February 14th: Announcements and Political Maneuverings

"we have some other information for you Baigen but no in front of that"

"You can't let this get to you so easy," Rory stopped leaning on the wall and faced his body toward Hanuel as he tried to calm him. "You'd think it's terrible enough not knowing what someone's capable of, but it's worse when you do know--not that you should attempt to avoid that knowledge when you can, but it is worse, trust me. It's okay to be angry, but you gotta save some of it for a better time, if that time comes."

"I... I know Rory. I just can't let this go. I apologize for my outburst."

Hanuel and Dara(Toilarin) wrote:"I... I know Rory. I just can't let this go. I apologize for my outburst."

"Yeah, I get it," he responded while retiring to his lean on the wall. "We all tick differently."

Archengeia wrote:Baigen's Group:
Baigen leans against a nearby wall. "Well, apparently political forces were already mobilizing against the Order. I don't know if you caught it, but they accused an Olthoi of... well," he gives a laugh, "of anything. That was a huge mistake, everyone knows an Olthoi is simply incapable of such an act, let alone one so evil as inciting a war. So the Queen had her Special Forces group watching him," he points at Zeiss, "very closely to see who, and why, anyone would falsely accuse the group they did. They even had a Destroyer pulled off normal duty for the operation. I'm sure the rest you know by now."

Having listened to Lord Lightmane's announcement, Gwydo turns from the window and addresses Baigen.
"You say the queen was watching Zeiss while he was imprisoned. What did they see? If he was there for three days, what were they able to learn?"

"Hanuel would you mind putting the key in one of the other rooms so we can talk freely as if what you say is true i dont feel like talking about plans in front of it."

After the Mirror was transported out of the room for another party member to guard it, Zeiss spoke up :

"Hanuel is right. We should get that thing out of the city as soon as possible. The ones from the Towers, whoever they are, want people to experiment on. And I doubt that keeping this Mirror in the largest city of the continent would be wise."

Spoiler:

The Lady Lightmane's Announcement:
"My fellow citizens of the Metropolis, in recent times we have seen events unimagined. No one wants to talk about the war less then I do, but the Council of Lords and I have been in session specifically to see what we can do about this, and other disturbing events as of late."
She folds both hands behind her back, adopting a military pose. "First and foremost, while we do not condone any action as abominable as war, we will not be swept into the wanton violence as I know many of you have feared. For indeed, it is a fear I held too. But the Council and the High Queen have decreed that we will be opening our borders to the Naverre and the Sho once again, and within a few hours of this message the Mites who run the Hub have agreed to re-establish all connections across the nations." She pauses a moment, a calculated move as several people watching the announcement applause or cheer at this news. "Further, we will be opening our borders fully to any refugees from this war. Stonehold, Naverre, Sho, or anyone caught in between. Let it be known that Aluvia is a safe haven for civilization and bonds of fellowship, regardless of other considerations."
Another pause, as there is even greater cheering in the streets and in the businesses and homes. "Now, as many of you know, the Order recently announced that some of their own members had betrayed them in an attempt to incite war. This is a lie." The bluntness with which she says it is almost shocking, and you hear more than a few gasps from viewers. "These people were in fact people working with the Aluvian Kingdom, and my office, personally and I have no trouble vouching for them on a public level." Her voice grows coldly angry. "Now let me make this clear. I am not blaming the Order as a whole for such a betrayal. Rather, I see this as a manipulation of the true conspirators behind this and the war both, and all the events tied thereto. Surely the Order would never stoop to sacrificing its own? But, while I caution forgiveness, let me make one thing clear." Her eyes narrow. "As many of you are aware an Olthoi was on the list of accused. Anyone who has ever met any Olthoi knows what a slap in the face this is to our friends from the north, and all the work they have done to foster cooperation, trade, knowledge, and peace. And the Order, while I have no doubt was manipulated into this state, nevertheless allowed this state of affairs. As such, all Order outposts within the Holtburg Province are being put on watched status, with Kingdom oversight in all their affairs until this situation is resolved to the High Queen's satisfaction. If any Order officials find this unacceptable..." she pauses for emphasis, "...then they can leave."
"Thank you all for your time. It is my hope that, in spite of the nightmares of the present era, we will push forward as we always have towards another age of peace and prosperity." She gives a low, formal bow, and the image flickers out.

