Attention Keepers and Slayers!

[clawoverfist]

On Wednesday morning, Tristan tells Rhys and Vanya about the note the dragon sent Gonzales, demanding everyone show up at Longpike tomorrow morning or Reina dies.

After Rhys and Vanya split ways with Tristan, they will work to get everyone together that day to inform them and get everyone's thoughts and what they want to do. (Including whether or not they explain themselves to Tristan, Benito, and Gonzales.)

We'd like to hand wave all this for time's sake! This post is for hashing out everyone's thoughts and maybe(??) coming to a consensus on what everyone will do, and probably additionally what they will tell Tristan (and Benito) of their decision.

Comments

[simmertoaboil]

Lera's vote will be to tell them that they found a scroll and it's dangerous, but they're not entirely sure what it's for. She mostly trusts Reina there, and figures Tristan be; she wants to be careful with a teacher though. She thinks they should go, though, and be armed to the teeth. No man left behind and all that.

[cracklefwoosh]

Val is of the belief that Benito should know. But she may be a little biased here because spirit plus also Benito's awesome.

(And she may opt to fill him in on her own if the others decide against it :D;;;)

She doesn't know Tristan and might ask why he should know, why he's involved, and etc? She'd probably leave it up to them to figure out how much to tell him, and Gonzales, since she knows Rhys gets weird whenever she talks about Gonzales. (She might try asking him about it again after their meeting once away from the others?)

THOUGH if they're expected to show up WITH Gonzales she might suggest it'd be a good idea to tell her about the scroll since she might actually be able to help them do something besides hand it over, but she wouldn't push.

PS:: Tristan WILL be telling them Gonzales said to be prepared for a fight, if that affects anything.

[clawoverfist]

If asked about Gonzales later, Rhys will probably try to reexplain the whole Gonzales as an assassin of children thing and how he finds that a little unsettling. (We could possibly play this out depending on how much time we all have before things take place? I'm fine with a handwave too though!)

And if they agree not to tell Benito and Rhys finds out Val does anyway, he won't be terribly happy about that. But I guess that goes without saying, haha.

[denying_gravity]

Vanya's willing to go with "don't tell them we found an ancient resurrection scroll because that's one more group to protect it from" but he wants to tell them SOMETHING.

He will suggest lying as an option and suggest saying they stole something that belongs to the enemies from their hideout in the Tower, but that it's a weapon that could kill a lot of people so they don't want to give it back.

[clawoverfist]

Okay so first things first, Rhys runs off to Longpike before any meeting takes place to see if he can work out an entirely different deal and make this whole thing moot. Obviously, that doesn't work because he isn't able to find anyone! Woe.

He is not keen on telling the others what they found in specifics, as House Castillo is a House that has already willing committed and justified a kind of genocide and is probably able to personally speak with an ancestor who'd love to be resurrected. House Castillo knowing about it means there's another group to guard the scroll from.

But Rhys does think they should all show up tomorrow morning for Reina's sake.

[denying_gravity]

Vanya will demand to know Exactly What Happens if that scroll is used by the enemy, and probably get kind of growly when no one quite knows.

[simmertoaboil]

Oh, using the spell involves killing Lots of People. Lera'll fill him in on that.

[denying_gravity]

yes but how many are lots? since Reina's life is in the balance against it, he kinda wants to know this, grim as it is to ask.

[denying_gravity]

ALSO

On second thought, before Vanya says anything productive at all, they're going to have to listen to a diatribe about how he TOLD them this plan would be just like handing the enemy exactly what they wanted, and NOW LOOK.

He's actually feeling particularly guilty about what happened because he was really wrapped up in and bothered by the risks but still didn't STOP it and then they endangered someone who wasn't given the choice to opt in. So he's taking that guilt out on others! Yayy!

[stormapproaching]

Kate lets Vanya go for about 45 seconds before getting to her feet and loudly demanding why the fuck he's still here.

[denying_gravity]

And he's like SORRY KATE, you're right! if he'd walked out, shit would have turned out SO MUCH BETTER. One less person helping fight the golem, good thing that was SO EASY and no one got hurt or nearly killed at all.

Maybe he'll just walk out now and then when he finds out which of you assholes is DEAD tomorrow he'll just have fun living with that for the next few hundred years.

[stormapproaching]

And Kate's so done with Vanya's whining that she's just like, NOBODY HAS FORGOTTEN that this isn't what we asked for, but whining about it like a god damn jackass isn't helping ANYONE, so you can SHUT UP or she'll be happy to shut you up!

[denying_gravity]

Vanya relents, but not without making another jab about he just doesn't want them to pretend it's some big surprise that they couldn't see coming, they need to admit that they're ("we're") responsible for what happened and what happens next. So they can't just trade her or blunder in looking for a fight and hope it all works out without getting her killed, they need a... a plan...

