5 if it's a no go. We'd need to see Lyubov anyways since science is her thing and this is a good way to chat with the young witch.
>>
No. 507169 ID: b7d2cc

>>505515
>>505532
Pssht, no matter what the other options are, a free-to-try dragon-free option’s available right here in Japan. I can totally talk a little girl Witch into getting me to the moon, yup! It has nothing to do with seeing my girlfriend. But more importantly than any potential personal considerations, this option offers the opportunity to get better intelligence on Lunastaroth straight from a full fledged Witch. Hyougo may have met him, or heard better information about him from other Wizards. And if that info’s warped by a childish perspective... well, it’s still a damned sight better than what I have now.
“Think I’ll go with the Witch path.”
>[Einrik]”Well, I wish you the best of luck with that. She’s a Witch I have not personally met, so I can’t offer you any advice on how to approach her.”
“I’lll make do, I’m sure. Thanks for helping me spitball this.”
>[Einrik]”Any time.”
*click*

“So, SB: can you get a shadow near Hyougo’s lodgings?”
>[SB]”Depends. How near do you need?”
“Near enough I can get to her in short order. I do have a deadline, here.”
>[SB]”...Then I can place you off of route 333 in Hokkaido. It’s not on her personal territory, but close enough (and isolated enough) that some magical mobility should get you to her demesne swiftly.”
“Sounds good then. Any ti-”

[DISCONTINUITY]

“-me... okay, guess I’m there.”
>[SB]”Did the highway and mountains give it away?”
“Be fair, I was already on a mountain so that second part’s hardly a cha-”
>[SB]”If you want to quibble do it with someone else. Now, I’m going to be unavailable for a while; Dark politics thing, don’t bother asking.”
“Such a secretive brother I have.”
>[SB]”One of us has to be.”

I blink my way free of the personal conversation as Hummingbird manifests from my shoulder, rejoining me post-Og ‘porting with a keen and discerning eye roving over our surroundings.
>[HB]“Hm. A large amount of flora, but little of it palatable. A shame. Will you need guidance to your target, Giant?”
“I don't think I'll need directions, actually – or at least not yet. I'm going to go with Hyougo for now, and if that doesn't turn anything up... the Rainbow Road looks like a palatable option, although I wouldn't mind stealing a rocket. I might end up doing that on the way back anyway.”
... and I'll get the chance to score some more Answers, per Ogrimir's promise
>[HB]”Rockets... pah. The childish attempts of Giants to breach the realm of the avian master race. If you must persist in obsessing over such lackluster toys, that is your right, though personally I cannot fathom why you would not wish to travel the path of warriors that Einherjar employ.”
“Eh. Reasonably certain, on reflection, that I wouldn’t get squat out of offing Spirit Einherjar golem bodies, so it’d be a goodly bit of work without much payoff. Far better if I can take my ride with me when I’m done, you know?”
>[HB]”No, I wouldn’t: I’ve never been without the greatest of rides-”
“I’m just going to interrupt before you give me too good of a line to work with; you’re a phenomenal flier Hummingbird, I get it.”
>[HB]”...So long as you are aware.”

The way he huffily ruffles his diminutive plumage is adorable and I am never telling him that.

>[SB]”I admit to being surprised you even remembered that detail, Armas.”
I can’t help but smirk at that.
“Oh yeah, that's right, I didn’t give you a chance to call me an ignorant idiot there, did I-my bad. Let’s see... *ahem* Wow brother, that’s amazing-I totally didn’t think about that! Well that makes that particular option rather more unappealing. So Hyougo's a-go, unless she's not, in which case I'll just have to find a rocket or something... they have a space program here, right?”
>[SB]”Sake has informed me there’s a facility that would meet your needs in Tanegashima.”
The Allview pings my soul as SB places a marker on the world map for personal reference.
“Great-well, I’ve got a place to go if the Hyougo route doesn’t work. Now then...”

So, I learn something pretty handy while Strongly jumping about, Hummer’s Momentum throwing my form this way and that as I follow Soul Sensing and Magic Item Detection. Specifically, I learn that while Witches and Wizards can elect to hide themselves, that is not the norm, and that Hyougo’s mere presence has been enough to turn one entire farm’s land into a massive Siedis bedecked in thousands of vigilant Land Gods, scores of them more magically potent than yours truly. It’s rather interesting that I couldn’t really grasp the sheer potency present here, and I wonder if perhaps...

Indeed, on referencing against the Allview in realtime, I find a considerable discrepancy between the remotely perceivable level of magic, and what I can feel ‘on the ground’, as it were. Still, there’s no questioning this is the place I sought. So feeling rather confident in my pre-dawn analysis, I touch down outside what’s sure to be the Hanmaki farm and see a pair of people (mundanes, specifically) just exiting a rather modest-looking wood house, completely oblivious to the spiritual entities parting like water before them.

One of the two, a stoop-backed woman with a gentle smile, waves a hand on seeing a stranger just outside the property-she has rather keen eyes. She bumps an elbow against her partner, and both of them begin toddling down to the gate that I patiently wait outside of. I assume they think I’m being polite, but mostly it’s that there’s no way I’m just going to intrude into the territory of so many Land Gods when a little patience will work. There are limits to my impulsiveness, after all.
>[Woman](In Japanese)”Oh... good morning! May I ask your name?”
(In Japanese)”Armas Laine, at your service.”
>[Woman]”Hanmaki Haruno-”
>[Man]”And Hanmaki Jinbe. May we ask why you’re visiting?”
“Absolutely. It’s my understanding your daughter is something of an expert in certain circles, and I’d like to confer with her, if she’s willing.”
>[Haruno]”We can certainly ask her if she’s amenable to that.”
>[Jinbe]”I apologize for the rudeness, but would you mind waiting here? It is very early after all.”
Given the gatewatching spirits present alongside them?
“I understand completely. I’d be happy to wait here and admire your lovely farm.”
>[Jinbe]”Oh, it is just a small family farm. But we will hurry back with your answer.”
Japanese sensibilities satisfied, he and Haruno head back up the driveway.

I occupy myself giving a charming smile to the masses of Land Gods, their forms varying from fiery foo dogs to lightning clad raijū wolves with all manner of beast between. If Sake were here, I’ve no doubt he’d ramble on and list off every single variety of spirit present. As is, I just indulge in a liberal helping of Soul Sensing, cataloging the common traits I see amidst their number that bear future consideration. Never know when I might need to forcibly unbind a Land God, after all.

