In The Same Room

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Resplendent Wood, 3

*Arachnia fixed her eyes on the Elemental as he spoke, taking in what he had to say and comparing it to the things in her knowledge*

To be honest, Quar, there are things faster than you out there. If Boots really was up there then I would assume that he has access to something faster than you. Assuming that you are swift a flier as you are a runner then I would like to see what he has been using and I have to wonder if the device or method was once used here in Imperveress's early days. Star charts? If those are finely detailed then I must say that whoever made them is an amazing astrologer, and I don't say that often. To be able to do a high-caliber chart without consulting the person it is about takes a level of skill I have only heard of or read about. Not to say that it isn't possible

*the pale white hand that belonged to the Empress rose to toy absentmindedly with the pendant at her throat while she processed*

From what I know about star charts, they can be used to tell a person's future, past, lucky aspects, things that they are good at, any potential or active destinies, even some likes and dislikes and can function as a personality profile. If in the right, or wrong, hands these could be a tool for fine manipulation

*there was an interested sparkle in the black depths of the black widow's eyes. It wasn't really her desire to rule everyone, but these charts could prove extremely informative, and maybe even allow her to assist Ress more efficiently*

[Lirimana]

Resplendent Wood 3,

Maybe we could use Ress's chart and find something out about what's going on? I could read it, probably Arachnia could, too. It could be possible that Boots is trying to help, but I agree that we should find and talk to him before we make any solid decisions

*the Twilight really didn't care about controlling anyone, but she had to wonder if Ress had a predisposition for trouble. Maybe these charts could be helpful, after all. Lirimana found herself glad that she had decided to grab the charts and bring them along*

Quar, the Warbird that we flew to the Manse above Bezair was faster than you. If Boots had some sort of a transport like that then he could make it up there easily, and there are craft docks for objects of that nature already available

[Ress]

Resplendent wood, 2-3

*At Dal'Lumen's call, Sentinel reappeared beside him and took up the crystals and the half heart and held them flat in the palm of his hand.

A mement of concentration from Sentinel allowed him to place the occult trinkets into Elsewhere in a cloud of pale gold essence, and as quickly as he appeared, he was gone... spirited away to the Imperial Manse.

The crystals and half heart slowly faded into existence on the table in the meeting hall, right in front of Arachnia... apparently, Sentinel was not bothering to fully manifest at the moment*

[Dal'Lumen]

Resplendent wood, 2

Dal glanced around waiting for Sentinel to answer him, but was disappointed to find out he didn't seem to want to show up just yet.

"Sentinel? *He shrugged* Hmm... Well anyway, what we do know is that someone has tampered with the Marina in some way and activated this powerful weapon from the past. We should keep watch on any other vulnerable systems in the empire that could be tampered with, we don't want any more rebellious machines. In this case, Sentinel has an idea to combat the said device should it become a problem, he said it requires your permission Empress, Ill let him explain whenever he arrives."

*Dal sighed and rolled his neck, making several audible pops.*

"On to the big picture... We have all come here today for one reason, to pool our knowledge to seek the truth of what happened that day so many people died... I want to discuss the plan, in accordance to what we know, and what our prosecution knows, how do we plan to present our case for Ress' innocence?

*Dal paused, and looked around at each occupant of the room intensely, a fire behind those glassy gray eyes that threatened to lash out at any moment brooded deep in the dark of his pupil.*

"One blaring bit of fact that suggests that the arrows that felled so many innocent lives, did not come from Ress' bow, Reign of Ress. Our lovely Empress informed me earlier that the effects the arrows had on their victims were not that of that weapon..."

*Dal held a hand pointed to the ground as if the subject were right beside him at his feet*

"Processed, dead, dry wheat. Does Ress' bow not turn its victims into food? Aye it does, but always is it alive, and growing! Is that not true Empress?"

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Resplendent Wood 3,

*Arachnia nodded as she was addressed, amused to find the fire in his eyes. This man was very passionate and came across as having a strong sense of justice. Unfortunately there was little time for the Empress to dwell on her amusement due to the situation at hand*

Yes, the Reign of Ress only creates growing plants from the targets it overcomes. Lirimana also pointed out that Sai-Ren-Kurn saw the arrows arc towards her city, as though guided. As for how to prove Ress's innocence, the best suggestion I have is to smother them with facts and material evidence. I would assume that the man with the purple neck-piece will be the leader against Ress, what do we know about him?