And he kinda quiets down when it comes time to admit he doesn't have one of those just yet.

[clawoverfist]

Rhys will agree that they need a plan and that he does not want to hand over the scroll. Their focus should be finding a way to secure/free Reina so they can then fight the dragon/distract it/escape without endangering her further.

He will have been stone quiet through Vanya and Kate's argument too. :3;
BODY LANGUAGE WISE obviously he wouldn't... be able to interject verbally.

[denying_gravity]

okay, argh, plan. plan.

so Vanya will conclude that there are just TOO MANY VARIABLES to set a reliable trap for the enemy, the enemy is controlling everything and they don't even know if Reina will be presented to them or if they'll have to find her

So what if they created a way to communicate silently so they could come up with any sneaky plans while everyone's ominously staring one another down and they've already seen the lay of the land?

Could Lera create something wearable that would let them pass around personal auditory illusions outsiders couldn't hear?

[simmertoaboil]

Lera can throw it together, but she needs to go home really quick. Also she might need to coopt Madi to help put them together without taking all night (which would be a bad idea, all things considered), but she can do it.

[denying_gravity]

Lera you are the besst

[simmertoaboil]

Of course I am!

[stormapproaching]

Kate never quite looks contrite, but she at least calms down and seems to acknowledge Vanya's right about the need for a plan. She'll give that one to him. Maybe not happily, but still.

[simmertoaboil]

Lera gives Vanya That Look and says, "If it's me, then I am sorry" (in Russian, sorry people).

[denying_gravity]

HE'S NOT REALLY WALKING OUT LERA HE'S JUST POINTING OUT WHY HE CAN'T, OTL

[simmertoaboil]

[doubledraculina]

Mirela had been dithering over what the hell to do about this cosmic situation. The awareness that a dragon has abducted Reina, whom she considered a friend, provides her with an easy solution:

Murder.

Mirela is entirely willing to go confront people in Longpike. She will, after several hours of running off to get her gear together and put on her leather apron and sundry other vaguely ominous pieces of clothing, follow along after Rhys. Possibly literally!

Of course she is not completely around the bend and could be put elsewhere by those with more awareness. But that is her inclination.

[simmertoaboil]

Oh! Rhys may be leaving on Wednesday secretly (I am unsure but Yoiko'd know for sure!).

But she can definitely come for the Thursday Festivities, which we'll post tomorrow! :E And Lera will be a little unsure if she suggests actually killing whoever did this.

[doubledraculina]

She might not say that, but there'd be razor sharpening and a lot of grim stares.

[simmertoaboil]

[clawoverfist]

Rhys intends to leave secretly, buuut I am open to rearranging things so that Mirela can catch him and follow (everyone is informed about what needs to be talked about, but "in a few hours" so everyone can clear their schedule and also so Rhys gives himself enough time to sneak off), or have Rhys leave after the meeting so she can follow or they leave independently and accidentally run into each other. (If he leaves after, then Rhys cannot confirm anything about the location during the meeting, but I don't know if that's of critical importance to the discussion?)

[doubledraculina]

I think "leave independently and accidentally run into each other" is a good plan, with Mirela's plan having been to set up some kind of grisly necromantic trap and/or ghost army in the town cemetary.

[aurosa]

- With Reina's life on the line, Riona is more than willing to show up at Longpike. She doesn't know personally, but their actions have put Reina in her position and Riona won't turn her back on that.

- She does not want to share full information with Tristan, Benito, and Gonzales. She's still of the mindset agreed with Rhys to keep Reina in the dark about certain things: the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and more people means more channels for information to pass through. Information is a limited asset, one they're sorely lacking in, so she's not keen to let go of what little they do have.

- But she's not on board with straight up lying to them, saying that Gonzales overheard Michel Patisse telling Riona about the door right after the Dragon's attack. She would rather go the route of omission and be honest about said omission if any of the three press for more information. She will also mention that they are in a position to be used as information and chess pieces for Gonzales as well, regardless of her intentions.

- THAT SAID, she'll give Tristan's integrity a vote of confidence.

- Lastly(?), she'll also mention that she's been working on a vargr/warg form large enough to face the Dragon head-on (she hopes). She's not expecting the Dragon form to make an appearance (too big for a populated area) but if it does, she intends to use the vargr form in retaliation.

Edit: - LASTLY lastly(?!), she'll pitch the idea of giving the impression that she's reconsidering her involvement/doubting her current position on the opposite team, so to speak, during their meeting -- for the purpose of possibly giving the enemy incentive to contact her with hopes for double-crossing. There could be valuable information to gain if it works, she'll say. She'll volunteer herself because she's a Weatherford--and with an Almagoras mother--so she's in a good position to be supportive of an Almagoras out for revenge.