It’s not long before the wife Haruno returns, with what can only be Kitsune dancing and gamboling about her feet, the little multi-tailed furballs so sickeningly cute they have to be a toy breed or... something.
>[Haruno]”Our daughter would be happy to receive you in the foyer, Mr. Laine. Would you follow me?”
I regard the... the standing down cadre of supercharged spirits, disarmed by the Witch’s mother’s comment. They literally make way, waiting on either side of the driveway.
“But of course.”

I walk through the plain-looking pleasant farm, and reach the sliding door just behind Haruno-

And stare into what is clearly a Demiplane entrance, the house’s interior swapped out with what looks like a zen garden wrought by Escher on acid, and then scaled up twenty fold. Gravel paths neatly raked into perfect zen order craze and crawl through the air without the slightest regard for gravity, titanic rocks and surreal bonsai the size of normal trees catch at the eye, all arranged together into what I can only term a wildly imaginative rock garden. I follow Mrs. Hanmaki without hesitation as she trundles down the paths, and smirk as Allview and Soul Sensing alike go perfectly dark the moment I’m inside.

We walk up walls, along ceilings, down valleys and, rarely, on flatlands across twisting paths that crunch underfoot, watching as insects the size of pigeons flit lazily about, the flow of time itself seeming to vary depending on which fractal-inspired snarl of twisted space we currently occupy. I do my best to not get distracted from the path given the lack of railings along the open edges of the twisted reality. I’d rather not find out what happens if one ‘falls’. That said, I pay careful attention to what I can see. First and foremost, I see the familiar glitter of that gold beyond gold that denotes a Leprechaun's presence, the mercurial vagabonds scurrying about, each in conversation with one Japanese spirit or another. Out in the distance, in koi ponds stocked with whale-sized fish, I see water spirits dancing and singing, and in the skies that are not overhead, but within the snarled mass of twisted space I see thunder gods roaring their cases at one another, my own blood rumbling mutedly in resonance. All of this and more I see-

And still I focus most of all on the toddling old form before me. Hummingbird would not let me hear the end of it, if I lost my way.

Eventually, Haruno leads me up a set of branches wrought into natural stairs, and into a knothole atop one of the many engorged bonsai, and within....

I find a Japanese teen with bubblegum hair clicking away on her phone, and looking decidedly bored. She doesn’t look up as her mother ushers me into her realm.
>[Hyougo](In Japanese)”So. You’re that Armas Guy that found my Yōkai Shugo.”
(In Japanese)”That’s an accurate enough way to describe me.”
>[Hyougo]”So... what do you want?”
I can’t help but note she still hasn’t looked up from her phone-in fact, she’s rather pointedly ignoring me-which kind of defeats the impact of the brushoff. Ah, kids.
“Well, I wanted to say hi to the Witch my girlfriend works for-”
>[Hyougo]”I’m not giving her back-ah, yet, I mean yet.”
“Of course, of course. I understand that you’re going to need constant access to her while she learns her duties-to insure she provides service you feel comfortable attaching your name to.”
At that she looks up, a bit confused by my phrasing.
>[Hyougo]”I... yes, of course.”
“And so with that straightened out, I’d like to ask you about Lunastaroth, if you don’t mind.”
She rolls her eyes at that, slouching back down into her smartphone addiction.
>[Hyougo]”Pfft, that crazy old guy. What about him?”
“Well, I would love to hear your thoughts on what kind of Wizard he is.”
>[Hyougo]”I don’t know why you’d even care, he’s just some crusty old fart that doesn’t do anything that matters. He doesn’t even leave the moon, like, ever!”
“Is that so.”
>[Hyougo]”Yeah, he’s super-boring and just sits around being a butthead. He hosts parties for Wizards and Witches like, all the time, but it’s really lame things where it’s all these time-displaced Wizards, where multiple of the same person are right there, but they’re different, and some have power and some don’t... ugh, they talk about the dumbest stuff. Really dry, boring, lame and everything.”
“Does he happen to have non Wizard-only parties?”
>[Hyougo]”Hah, no. What he does do is just... watch the line. All those people that want to talk to him, laughing the moment anything happens... honestly? I think he’s gone nuts up there-or maybe he was always wacko, I dunno. Doesn’t really matter to me.”
“Are there particular types of things a person in the line can do that are particularly entertaining to him?”
>[Hyougo]”Yeah, he really likes it when people in the line horrify and terrify the others, instead of starting fights-when people run screaming from the line that’s like, his favorite thing. Real sicko, right?”
“He certainly sounds eccentric, to be sure. If you don’t mind me asking, how are things now that things are hopefully settling back down?”

At that she finally meets my eyes and very nearly cares enough to smile, before a tweenish obsession with being ‘cool’ makes her look bored again.
>[Hyougo]”Okay I guess; I mean, no one’s trying to start trouble now, and it’s not hectic or anything, so that’s good.”
“Happy to hear it. Is Lyubov working out for you?”
Her eyes spark a bit at that.
>[Hyougo]”Yeah, she’s great! ...I mean...”

...

Two hours later, after liberal attempts to activate an unreachable magical sense for diplomatic wordplay and being stopped cold in the Witch’s realm, I find an indulged teen’s bossy whims, for the moment, unbreachable. I can neither see Lyubov, or get a free trip to the moon. But that’s fine; I got an insider look at Lunastaroth’s behavior, and critical hints at how to attract his attention that I wouldn’t have otherwise have had access to. Completely worth a couple hours, given the high stakes of the mission.

>>505491
>>505495
>>505531
>>506032
>>506337
Welp. Witch way’s out... but hey, that’s why I decided on back-up plans. I wrangle up Big Crazy and Sake on a conference call, and feel SB listening in on the side.
>[Sake]”Man what is it, gonna rub it in my face again that you’re in japan and I’m not?[code]” >[BC]”And I’m not sure why I’m on the line here.” “Answer to both: I’m going to space, and I want to commandeer a Japanese Rocket and maybe ensoul it-I need directions on where to go in Japan-” >[Sake]”[code]Tanagashima down in the South Islands-”
“Thank you Sake-and I happen to need someone that has the slightest idea about astronautical matters, since I imagine pure magic would only go so far. Big Crazy, know anyone?”
>[BC]”...You magnificent bastard, you remember that?”
“You drunkenly confiding that you tried to be an Astronaut before you learned they auto-reject the magical? Yep.”
>[BC]”So, how am I gonna get there, then?”
“SB, feel free to chime in here.”
>“I already have a shadow ten kilometers from the launch facility Sake mentioned, and can ‘port both of you to location.”
>[BC]”Wait is that safe for non-Armas people or-”
“Oh it’s fine, don’t worry about it-Bro, hit it.”
>[BC]”Hold -”

[DISCONTINUITY]

>[BC]”-on... dammit. I hadn’t even packed anything.”
“All the more reason to show off the cool new hydra magic you got then, right? Anyway let’s go.”
>[BC]”So we’re just breaking in?”
“What, noooo... I’m talking my way in and convincing them we belong with some potent persuasion. Then, we’re commandeering a rocket and we’ll be out of here before they know it.”
>[BC]”Seriously, you think that’ll work, just... wing it?”
“Well, they obviously have a rocket on the tarmac right now, so what’s really stopping us? Are magical guards going to pop out or something, huh?”
>[BC]”This is such a bad idea; it’s not gonna work!”
“Bet you ten bucks it will.”
>[BC]”You’re on.”

[TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES LATER, IN THE PRESSURIZED POD OF A CARGO ROCKET WITH NO LESS THAN ELEVEN UNCONSCIOUS GUARDS IN OUR WAKE]

>[BC]”Christ-”
“Ten bucks.”
>[BC]”We just-”
“Nope, get that money and pipe down while I install a better OS.”

And with that, I get to dumping every single bit of Soul Energy I can produce in raw venting, shaping the flow and holding it fast in the purpose built orbital vessel. Cannibalistic Divine Magic floods and seeps into every nook and cranny, more and more as I swiftly build the vessel to thrice my own soul’s size-

And throw a Binding on it right after performing a brute force mimickry of the general principles of a Familiar Binding. It’s not exactly a clean job, but working with my own magical essence makes cleanup of the inevitable mistakes a thing of mere effort, not challenge. I’ve stabilized everything and are ready to script the Bind’s command within fifteen seconds of having begun.

>[BC]”Armas-”
“Not now.”
>[BC]”Look I get it impressive-ass Godling domination magic and all but the alarms are going now-”
“Well, that just means I can’t dawdle.”

I return to my labors, double and triple-checking the spiritual energy suffusing the ship, the vessel’s collective form, rocket engines, fuel tanks, stages, and orbital module all tied into a coherent spiritual mass. This is all one body, albeit one designed to fall to pieces and be reunited. With the soul’s structure and subservient spectral position confirmed, I place the binding that I know is going to make this fun down the line.

WILL BE AN OBEDIENT MISSILE THAT SERVES ITS CREATOR ARMAS IN ALL REQUESTED WAYS WITH LOYALTY

It’s a long Bind, but thanks to the facts that it’s the same spiritual energy as the soul it binds, and that both were created by your’s truly, I’m able to slot what would normally be a dangerously clunky binding into a smooth fit, spiritually speaking. I find it hilarious I’m at the point I can MacGuvyer up ensouling a spaceship but still have absolutely no form of sophistication or elegance to my grasp of terminology and esoterics for my magical ‘arts’. They are merely tools I use and use with familiarity and a rough competence. And funnily enough, that’s okay, so long as I get to keep playing with them.

-Right, distracted-okay, the binding... still holding, good no fluctuations, I can bulk the soul larger now that I’ve confirmed the dominance while I build a basic interface... okay, let’s go with a Kudoku bug based system, real simple and I know how to uninstall it if I have to without collapsing the soul-it’ll do for a maiden voyage.

>[BC]”Armas-”
“Just handle it man I need a bit more!”
Even with accelerated thought it’s just not quite enough running through all the minutia-there’s so much power I can pump into this thing, but every jolt has to be evenly spread, meshed with what’s there. When adding more, I have to ensure it doesn’t disrupt the tenuous balance that needs time to stabilize... and that demand makes this exceptionally labor intensive.

...pretty sure I hear people shouting-well that’s not good, they’ll need to-
>[SB]Focus on the ship I’ll handle the civilians.
Right. Okay. Four times my energy. A little more. Five times... careful... by six times my energy, I’m starting to lose track of how to weave this all together and the binding’s starting to look loose-

>[BC]”ARMAS!”
I snap my eyes open: the work is as good as I’m gonna get it.
“And...”

I give a spiritual prod to the now wholly living, by magical standards, rocket in which we reside... and with a pleasing rumble, engines sputter to life without a whit of input on the controls. Both Big Crazy and I ignore the abrupt gravitic pressures on us as the solid fuel boosters kick in, taking the ride in stride. Even better, the diagnostic terminal screen one of the technicians forgot (still hooked up to a data jack in the cargo section’s less-than-roomy pressure module) sports a smiley face as the vessel quakes.
>[BC]”The people outside-”
>[SB]”Taken care of. And I destroyed the footage of you. The fallout from this will be magical if anything. Best of luck on the trip.”
I ignore the sarcastic comment as Big Crazy pulls the hatch shut, looking a bit befuddled.
>[BC]”So...”
“Yes?”
>[BC]”I can’t help but notice we don’t have space suits.”
“Why, do you need one?”
>[BC]”Breathing is something people generally need to do, and vacuum’s not exactly healthy.”
“Psh. So we have to suck it up for some pain and regenerate for a while, big whoop. Or are you telling me a hydra can’t handle asphyxiation?”
>[BC]”....I did not think to test that one.”
“Oh. Well... guess we’ll find out then.”
>[BC]”SO not how I saw myself going to space.”
“Just run with it-and if you happen to have any Familiar based fleshcrafting tricks that’d help when we reach the moon, well... now would be the time.”
>[BC]”Just so it’s on the record...”
“Yeah?”
>[BC]”You’re a total dick.”
“You could have gotten ready before agreeing-”
>[BC]”Oh, like it’s fair to teleport someone mid-conversation!”
“It wasn’t mid, so much as... during a transitional period.”
>[BC]”Totally a dick.”
“Ah come on-you’re more happy you’re here than mad.”
>[BC]”[Native American Silence]”
“Oh come on, you know I know you’re happier than mad. I can totally see your soul and you know that.”
>[BC]”FINE, ridiculous methods or no I’m still happy, even with the ‘complications’.”
“There, was that so hard?”
>[BC]”Prick.”
“You’re using a lot of phallic terminology; are you asking for tutelage in the great and noble art of Phallomancy?”
>[BC]”Wh-”
“I assure you that it’s unlikely you will find a more prodigal teacher than I. Perhaps Familiar-control via the penis?”
>[BC]”Man w-”
“Or maybe you could be quiet, and I can properly Name my sort-of-alive rocket.”