*as the articles from Sentinel appeared on the table, she picked up the half-heart and rolled it in her fingers as she inspected it, her words finished*

[Ress]

Resplendent wood, 2/3

* The hum and snap of the manse's essence could be heard as a golden ball of light appeared atop the meeting room table and hovered up 2 feet above it. It then flattened and sharpened out into a 3 foot square, which quickly became a map of Imperveress and was followed by the disembodied voice of Sentinel*

" I am sorry for the wait, I have been offline for some time and needed a few moments to sort through all of the Empire's geomantic data it has gathered"

* Lights appeared on the map, one red at the mane to the far east, 'adjacent' to the Imperial Manse, and the other blue to the southeast of Kideshin*

"The Blue light is no problem... something attempted to enter the empire, and the defenses shattered it...

But the red light could be a problem. It is the point of breach by some unknown intruder, calling itself 'Theft of Words'. It is very difficult to determine weather this thing is dangerous or not. I will keep all scanners on alert for new information"

[Dal'Lumen]

Resplendent wood, 2

Dal snapped his attention up with the abrupt sound of essence being channeled into the room. He squinted at the two dots in confusion, these things were seemingly totally unrelated to the question he had asked, but now two more things to think about were just made known.


"Theft of words... what the hell kind of name is that" *He grunted*
So you're telling me there were no other unsanctioned entires into imperveress in the last couple of months. Meaning that the owners of those strong essences were either here long before hand, or found some way around the sensors you just mentioned... On top of that, we now have some unknown intruder coming our way, does anyone know this person? How did they get through the perimeter manse defenses with ought being blasted into a glass crater?"

*Dal stood there smoldering slightly for a moment, a little annoyed that there were more problems to deal with, but sighed and quickly composed himself.*

"Ehh... What was that thing that broke, are you able to find out Sentinel?"

[wiseriver]

Resplendent Wood, 2

*Wise Rive sat quietly and listened to what was being said. The writhed her ebony hands and picked her slim nails, an anxious movement she had picked up as a child. A movement she dad when she felt she knew something that she may not need to. The stories and recollections she heard were like a puzzle to her instantly. A riddle with a few missing pieces.*

I think there may be more to consider with Ress. With this situation.

*Wise River stood, the thick hair on the nape of her neck began to rise, she was becoming excited.*

I believe the Emperor has been framed, the evidence is there. From the angle of the arrows shot to the convenient awakening of this Ally Enforcer 12. Everything has been to neatly set up against him. Things are falling to perfectly for it to be just fate. The arrows rose high and arched strongly before falling correct? I may not be a strong archer but I know that you must be close in order the have that movement. I believe that finding the Emperors "weapon" should be the first thing we do if we want to assist him. There must be clues attached to it.

* Wise River waited, she didnt know if she had overstepped her ground but for once in the time since she had arrived she felt the need to speak up. To be more like herself. And this was indeed the time to do so.

( Inevitable Genius 2. Cost 1 Will Power Point. First Wits Excellency
Wits+Lore, difficulty 5, Successes 10. )

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Resplendent Wood 3,

*Arachnia was about to answer Dal'Lumen when Wise River spoke up and started spouting off her ideas. She was correct, of course, it did seem too coincidental that these things happened the way they did. She turned her black gaze to her with interest*

That is a highly sensible theory, Wise River. For those who are unaware of who Theft of Words is, it is one of the Fair Folk from the first crusades made on Creation. He is extremely old and was able to avoid the Realm's defense grid when it obliterated the others of his kind. There were rumors that he dwelled in Yu Shan for some time and even posed as the Scarlet Empress for a few years. Occassionally he runs across Creation leaving a tide of prosperity and destruction in his wake. Thus are the ways of the Old Ones. Now, back to what you were saying Wise River, what other theories do you have based on what you've heard? Feel free to elaborate

*the Empress was still wary of having another Lunar on her territory, especially one who had yet to be tattooed and now with a Fair Folk on the loose, but at the same time she was at least somewhat grateful that she had brought her along. This way Arachnia could watch her and benefit from her brains at the same time. When the time came to tattoo Wise River, it would be Arachnia who claimed and inscribed in her the silver marks that would keep her sane. Perhaps it was the child she carried, but she found herself a bit possessive of the girl beside her*

{{Intelligence+Lore difficulty 4... 5 successes}}

[Lirimana]

Resplendent Wood 3,

*Lirimana looked into her memory for anything to add to the Theft of Words recanting, but she couldn't so she kept quiet on the subject. Where had Arachnia found this Lunar? Cute and smart? What fun! They were already planning on finding Ress's bow, but now it seemed to take on new meaning and intensity. The Twilight wondered to herself if once Ress was freed Wise River would gain some property. She just couldn't see Arachnia sharing her Manse. Which made her wonder about Towering Oak this time. Was he still alive? He could run faster than her and should have been done with his one task a long time ago. Did he grow lazy and was sleeping somewhere? Either way, she hoped he was okay*