"while i don't know at what range that keys powers are limited i will have to risk it as there is information that you need to know.

i don't know how much you learned before coming here Baigen but lets start with the simple stuff the undermarket at lest the Holtberg branch of the Tree is now established and set to run as it was prier to the Stonehold event and while we were working on getting Zeiss out of custody some of our members went to a meeting with an unknown person that as luck would have it turned out to be the High Lord of Holtberg Lady Lightmane and while it is completely unofficial and all that the undermarket has the support of the Lady, now we just need to work on the rest of the tree.

now for some stuff that i don't think anyone will have told you yet, The Confederacy of Naverre has invented a new airship that is able to move though sand as thou it was air it doesn't seam to displace the sand which leads me to think it is some kind of phasing technology that we have not seen before i tell you this as i know your house and while our house dont see things the same way i know that we are working towards the same goal."

*Z walks into the room, clearly dazed by the speech; she does not even nod in greeting or acknowledgement of Baigen.*

Rory sighed with relief. "Well, I might still have need of a fake visa, but at least I won't have to hide from every guard and upstanding citizen. Still, if I had to, how would I get away with not understanding Elven?" he wondered aloud.

Baigen considers. "I have not heard anything specific about a Centaur prisoner, no. And, I know you asked me to find information about your friend Kezrinthka of Worker yesterday, but I have none." He turns to Gwydo. "I'm afraid I have no answers for you, as the inner workings of Special Aluvian Forces are past my grasp. Zeiss himself could probably answer that easier."
Baigen turns to Tabran. "I imagine you've barely planted the seeds for now, but if you've already succeeded in turning ears here in the city that's a good sign. As for this Naverre Airship, I shudder to think what a thing is capable of. An Airship is already a weapon of mass destruction, to have one that can stealth beneath the earth is worse."

"I am sorry sir, my question may seem unrelated, but I was wondering : what do you know about the Tumeroks? Except what is common knowledge."

"The Tumeroks?" Baigen looks at Zeiss a bit warily. "I know that they weren't native to Dereth until they conquered a swath of land the size of a nation in 3 days. I also know that Fierneceal has concerns about them, outside the obvious, which I intend to bring up to my Lady once I have a chance to confer with her. But," he adds, "I do know that military Airships have attempted to scout Dryreach lands in recent years, and have gone MIA without a trace." He fidgets a bit. "I mention that because not many people know that Airships have already been attempted to be used against the Tumeroks."

"Airships gonne missing? What in the hells ARE they?"

Baigen's explanation about the power the Tumeroks were capable of welding did not surprise him, unlike Ashakel. He suspected that the nations of Dereth had already lost airships to the Tumeroks. His curiosity satisfied, he asks another question.

"I understand that you made an offer to my colleagues to fight a dangerous individual. I would like to know more about him, if you would be willing to tell us."

Zeiss waits to see if Baigen will cast a silent spell.

"Yes," Baigen begins, folding his arms. "There is a... person who's name I don't like mentioning from the older days, before recorded history, named Gaerlan. He is dangerous, individually powerful, and something of a brute. He is not the manipulative, careful, strategizing type he just walks in and takes what he wants, and he generally can do it." He shifts his position. "The Lady Aerfalle has had dealings with this madman in the past, and she is the one who has organized this... Coordinate to deal with the Gold Lord. Individuals of knowledge, power, resources, or any combination thereof to find him, figure out what he's doing and, most importantly, stop him."

Zeiss keeps his eyes fixed on Baigen, listening to him very carefully. When he finishes, he asks another question.

"Would you know how powerful he is?"

"I have never known the Gold Lord personally, he was before my time, but I have heard stories. He was..." he hesitates. "He once leveled a city by himself out of spite. No armor, no weapons, just himself."

"I don't understand. Where is this individual? What is he doing or plotting? If he's on Dereth, why haven't we heard of him?" Ashakel was puzzled by the existence of someone so powerful and yet unknown.

"If the common people have never heard of Gaerlan, then it must mean he is from the Middle Ages."

Baigen looks at Ashakel grimly. "And that, my Troll friend, is exactly why we are so worried."

Archengeia wrote:"I have never known the Gold Lord personally, he was before my time, but I have heard stories. He was..." he hesitates. "He once leveled a city by himself out of spite. No armor, no weapons, just himself."

"That's...unsettling. Hey, can you guys go on without me? If so, I have an engagement with an Ogre who will teach me how to turn my fists into deadly weapons, so I'd like to make that as early as possible.

"...Who is the last person who saw Gaerlan? And when?"

"Hrmph. Perhaps it would be wise to discuss this with the entire Coordinate gathered. On the other note, are there any news from the front? What is going on with this war?"