While I have all sorts of ideas, only one of them matters, because I also thought of “Kim Jung Boom” and internally designate it as a female name. And just like that-

“Hello Kim Jung Boom.”
>[BC]”Seriously man what is up with y-”
The computers squawk and gargle, the din combining into the parody of a human voice.
>[KJB]”HELLO ALL IMPORTANT CREATOR.”
>[BC]”....Oh hell no, you just made it-”
“Now now Big, that’s no way to talk to Miss Boom here. How are you Boom?”
>[KJB]”PLEASED TO NOW EXIST SO THAT I MAY SERVE THE CREATOR.”
>[BC]”Are you kidding...”
“Excellent-SO, if you’ll fly us to Lunastaroth’s part of the moon-”
>[KJB]”THIS WOEFUL CREATION LACKS THE CAPACITY TO DETECT SUCH A THING!”

I glance at Big with consternation as I slap a fist in my palm, eying the passing clouds out the window.
“Knew I’d probably forgotten something-one second...

A bit of spiritual fiddling cribbing off my own spiritual senses, and-
“Aaaand how about now?”
>[KJB]”THIS CRAFT CAN SERVE IT’S CREATOR AND FEELS FULFILLED IN THE CAPACITY TO BE USEFUL.”
>[BC]”I can’t believe I’m not recording this.”
“I know, it’d make great footage!”
>[BC]”[Texan Silence]”

...

MONDAY, MARCH 21st, 2011
PERSONAL FUNDS: $7,936,660.00
BUSINESS FUNDS: $8,842,094.00
CASH: $0.00
SHADOW PATIENCE: 35%
WINTER ENERGY: 163
SUMMER ENERGY: 61/61

Kim Jung Boom, the magically manhandled previously Japanese cargo rocket comes about over a section of the Moon’s dark side... and I see a spiritual signature-scratch that. Shittons of them.
>[BC]”...Giants, Leprechauns, Elves, Liches... yes, that’s... quite a line, there. What’s the plan, here?”

Well that is a good question, especially given I’ve detected that not only am I regenerating magic more slowly now, but that Kim Jung Boom, bless her metal heart, is decaying fast. She has at most a day’s worth of magic in her!

What’s my plan?
[FOLLOW RULES] “Well duh, we fly Miss Boom here on up to the line, form an orderly queue...”
[BOLD] “Well, I was thinking of crashing Miss Boom into the front of the line, you know, some pizzazz for the entrance to get the Wizard’s attention...”
[DESTRUCTIVE]”I bet if I siphon all the magic out of Miss Boom here I’d have enough to blow a goodly sized hole in the moon-that’d help, don’t you think?”
[DECEPTIVE]”We’ll just go to the front of the line and say we were invited-I can totally sell that.”
[DISGUSTING]”Well, I had a tip that he likes spectacles...” (Write it in)
[CUSTOM] (Write it in, bucko)
>>
No. 507333 ID: 6de77b

[DISGUSTING] Three way. Rocket; Big Crazy; Shadow Bro.
>>
No. 507335 ID: c31f72

[Disgusting] Time for the penis trolls triumphant return!
>>
No. 507374 ID: c213a6

>[DECEPTIVE]”We’ll just go to the front of the line and say we were invited-I can totally sell that.”

I wonder how many of them you could scare off by saying "Ever heard of Armas Laine? I'm him."
>>
No. 507397 ID: 47a120

[TERRIFYING]
According to our Teen Japanese Witch (TM) he gets a kick off of people TERRIFYING the other people in line without harming them.
so that is the obvious solution.
Time to mix darkening and a silver tongue.
>>
No. 507398 ID: 98378e

[DESTRUCTIVE]

I wanna blow things up.
>>
No. 507448 ID: c31f72

Oh, we should also grab some moon rocks as a souvenir before we head home.
>>
No. 507450 ID: 08c00b

>>507397
yes and...

Id like to use this idea from the chat:

"ArkeusI wonder if we could make the rocket's soul go into catastrophic failure with a soul-guise that makes it look even more terrifying.
17:58LukethanukeYES, that sounds fun. If we can soul-guise the rocket we just have to make it LOOK Dangerous enough to scare the line. In fact it turning out to be a dud would be even more funny than it actually killing everyone; witch is our best bet to get the moon wiz's jollys up for us.

ArkeusSomething like catastrophic-failure => making it look like an explosion => using our intimacy with Lyubov to copy a tesla-like pattern to it and add a "like a nuclear-explosion/like a tesla designed-bomb feel to the soul-guise could be properly terrifying. "

So soul-guise the rocket to give off an immensely powerful feeling of imminent destruction and doom. Then have it crash with LESS force than a normal rocket would.
>>
No. 507802 ID: c6319f

[TERRIFYING]
I propose that we try building a soul guise into Kim Jung Boom. We were able to replicate in her our spiritual sensory capabilities, at least roughly. Likely because she was made from our energy, by our hand. There's simply an amazingly high degree of compatibility.

The soul guise should be something like "A NUCLEAR DEVICE THAT IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE." ramped up as high as possible. Whatever rate Armas regenerates energy at up here and cannibalize some of her remaining energy to sell it if need be. Members of the magical community who know about nukes know that they are dangerous, highly so, but hopefully don't know so much that they'd be able to easily differentiate between one kind of mundane rocket and another.

And hey, if it doesn't work it probably wont get our asses killed and we can try for something else.
>>
No. 507804 ID: 2da9b3

[TERRIFYING] Soulguise the ship as owner
if you've never seen the soul, all you have to do is make it so that anyone in the area that can sense it receives an image of him looking cross as hell and in a hurry.
>>
No. 507810 ID: f31e57

[Oh god why]
Soul guise the ship so they will think: "THIS IS LUCIFER'S NUCLEAR DICK GOING SUPERCRITICAL WATCH OUT IT'S ABOUT TO BLOW!"

Because why go for just ONE reaction?
>>
No. 507814 ID: cf49fc

>>507810
I agree on this count. GIANT MAGICAL NUCLEAR PLANETBUSTER INBOUND is a really great way to scare people off. And if we're REALLY lucky, we can crash at the head of the line, and land right in front of his door ready to hop out and dramatically stride forward.

I just want Kim Jung Boom to be okay! Oh well. We can always put her soul into other things...
>>
No. 507854 ID: 9d4181

>>507810
>>507804
>>507802
>>507450
Well, i guess if we are going to do [TERRIFYING], we might as well try to do it well.

The first thing to do would be to check if we can take the rocket's soul into our eye: While we have never soul-sculpted or otherwise done a soul-guise on another soul, As a soul created by us, if she is also IN us and thus subject to our internal soul-manipulation as well as to our demi-plane homebase advantage, it should be possible to actually do a decent job of it.

