2017-10-07: A Talk with the Captain
- Log: A Talk with the Captain
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Bart Fatima
- Where: Wayside
- Date: 7th October 2017
- Summary: Riesenlied and Noeline take the time to work out the alignment of their respective little groups with a certain sand pirate captain...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Wayside has stood the test of Id, at least until now... in the wake of the Demon of Elru's visit, the village's morale seems to have taken a bit of a hit -- but it wasn't down. And in the wake of the Ebony Wings' latest attack on Jolly Roger, things had gotten a lot... more complicated.
There, in the shipyard, Riesenlied and Noeline, amongst their other companions, had encountered Leon, Josephine and Fei. The relationship between the two relatively independent, free-floating organisations had not always been hostile, but it was relatively... undefined as well.
They share a lot of the same goals. They oppose Aveh. They just hadn't... hashed everything out in the open yet.
It is such that when she hears Bart was in the area, Riesenlied -- draped in fresh bandages from where she suffered attacks from Leon -- moves to try to call the pirate out. "Mister Bart?" she asks gently. "It is a pleasure. Do you have a bit of time to speak...?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is the last person who would ever consider herself a Morale Officer, especially with Riesenlied around to take up the mantle, and yet that's the role she's been playing as of late - ensuring that people know roughly the events that occured with Id, or are at least aware that Wayside has faced one of its biggest foes and survived the ordeal. Many of the Ebony Wings are veterans enough to know that score, and deal with it themselves - but there are a number of younger demons around, and Noeline finds herself having to stay and explain some of the backstory for those who left Old Petra deeply confused.
A good Morale Officer does not include 'this time around'.
She'd already spotted the Captain in Wayside once before - or at least, someone strongly reminiscent of the bounty posters talking to Lily, which seems like it would narrow it down - and from her point of view, there's a lot to be gained by trying to hash things out with the Yggdrasil Alliance. At the very least, it might help ease some of Fei's worries and woes as far as the disparate nature of various Filgaian groups is concerned.
She's just behind Riesenlied as the former walks up, not as physically hurt as the Tainted commander but certainly looking relieved to be back in Wayside in hopes of a quiet few days to recuperate. "We owe some of your people a bit of a debt, I dare say, or at least seem to be in a back-and-forth."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Once again, Bart has wandered into this small town. Which he is kind of surprised is still here, after that encounter with the Red Guy he had here. And that's... well. He assumes that the man was not as crazy as he had been told, because it doesn't seem like there are a lot of craters or explosions around here. But the pirate is here to pick up a couple of small things Lily had left behind when she took off on her latest mission. Bart was not entirely happy about that mission, but there wasn't a lot he could do about it either, especially as it involved Cecilia and her crazy Guardian nonsense. But before he gets to where Lily had been staying, he's accosted (if you can even call it that, given how polite the woman is being) by Riesenlied. He's not heard about the whole thing with the Jolly Roger yet, so Bart turns and raises his visible eyebrow for a moment at the somewhat mummified appearance of the Metal Demon. "Captain," he replies after a moment, and then grins with a sort of cocky, self-assured expression. "I didn't pillage the seven seas of sand and blow up thousands of Aveh Gears to be mistered at, thank you kindly," he adds, and crosses his arms as he looks between the two odd young women. Not exactly terrifying monsters of antiquity, but he'd seen enough of those back in Adlehyde. "So to what do I owe the pleasure, m'ladies?" he asks with a polite half bow. "While I wish I could say I get pretty women stopping me in the street all the time... well, the side benefits of being a pirate aren't what they're cracked up to be."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods very gently, wincing a bit as she shifts -- the gash at her stomach had been bothering her, being the deepest of her wounds. "As Noeline says, Captain..." she doesn't seem to have a problem calling him that, given it's what he wishes to be called. "We do owe some of your people a debt -- but given recent events..."
She offers her hand out -- it's not legitimately for a handshake, but it's somewhat characteristic and evident of her offer.
"I wish to speak in more intimate detail about an alliance." A pause. "The Ebony Wings and the Yggdrasil Alliance have had their contentions. But it is undeniable, at the same time, that we have common interests. The defeat of Aveh and its Prime Minister, Shakhan, who abuses his authority to resume digging in the Sand Ocean. The defeat of Kislev and the ancient war machines they deploy -- Gryndille, and Golem Sado. On the former, I've pledged to Leon and Lily as much my full support."
She glances aside, as she gestures to the inn, V4L-H4LLLA. "A drink, perhaps...?" A pause. "We can discuss this more comfortably, if you prefer, Captain."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"... for my part-- we owe Leon and Lily for their support and assistance, both here and abroad. Well, not to mention that Fei has a habit of dispensing terrified but perfectly sensible advice, and your pink munchkin aided in getting our water purifiers working," Noeline chuckles richly to herself. "Besides, two guerilla groups are better than one - and I dare say we might have a lot of assistance we can provide so long as we aren't shooting at each other," she adds with a rather amused tone as she folds her arms, but turns to lead the pair towards the tavern.