She'll ask Rhys if the masked Almagoras and/or the Dragon are aware of his Empathy for confirmation, and then maybe ask him to cooperate with her to sell the act since his Empathy could "pick up" on her "doubt"? idk exactly how Empathy works but if acting could fool it, then a Weatherford might be pretty good for that?

[clawoverfist]

Rhys agrees to omission over straight up lying. It's not that he's against lying, but that being caught lying could be worse for them and they don't/can't know what everyone knows.

Rhys will confirm that the Almagoras is aware of his empathy, but he isn't sure if the Dragon is. However, the Dragon seemed to know a lot about Rhys in their brief encounter, so Rhys would err on the side of probably yes.

He would also agree to the idea of acting out noticing Riona's doubts for sneaky purposes. Acting can fool empathy (we've done it on screen a few times in non-serious applications /o/) as long as it's method acting, though unless Rhys is sharing what he's feeling by touching the dragon/masked man, there's no way to prove what he's sensing to them. He could still act alarmed/surprised/worried by her himself though.

Exceeept they expect him to have his own doubts. (And he does, just not doubts enough to murder anyone.) This may be enough for him to reveal his own mother was Almagoras-- provided Kata/Lera/Vanya don't see him thinking about it and stop him-- but not that he took after her magically, and that the enemy knows.

(If his explanation of empathy makes it unappealing for her plan, he'll skip any reveals.)

[simmertoaboil]

Lera will be fine with a Fake Betrayal, and she's generally pro-omission over lying, which could get complicated. She's pretty sure she can also fake a good bit of surprise at Riona doing that.

[denying_gravity]

Vanya does not necessarily oppose plan Fake Betrayal but is uncertain whether the Rhys's Secret factor would throw things off, and if Rhys tries to shut down the idea for any reason he'd try to offer backup.

He also won't fight for LYING TO TRISTAN AND BENITO WOO he just thought that keeping the "ancient lost magic" part out of the story might make the thing less tempting to steal.

[aurosa]

yeah Riona is on board with minimizing the temptation to steal miracle kill revive scroll :|b

[aurosa]

Apologies in advance if this is dumb/I'm forgetting key info, I'm hopped up on too little sleep and a bit too much caffeine--

re no way to prove what he's sensing: that's fine, I was thinking more like worried/suspicious glances in her direction or something-- hints basically for now. But if they expect him to have his own doubts AND he makes that known to Riona then she'll pitch the both of them acting like they might turn on their friends/side with the Almagoras OR if Rhys feels comfortable with solely furthering that acting role then that's okay too.

But if he's already made it clear to the enemy that he's not on board with the murderings then she might be like "yo you stay on 'this' side and lemme give it a shot" (only in Riona-speak).

[clawoverfist]

Yeah basically what Rhys is worried about is that concerned glances in her direction won't be helpful because of his own expected doubt. He'll admit that he never made it clear to the enemy he's wholly against them, but he'll blame this on being mute. That prevented him from vocalizing an explicit rejection in the dire situations they encountered each other in.

(The reality is that he's flat out told the dragon he wants to save the masked man, but he's not going to bring that up here!)

He'll agree to the plan of them both pretending they might turn, and is also okay with being the only one who fakes it (if that's what you meant by that last part!). However, he'll point out they need to be incredibly careful about Isabella Gonzales either way.

[aurosa]

I think Riona will agree with the both of them pretending for now, then, in a manner leaning towards subtle.

The bit about Gonzales assassinating kids -- is that knowledge well-known? Or is Rhys going to share it with the group (or just Val?) Riona is still going to be cautious about Gonzales either way but that'll affect the degree of her distrust

[clawoverfist]

Rhys will "remind" them. He attempted to communicate this before but was too vague (and later became aware he was too vague, though Riona was not present to begin with). Definitely because they are dealing with her in close proximity, he'll make it clear.

[denying_gravity]

As much as Vanya is onboard with keeping sensitive info to themselves, he wonders if they oughta prepare Gonzales for the fake betrayal in case she thinks it's real and does something hasty to try to stop it.

Like killing them.

[aurosa]

GOOD POINT, Riona sees the sense in that (she doesn't like it 100% but it's. a good point.)

[clawoverfist]

Rhys reluctantly agrees that they probably should.

But he doesn't really want to give her the reason why Rhys makes a good candidate for it, and might warn they shouldn't go telling her about Riona's full heritage just in case. (Weatherford connections sound plausible enough, right?) He thinks this in itself could be dangerous after everything's said and done.

Then he realizes depending on what the dragon says it may not matter haha oh god.

[aurosa]

For her own ancestry, Riona is fine with withholding that her mother is an Almagoras, but not overly concerned about Gonzales finding out since that information isn't exactly kept behind lock and key, you know?