The soul guise to choose should be something like "A NUCLEAR DEVICE ABOUT TO EXPLODE". As someone who has been VERY intimate with Lyubov, both pre and post her witchification, we are probably one of the top expert on Tesla's working 'feel', and as such should be able to do such a soul-guise with acceptable expertise. In fact, given the ejaculating nature of such...

Now, this is supposed to be [Terrifying], not [Kill Them All]. Especially as the Wizard of the moon was said to not like killings in his queue. As such, While the soul of the rocket should be bulking/pretending to go into catastrophic failure, it shouldn't actually explode.

This means that there is no reason it needs to die, and as such we don't need to break the accords. We can totally talk to it and convince it that, in exchange for us soul-sculpting it, we'll try to save it (without actually promising anything, even trying).

From there, we could put it into our eye the moment it look like it would explode during our 'show'. There is a possibility that simply putting it into our eye could save it (no deterioration of soul there, at least?), and it would also make it much easier to bulshit the people around in the queue.

If putting the soul into our eye is impossible or otherwise unsustainable (maybe it drains our own regen?) then another possibility for saving it could be if Bonzi's pot could take it remotely.

Around the queue, depending on whether we want to look like a sportman or provoke them into a fight (where they'll begin the first blow), we could use a soul-guise of "nice winner" or "smug jackass".
>>
No. 508569 ID: b7d2cc

>>507397
>>507450
>>507802
>>507804
>>507810
>>507814
>>507854
“So, I have an idea.”
>[BC]”You really shouldn’t be able to make that sound so ominously disastrous. Well, what is it?”
“Convince the people in the line this is a malfunctioning nuclear missile that’s about to crash.”
>[BC]”Explain to me where that makes sense.”
“Well for one Miss Kim here is obviously a missile. Aren’t you Kim?”
>[KGB]”AS THE CREATOR STIPULATED A MISSILE AM I!”
“So, there’s that, and then there’s the fact that most people in that line are not exactly experts on what are and aren’t missiles, and-”
>[BC]”You know what? Just do whatever soul magic bullshit you’re planning, and let’s see if it blows up in our face and we die, or it works.”
“That’s a bit defeatist of you, isn’t it?”
>[BC]”Well I’m frankly tired of playing the straight man for...”
“Nineteen-”
>[BC]”Yes, nineteen hours. So just do what you’re gonna do, and I’ll either get to mock you before our mutual end, or I get to walk on the moon. So yeah, I am a bit distracted from the argument at hand.”
“Just long as you can admit you have a problem.”

While Big Crazy mutters to himself, I’m neck deep in spiritual skullduggery. I badger and bully what is still a part of me into doing my will. I twist and tease spectral force into matching my desires. It is not a science, by any stretch of the meaning. I am not performing clear cut if-then alterations that lead to a desired result. I am abusing raw power and magical synchronicity to sit my missile-ship’s soul down, slap it in the face and tell it to hurry up and grow a Soul Guise.

And it does. After a grueling ten seconds worth of accelerated thought to badger it into life. And I have to actively maintain a connection to make it do anything. But hey, Soul Guise, there it is.

...And I’ve drained out a good half of my own magic in the process.
WINTER ENERGY: 71/163
Well, that’s not quite true. What actually happened is that I drained myself at breakneck speeds, and had that energy supplemented from afar each time I neared empty. In fact, it was almost like-

A beak manifesting out of my chin answers that train of thought, as a voice as melodiously high-pitched as it is implacably cold chirps forth.
>[HB]”I grasp that this is an important venture for you, mount, but you cannot be a wastrel with the power I’ve meticulously saved and allocated.”
Except I totally can.
“I’ll keep an eye on errant use of our magic when next I’m flying among the stars, okay?”
I feel acknowledgement through our spiritual connection, and the beak schlorps out of sight.

Well, what matters is that I installed the necessary spiritual software for my plan. And to that end...
“So, hey: if there’s any spiritual mayday signals you know of, hopefully ones you can broadcast real hard, now would be the time.”
>[BC]”So you’re actually doing this?”
“What gave you the impression I wouldn’t?”
>[BC]“Idle hope all of this has been a hallucination.”
“Maybe you ought to lay off Dávgon’s beer for a spell.”

With a grumbling mercenary at my side, I give Kim Jung Boom a rather tall order. I warp and twist her Soul Guise like it were my own (which it is, sort of) and crank the output up so high that I can feel magic gushing out of the ship’s soul and into fueling the spiritual signature.

‘Imminently exploding malfunctioning missile/rocket of a nuclear persuasion’ isn’t exactly as complex as I’d like, but it’s the message I’m confident will get across to the most viewers.

It’s a curious thing: I’ve put a plan in motion, and I won’t see it unfold. All I have to go on is Soul Sensing, and there’s hardly a being down there that can’t obscure their souls well enough to keep my prying eyes out. I just have to trust that Kim Jong Boom can tell what she’s doing. She’s got some cameras in her nose, maybe I could-

I find my train of thought broken by Big Crazy interrupting.
>[BC]”We’re coming in too steep.”
He’s flying just as blind as I am, he’s got no way to know that.
“Pssh, no. We-”
>[BC]”We are going to crush the missile-the rocket’s nose against the moon, and oh yes, we are in that nose.”
“We can both regenerate.”
>[BC]”On the moon, without direct access to...”
His face freezes in a look of surprise as he realizes something.
>[BC]”Son of a bitch you’re still recuperating magic, how are you-”

I don’t have to answer that exceptionally invasive question (which I had a flippant remark all ready for) because that’s when Miss Kim gets concerned.

>[KGB]”IS IMPACT DESIRED OR IS IT TO BE ARRESTED, CREATOR?”
“Arrested-”

There’s a helluva thump, like someone kicking the whole rocket from the bottom, and then the entire room yaws and performs a turnaround. I get enough of a warning through my spiritual connection that, unlike Big Crazy, I’ve already flipped about and land feet-first on the cramped room’s floor, while he smashes in headfirst. Naturally, he seems to somehow think this is my fault.

>[BC]”You’re a dick, Armas.”
“The very best.”

I would say more, but the rockets built into Kim Jong Boom’s cargo module fire, and I’m briefly shocked to see most of Kim Jong Boom fall away. Then I remember, this is a staged rocket. It’s supposed to fall apart as its tanks run dry, and the last of the fuel must have just run out. That was the thump, that and the cargo module’s engine kicking in. We’re now putting some space between us and the much larger jettisoned rocket.