"Not to mention - well, I am curious what you make of Wayside thus far. It would probably be best to teach you about it properly and give you the full story, but I have to wonder what you think of it at first glance," the spy wonders, with a little streak of mischief to her. Most visitors to Wayside have already had their reaction to the guards posted at the lookout, or the odd beastmen with a collection of replacement parts making the best of things around the village.
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Well well, that's interesting and out of the blue. Bart sort of wishes that Leon would tell him about these sorts of things ahead of time. Ah well - what can ya do, especially when it's nice ladies asking to help out in achieving your lifelong goals? "Alright, let's sit down and talk this out over a drink," Bart comments, indicating that they should head to the bar. It's far from the first time he's done this sort of negotiation in the local watering hole, and it probably won't be the last. But as the trio walks, Noeline asks a question, and the pirate considers it for a moment and shrugs. "I've seen odder places before, but it seems like you've got an interesting thing going here. People get kicked to the curb in this world quite a bit, and making a place for those without anywhere to go isn't a bad thing. As secret lairs go, however, I'd have to give this one a three. Not too hard to find the place." As soon as they are settled in, Bart hoists a beer and looks at his two... well, it's hard to say what exactly Riesenlied and Noeline would be classified as. But Bart fishes around in his brain for something intelligent to say, and comments, "I want to be clear when we're talking here - while I generally do my best to cut Kislev's legs out from under them, the real source of a lot of the fighting has been Shakhan and his buddies in Gebler, at least in my eyes. Ever since he seized power by wiping out the old Aveh royalty, he's been pushing forward with a rather lunatic agenda which seems to rely on stepping on everyone to locate his goal." Bart pauses, and takes a sip of beer. "Which he seems to think will allow him to conquer the world or something like that. And hell, he might be right."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's nothing really approaching an 'insensitive' space for private talks in Wayside anyhow; the concept of the village itself is basically a walking dead zone, when considering the sensitivity of its existence to certain parties are concerned.
She places a hand to her stomach again with a quiet wince, but she squints just for a moment to say, "... I would admit, it is not the most hidden of places. ... perhaps it is my stubbornness to give these people something approaching a sense of normalcy. It is a place that can be found by those who need it..."
Conflicting desires, perhaps, but she has hope -- however naive -- that she can make it work.
"In war, as I have seen many a time in my age, it is the actions of a single party -- no, even, a single actor -- that can greatly unfound the assumptions of how a longstanding conflict should unfold."
Riesenlied frowns very quietly, and says, "And we've seen Kislev react accordingly. They view Shakhan's regime to be an escalation, and they responded accordingly. But, I acknowledge your position."
She tilts her head. "What is Shakhan's true goal? What does he seek in the Ruins, if you would share it?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Hmm... well. Part of the point is that this is pointedly /not/ a secret lair. It is a village - nothing more, and nothing less," Noeline comments, though the amused light that dances in her eyes does suggest she knows how far they're stretching that truth, when you truly get down to it. "As such, we are seeking to ally with some of the factions swirling around Filgaia, sell water to nearby settlements, and generally do what we can to assist in trade and other affairs."
"... when it comes down to it... we would like to give some of the people here a chance to live as close to a normal life as they can. No doubt that will paint a target on our back soon enough, if it hasn't already, but thus far we've welcomed every religion under the sun and fended off an old nemesis or two. Frankly, I'm a little astounded how well we're doing, but it wouldn't have gone that way were we not forging friendships," she huffs softly to herself.
"... Having the support of Gebler is most definitely a concern," she admits after Riesenlied's comments, but more to herself than anything else. "It would certainly not be wrong to say that they have established air superiority - more than that, they appear to have an enormous operating range, given the speed of their opportunistic attack on Adlehyde. Probably, they have kept the Golem there for themselves, for good measure... really, on the whole, I could believe all those rumours that they're part of some shadowy Solaris group."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Kislev might have been escalating, but Bart was fairly sure from what he had heard about the Kaiser that they would back down once Aveh was not acting like a bunch of lunatics and wasn't pushing to escalate the fighting with all the Gears. He couldn't guarantee it, but a lot of his strategy for ending the war was based around that assumption. Not to mention that the warmongers wouldn't have as much ammunition to push Kislev's expansion with a friendly Aveh on their border. "Well, it's a good place that you're trying to make here, and I'm certainly not going to come along and kick the sand castle just for the hell of it. Too many people willing to wreck things just for the sake of wrecking them, and that isn't my thing. I prefer to protect things rather than tear them down." Bart pauses. Holds up a finger and adds, "I recognize the difficulty of this statement and ask that you trust me. Despite appearance I DO know what I'm doing." He settles back, and sighs. "Gebler will be a problem, and until we can drive them out, it's going to be difficult to remove Shakhan from power for long. But I think it can be done, and if we can kill the bald bastard, it will at least unsettle things and give us a chance to drive Gebler out. Or at least make them go front and center in the eyes of the people, which might incite a more popular rebellion. But that would be a lot of innocent people hurt." Choices, choices. And then Riese actually... asks what Shakhan is after. Hmph, it's surprising so few people have asked. "I've known that for a long time. He's looking for something called the Fatima Jasper, a relic of the old Royal Family's that is reputed to be the key to an ancient treasure." Leaning back, the pirate considers the two Metal Demons, before adding, "That's more than I've told Lily, Fei, and Leon - and given that your bosses nearly flattened a kingdom to get their hands on the Adlehyde's royal treasure, even telling you about the Fatima's having one might not be a good idea."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's lips thin just a little as they sit, and drinks are served -- Bart might remember that odd bartender lady with the sass and the fridge for a body, which actually turns out to be really convenient when your job is, well, bartending. It's nice and cool beer, at least, which is perhaps more than one can expect from a village that's particularly poor in many other ways.