[Ress]

Resplendent wood, 3

* Quar Looked puzzled for a long time as they spoke, mulling something about his head as he stood there, as if unable to wrap his mind around something. He eventually spoke when he found the words and the assuredness to use them*

" I don't think I can sense essence... and if I can, I am not sure how.... but... maybe"

*he closed his eyes and looked upwards, pondering over something, he knew a long time ago*

" There is another entrance!... I don't remember where and I don't remember what it is.... but there is another way in. If someone is coming in, they are doing it through that entrance!"

[Ress]

Resplendent wood, 3

* In an empty portion of the table appeared many shards of iridescent shards of an unknown substance, each one of them obviously broken parts of a greater whole... whatever that might be. Sentinel's voice soon boomed through the room*

" This is the thing that broke. I am not yet sure what it is, but I have retrieved all of it, down to the smallest fragment.

The only other place of first age might that can be tampered with is the Plateau, and unfortunately, I do not remember anything within it. At any rate, I do believe everything here must be related in some small way." "

[Dal'Lumen]

Resplendent wood 3

The liquid-light form of Dal leaned forward with a worried look on his face. A secret entrance could be a huge hindrance in finding the culprit, if that person could come and go as they pleased they could be long gone by the time the Who, and what, were figured out.

"Where is this Secret entrance Quar? We cant afford to let anyone else slip through unnoticed it could be disastrous!" *He urged gravely.*

On a lighter note Dal'Lumen could not help but be a bit in awe of Sentinels seemingly infinite usefulness.

"Wow, well thanks Sentinel, I'm sure someone can figure it out!" *He called out to the specter that continued to plop trinkets on the table upon request.*

When the small girl next to Arachnia spoke up for the first time, Dal was impressed, but only half satisfied. From very little information Wise River had come to realize something that most of the people in the room were already aware of. However He saw a glint of potential in her that suggested she had more, so naturally he wanted more from her, so how much more did she put together?

"Well done Wise River, its nice to a have a fresh set of eyes on the evidence, most of us are getting burnt out from the process of simply finding it. For the most part we already suspected a frame up, but is there anything else you can discern from the evidence provided? If you have more theories please go on, and don't worry about being wrong, if the evidence says otherwise we will discuss it."

Dal'lumen grinned at her, a glint in his eyes as he waited hungrily for any suggestion that she was unsure of herself. If she had only been lucky with her first deduction, he would be the one to recognize her emotional insecurity if she didn't know what she was talking about. That was after all, a talent of his. It was not as though he wished her to be wrong, but in the situation at hand, suspicion of new individuals with information about the Emperors case was the most prudent cautionary action to take.

[wiseriver]

Resplendent Wood, 2

*Wise River felt good, she enjoyed satisfying that knowledge bug inside of her. Her mind was a sponge and could recite even the most random and in this case useful of facts. She looked at the others, some seemed to want her to be wrong or unsure such as Dal and some were proud if not surprised as the Empress Arachnia. For once Wise Rivers mouth big mouth had brought her positive attention.*

Elaborate? Hmmmm...

You have already explained the "Theft of Words", Empress...

The corn Gods testimony... it did not sound as helpful as the other gods, maybe he saw something different?... or maybe he is lazy?.. or maybe lying?

You said the arrows arched?... a dramatic arch leads me to believe those shots were done at close range.... otherwise there would have been no arch, just a rain of arrows.

This would only make the argument of Ress being framed stronger. I don't know if we can, but perhaps questioning the corn God more would be in order... and if that Elder bloody hand witnessed the event at Ress' side, then his testimony should be valuable as well, no matter how small...

Was the Bloody hand clear weather Ress said, "got him" or "got them?"

And as for his bow... would anyone know where he might keep it? It sounds far too valuable to simply toss to the side and hope to come back to it...

This information is there, I am just surprised no one had ever caught onto it. Have you never thought about the missing parts on the story. Its all clear if you just think between the lines.

[Lirimana]

Resplendent Wood 3,

The Plateau? That was Quar and myself... and there was a Warbird in there when we broke into it. It's parked out front in the courtyard. Zeriku has been considerably nice by piloting it for me until I learn how to do so for myself

*Lirimana shrugged a shoulder and smiled*

Ask Quar if there was anything else in there since he was the one who pulled the Warbird out for me