I still can’t see any of this. Soul Sense alone informs me of what is going on outside- and to my senses, the falling rocket stage is a big bright piece of soul bleeding energy from raw tears in the body. Just like the first stage we left on Earth, it’s rapidly sealing up, as though it were designed to break into pieces. Now that I really think about it, the Name I picked helped make the soul appropriate for being a missile, and all that entails.

A web of tenuous connections between the falling stage and the more important parts of Kim Jong Boom’s soul seated in the cargo module’s computer mean that I get a handful of seconds, at most, to keep both parts of the rocket emitting the Soul Guise. But that’s all I really need, considering our ship is careening towards the planet in two pieces. The last stage of the rocket is on a more-or-less ballistic arc toward the middle of the line, while the cargo module we’re in is going to arrive near the front. I go for broke, cranking the spiritual signal up even higher, both the spent rocket stage and the cargo module broadcasting the same overwhelming Soul Guise of being a malfunctioning weapon of mass destruction.

As we near, I can feel the souls in the line actually moving and reacting as a ship that had (again, presumably since I couldn’t see most of it) threatened to crash with a soul-scouring conflagration into the Moon’s Dark Side instead settles down with only a modest sound of crunching metal and regolith. The moment the ship’s rockets cut out, I leap toward the hatch (now the roof of the landed cargo carrier) and give Miss Kim a spiritual tap just before my head would hit. She unlocks the hatch for me, and all the air in the room explodes out in a single shocking thunderclap that leaves my ears ringing. I grab the lip of the bulkhead as I pass it, and land on the lunar soil on my feet.

A few things catch my notice, at that point.

There’s the actual members of the line proper, now that I can actually look at them. While there isn’t much in the way of surprises thanks to my flyby spiritual assessment before touchdown, I do get to match faces and figures to souls. But that identification isn’t really what I’m focused on, so much as the fact that they’ve left the line.

I can feel the gas in my body, including in my mostly ignored digestive tract, doing its best to get out. I let what would have been a monster of a fart rip- but in space, no one can hear you pass gas. I can feel a chill in my lungs as liquids evaporate and most of the gasses in my blood escape into space- fact is, I’m suffocating. I can feel the fluids boiling off of my eyes and mouth, and oh yes blood is trying to seep out of my flesh as blood vessels break under the sudden lack of pressure.

It’s all admittedly a distraction, but not one that prevents me from claiming the prize I so irreverently created for myself. I dart into the line after a jaunty wave and take up a position at the very front before anyone’s quite resettled after my ploy. Unsurprisingly enough, this gets me just a few sets of malicious Attention but hey, I’m on the clock here!

...And...

And the... the simple wrought iron gate that the line waits before remains... rather firmly shut. Not surprising, in and of itself, or even innately problematic. But if I factor in all that Attention... Suffice to say I am damnably happy to see Big Crazy climbing out of Kim Jung Boom, and soaking up some of that nefarious focus. It’s not like he’s as receptive to such Attention as I am. He can take it.

I watch as Big Crazy takes stock of the scene, a veritable sea of eyes from the now fully reformed line on him. I notice that his ears, nose and mouth are all covered by skin sacks (which I swiftly emulate, though I leave the membrane over my eyes translucent). And... I notice that he stands very clearly outside of the line, making his intentions clear without the need for a single spoken word.

I am once more host to aaaaalll that fascinatingly hate-stricken Attention. Hm.

I take the evil obsession of the assorted crew of Giants, Leprechauns and other extremely potent magical creatures, and factor it in with what I know about Lunastaroth. Not in general (or even as it directly pertains to my mission) but rather, what his existence means for those who are willing to personally wait. Some would be couriers not unlike myself: magically able and pressed into service, by coin, debt, threat, or otherwise. Others would, like Big Crazy, simply want to see the Moon up close. I don’t know how many theoretical visitors are just here for the line’s gossip and the moon itself.

But most of them would be like-

Like the multi-armed hulk of staggering Divine magical presence that taps me on the shoulder while a spiritual voice like a groaning mountain tries to be threatening.
[Titan]“Hey.”
I distinctly keep that rule about violence in mind, and factor in my recuperative abilities. Depending on how I do it, I could ‘turn about’ from a lethal attack to instill more unsettling experiences in the queue. While I don’t yet have personal proof it’s true, I was told of Lunastaroth’s penchant for the nonviolently horrific. And maybe Mc-stonetongue here could be my assistant.
[Titan]“Hey, asshole!”
Just as I’m feeling that narrowing pressure of Attention that heralds a critical mass of aggression and the start of a fight, a spiritual voice like the dust-dry whisper from a crypt’s confines interrupts.

[Lich]”You know the rules.”

That which speaks is a collection of partly-powdered human bones, wrapped with mole fur to fill out a bodysuit made of thin red leather, with a half-open zipper down the chest. I’m vaguely reminded of Eddie Murphey for some inexplicable... wait no, not so inexplicable of a reason! The bodysuit has to be inspired by a certain iconic outfit that the comedian wore for his routine.

The palpable air of readied magic suffusing a quartet of raised fists is dispersed with a frustrated grunt, even as the Titan continues to glare death at me.
[Lich]”An interesting entrance. Were you trying to exploit his affinity for irregular horror?”
I’m actually having trouble being concrete about how much stronger than me that bag of bones is, spiritually speaking.
[Lich]”I wonder if you think this is something that would suffice to attract the good wizard’s favor. A hastily assembled and shoddily executed bout of spiritual guesswork and skullduggery, a piece of unimportant mundane equipment crudely aped as a credible threat. Did you think anyone of substance cared about your plan?”
“Yet here I stand, at the front of the line.” Is what I try to say, but talking proves just a little bit hard to not muffle with a mouth-flap. Thankfully, the bag o’ bones understands my intent just fine.
[Lich]”So you do. The front of a line that had not shifted in two days, and in a manner that allowed me to likewise jump ahead. So in a sense, I should thank you; but that still does not change the fact you will not enter.”
“And what makes you so sure of that?”
Yeah, I’m digging this. I just have to think about what I want to say like I mean to say it- actually, this is exactly what Lyubov does, isn’t it? Except that here, thanks to the low magic environment, it doesn’t require the same massive amount of energy backing it to be easily detectable.

While a pair of what look like Angels (of the many limbed bodies and burning wheels within wheels classic biblical style) approach Big Crazy, the Lich’s skull jitters and clatters in an analogue for laughter. If there were air, I’m sure it would have sounded like a ghastly maraca, but as it is, I only understand it to be laughter by his spiritual signature’s intent.
[Lich]”Because no one gets in until they have satisfied Lunastaroth’s whims, and he requires visitors to wait. So in essence, just by being at the front of the line you have saved yourself no time, and have earned the ire of every other visitor. Not for infiltrating the line, but for slowing its progression with your very presence. And so, I look forward to seeing who it is that decides violence is worth it to remove you from the line, hm-mm-m.”

That’s a dickass bit of commentary from the Soul Skelly, but he seems to know his shit. Yeah, I miiiiight possibly maybe want to replan things, or maybe do something a bit different here. I could end up with a drunken Glurichaun somehow sodomizing my soul or something here. And I’d rather avoid getting lynched by a magical mob on the moon.

Well. Kim Jung Boom’s... idling there, conserving her spiritual existence in the hope of once again being useful to me. I think she’s even got a little fuel left, which is good if I want to have a hope of returning to Earth aboard her. Big Crazy’s busy having a pow-wow with Angels that are currently looking distinctly feminine despite their monstrous forms. A Titan, a pair of Giants, four Leprechauns and a whole mess of other things are glaring death at me in that special way that is proof positive they’re stewing in hate and eventually going to bubble over. My magic’s regenerating at a painfully slow rate, and is still below half-power. While I could abuse Hummingbird’s flock and take what I need from them, I’d still rather not fight. Especially if HB’s going to starkly belittle me for reverse-pirating my own energy back. Even under the best of circumstances, any one entity in line would be an iffy prospect to fight with, and more than three is nearly a guaranteed death sentence. Given more than double that are glaring daggers at me...

Yeah, I need to do something here.

What’s my plan?
-[Bullshit these guys] This had to get the Wizard’s attention, he might change his mind now!
-[Reason with these guys] Violence isn’t the answer on Lunastaroth’s doorstep.
-[Organize these guys] Learn who needs what from Lunastaroth and figure out how to go about getting people who don’t need to see him out of the line.
-[Fuck these guys] Avoid whatever they dish out, use Shadow Pinning to buy time, and wait for Lunastaroth to intervene. Have Hummingbird hold your place in the line.
-[Intimidate these guys] You’re on good terms with gods and a witch saint, sling around a few prayers to show it. Ask how to get your rocket gassed up again.
-[Butter up these guys] They’re just extra cranky from having to wait out in the open. There’s a big rocket stage that’s just sitting empty now. Turn it into a waiting room, fill it with air (you can totally synthesize air with fleshcrafting), and start serving drinks.
-[Disgust these guys] Make your soul look like Labombard’s!
-[These options all suck] I want to do this (write it in).
>>
No. 508570 ID: 933f92

>>508569

>[Bullshit these guys] This had to get the Wizard’s attention, he might change his mind now!
A good lie assumes you know more about the situation than the victim. Whether it's about you cheating on your wife (You know where you went last night, she doesn't) or your progress report as a kid (You know what the grade is, they don't. Yet.) you need more info to gain leverage, or else your bullshitting will make you look like a goddamn idiot.

As the Lich so handily demonstrated, bullshitting will make you look stupid, here.

>[Reason with these guys] Violence isn’t the answer on Lunastaroth’s doorstep.
Possible - but again, this has likely happened BEFORE, and with similar results. Since you don't knowe Luna's policy on violence - and he even LIKES implied violence, this is unlikely. I really doubt it would work at all.

>[Organize these guys] Learn who needs what from Lunastaroth and figure out how to go about getting people who don’t need to see him out of the line.

Yeah, nah. These people are really probably very stubborn. Consider how much effort it took to get here, how hard it is to get back, how long they've been waiting, and, oh, how savvy you have to be to get here. These all combine to making it really hard for someone to admit "Yeah, I'm just here for shitsngiggles".

>[Fuck these guys] Avoid whatever they dish out, use Shadow Pinning to buy time, and wait for Lunastaroth to intervene. Have Hummingbird hold your place in the line.

First of all, We don't have that much ready access to energy up here. We're inhibited, weakened, even if it's not by much. Hell, even the gravity is different here, so moving well might be an issue! Plus, evasion of multiple enemies is tough for even awesome acrobats. This is an easy way to get wrecked.

>[Intimidate these guys] You’re on good terms with gods and a witch saint, sling around a few prayers to show it. Ask how to get your rocket gassed up again.

Ahahahahahah! We're hardly on good terms with Tesla. We're a murderer and a violent fucking eater of men. Our girlfriend HAPPENS to be a devotee to him, one he prizes. That we're the reason she is capable of handling her situation with him is our only chip, really. Maybe hype up our witch saint - who is currently stuck with a witch and can't really help us at this juncture. Finally, we'd be intimidating these people with power that is practically useless here, since the Moon is so distant and owned by a Wizard.
So yeah, nah.

>[Butter up these guys] They’re just extra cranky from having to wait out in the open. There’s a big rocket stage that’s just sitting empty now. Turn it into a waiting room, fill it with air (you can totally synthesize air with fleshcrafting), and start serving drinks.

Actually a great option.
(Also what does air have to do with fleshcrafting? What, do we fart oxygen or something? Eh.)
However, what drinks would we even serve? Especially to the Lich? Does a lich even drink? I'm assuming this is the "Stick your soul in something else so that it doesn't get destroyed when your body does so you can study magic forever" Lich, so... Maybe? Still - Socializing is one of our top-tier things, so go 'one minute' and pull the thing over next to the gate and hop in. Serve drinks, maybe food. Get stories, contacts, and entertainment, while defusing issues with them.

Soulguise "That guy at the bar, you know the one, who is a great listener" sort of deal.

>[Disgust these guys] Make your soul look like Labombard’s!
Ahahahahaha. No. Easy way to get killed, see [Intimidate].
>>
No. 508977 ID: cf49fc

>>508569
I'm willing to go with [butter up], but we need more energy. Is there some way we can acquire energy on the Dark Side of the Moon? Can we build an organic fusion reactor powered by Regolith? Is there a monolith we can plug into? MAN we didn't think this plan through.
>>
No. 509026 ID: 464550

>>508570
Got to agree. Buttering up is likely our best bet. Our social combat is pretty good and as is, we ARE the newbie. Better to offer some basic things to help brighten the mood than let them stew for too long. Besides, this sort of thing may intrigue the wizard. We came here on a rocket/missile, crashed, trolled, and all of a sudden are serving up drinks and being chummy.
>>
No. 509079 ID: 1f5548

[Butter up these guys] They’re just extra cranky from having to wait out in the open. There’s a big rocket stage that’s just sitting empty now. Turn it into a waiting room, fill it with air (you can totally synthesize air with fleshcrafting), and start serving drinks.
>>
No. 509190 ID: 82785d

Just throwing this out there: How big is the rocket and how big are the creatures? How many are there? Might not be that good of an idea if a large portion can't even enter.

Also way to continue acting dumb, Armas. This whole energy crisis could have been averted by building some big souls to stuff into allview that you can reabsorb here. Or building, or buying magic batteries. If those would be too big we could have stored them back on earth and send the energy up via HB like he does with his stored energy.
>>
No. 509227 ID: 888df6

>[Butter up these guys] They’re just extra cranky from having to wait out in the open. There’s a big rocket stage that’s just sitting empty now. Turn it into a waiting room, fill it with air (you can totally synthesize air with fleshcrafting), and start serving drinks.
Because I think it's funny. And there's no reason we can't [Organize] while we play barman. Any of the other social approaches would work with this, really, if we wanted them to.

I also want to try summoning Bonzi to the moon so we can store Kim Jung Boom who is totally an object. Probably wont work, but we're hardly harmed by trying. At worst we'd look a bit silly and... well, nobody up here right now is inclined to respect Armas anyway, I think it is worth the risk.

>>509190
That would have only slightly mitigated the problem, surely not enough to actually seriously impact our actions up here. In soul guising Kim we spent our natural energy reserve several times over. It is clear that any relevant expenditure of energy is going to eclipse what we would have been able to bring with us, and sending it through HB runs into efficiency issues or we wouldn't be experiencing energy drain in the first place. Logically, we should forego any significantly energy intensive plan so far as is possible and it would remain true regardless of whether or not we had brought more energy with us to work with. It isn't like fighting them would have become an option with more energy. Even if it had, we have the letter to not get destroyed and couldn't risk battle even if at peak self-restorative form.
>>
No. 509237 ID: 760fe0

>>509227
>we should forego any significantly energy intensive plan so far as is possible
>Turn Rocket into waiting room

Those are mutually exclusive. So far Armas has not seriously tried to conserve energy. Yes, he flesh-crafted himself to use less energy by merely existing, but that was only after having that idea figuratively thrown into his face by BC doing it. Doing that before entering the moon proper would have been way better.


>It is clear that any relevant expenditure of energy is going to eclipse what we would have been able to bring with us, and sending it through HB runs into efficiency issues or we wouldn't be experiencing energy drain in the first place.

So instead of storing up our practically unlimited energy and sending it through HB, or even buying and extraordinary large pile of magical meat for HB to absorb on earth and send us the energy (which we could still do btw) we instead just ignore the energy problem and take the energy that HB had stored himself?

If our energy expenditure really were to eclipse any energy we could have stored beforehand (and we are talking about thousands of points here) then we are fucked anyway. Really I don't see your point here. You are saying "We will need even more energy then we can save up. Therefore we won't store any energy at all." Doing nothing is not solving the problem but relying on others to solve our problems for us (as HB did here). HB did the very thing Armas should have done and saved our ass that way. How can you say that iv Armas had done that intentionally it would not have worked?

>summoning Bonzi
Worth a try at least. Seconding.



Regarding the update:
>[Organize these guys]
>[Butter up these guys]
Both of these are good and can be combined. I'm really interested in why those guys are here, if there are so many more easily accessible wizards on earth. Either Lunastaroth is really special even for a wizard and you can't get the same service from other wizards or he is cheaper. Maybe he doesn't even want ordinary payment and considers the entertainment value of standing in line enough to offer his services. Both would be interesting to know, the first because it might help us deal with him and the second because we could ask for a wizardly boon ourself once we get to him.
>>
No. 509271 ID: 464550

>>509239
Woah there, going to have to SUST the whole making a run back to Earth. First off, a lot of those things take time. Days just getting in contact with some of those people. We REALLY do not want to delay this any more than we have to and leaving as soon as we popped up is BOUND to piss off people more. Giving them time to stew would be even WORSE. No, we stay on the moon and we work with what we get for now. Really though, we can likely pull through just with what we have plus maybe some pot luck skills. Have them pay for the drinks with food and then use the food to get more food.

Besides, he might like fighting, but that still runs great risks. Why not draw his attention by simply having a party on the moon? But as is, don't push ourselves too much. We are the newbie, our first impression was bad, and being too eager will probably mess us up BIG.
>>
No. 511255 ID: 9ec929

>>508569
I'm voting for a combination of [Butter up] and [Organise].
>>
No. 511426 ID: 62ad09

Stupid ideas to get things happening:

Summon Bonzi and invoke his item storage deal to get to KJB without having to leave the line.
Summon Grigori for drunk Wizard shenanigans.
Summon Dorjpalam for trying to get a shenanigan-less Wizard drunk.
Summon Oggmum for no reason at all.
Summon Hyougo because now you're just trying to collect them all.
Summon Abloec because all of those other ones failed and he's the only one you know you can actually summon.
Use as much energy as you like, and tell Hummingbird that if he's got a problem with having to put his plans on hold to provide you with energy, then he can damn well regenerate his own magic and stop mooching off of you. It's time to get him in line.
Ask Iron Trick whether it'd be possible to Darkening the moon. Threaten Lunastaroth with removing the moon from existence.
Ask Iron Trick whether Rabbit would like to speak through him to Lunastaroth, assuming you get in there.
Mix drinks for everyone and surreptitiously try to put your blood in it to make people (if they're human) cannibals.
>>
No. 511428 ID: 47a120

>>511426
SUST
>>
No. 511430 ID: 888df6

Stealing an idea from someone else but who cares:
Form a HB body inside of our body and give it a soul guise of "small and insignificant object not worth noticing". Conceal this process with appropriate use of our own soul guise. Then we shrug at the lich and leprechaun footwork away while extruding the hummingbird to keep our spot in the line for us while we go hide slash escape anyone angry enough to try to squash us.
>>
No. 511863 ID: 08c00b

I'm for the calm an "peaceful" route so up-vote for the swag talker deal first. But in the good chance of shit hitting the fan lets first get some preliminary info first.

1. Ask lich guy what the rules are up here as we don't know them and stuff like holding a place in line for someone might not be allowed.

2. Act in accordance with said rules. Then find loop holes to exploit.

3. Call Amen, see if we get signal

4. Call GF, see if she get signal.

5. Play dark side of the moon album the hole time.
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