"... then, let me trade with you a dangerous piece of information in turn, for your trust," Riesenlied quietly expresses.
She opens her eyes, her chief way of expressing her honesty. She isn't a good liar, and it's easy to tell when she's being untruthful. She wavers, and she often flakes; here, she's full of resolve.
"... Noeline and I have chosen to turn our backs on our brethren. Those who seek the Guardian statues, all for the sake of resurrecting Mother."
A pause, as she lowers her head. "... naturally, we have not made our position public. Nor has absolutely everyone here been told. It is not an easy shift to make overnight... you will understand. But insofar as our purpose, please rest assured that we will do our best to prevent contributing to their plans."
Her heart is burdened still. She has loved Mother for so long, believed her to be such a kind and selfless saviour. The voice she heard on that day... still wakes her up at night, at times. That the Guardians only seem to lend further credence to it... is not something she can ignore wilfully.
"I see... so it is an ancient treasure perhaps on the likes of the Golems -- or perhaps, even more dire," Riesenlied expresses. "And given the secretive nature of Gebler, it may be that they are serving each other's interests mutually, but only as far as unearthing it."
She doesn't know Bledavik politics that well. She doesn't know where Shakhan stands in Gebler's eyes. Is he a puppet, or is he well entrenched? The questions mount.
"Judging from where he's concentrated... I assume he has reason to believe it is around the Sand Ocean? Or do we not know, at all?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is silent as Riese makes the declaration - but one hand flicks at her hair in a worried sort of fashion, while her other steals atop the blonde's arm to provide some contact. It's much too gentle a motion to be fake or put on, especially when she rather ruefully chuckles. "... we... did not make this decision lightly, of course, but we made it nonetheless. If nothing else, the Guardians demanded that we show them our race can be more than just warmongers - and as such, we are facing that geas head-on with the respect it deserves."
"As Riese says, many of the people here do not know of this yet - but you can already see some of them change as they interact with the world at large, something they never got the chance to do when acting purely as a soldier. Bit by bit, we aim to make something of Wayside. ... I cannot guarantee we will be much help /against/ our brethren, at least at the moment," she adds with another of those rather low chuckles, "But we can at least provide support and assistance where possible, and will certainly not add to a shaman's woes any time soon."
Truthfully, she's wondered about trying to steal some of the Photosphere's intel on the location of the statues, with the intent of passing it onto Drifters - but that seems a little /too/ dangerous in terms of their situation, asking for trouble of a level beyond what even Noeline is comfortable with.
"--a treasure?" Noeline adds, almost distastefully - as if something so simple would hardly warrant the lengths of Shakhan's maneuvering. "That is a-- remarkably upfront goal, to be quite honest. Even if it were something truly significant, it does not explain all their movements - why make an open enemy of Adlehyde? Why that enormous assault outside the Temple? ... perhaps it would be best to ask what Gebler want, because I rather assume they're the ones seeking to grab as much in the way of spoils and glory as possible."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
"See, it's an interesting point to say you're working against the other Metal Demons. The problem there is the Guardians don't particularly like you folks, and they especially don't like your Goddess, Mother or whatever it is they're calling her this week. But you're totally different than we are, and I'm sure there's gonna be some folks that will ask if this Mother of yours can just take you over or force you to obey her will when she wakes up. The Guardians are generally all 'rar, must protect statues and prevent the evil from awakening rar please go do shit for us because we're just big ghosty things and can't do it ourselves.'" There is a surprising amount of bite and sarcasm in Bart's voice - whatever else might be evident, it's clear that he doesn't think too highly of the Guardians. Which might strike Riesenlied and Noeline as being... weird for a human. But Bart chuckles, and holds up his hands palm up in a sort of 'what can you do?' gesture. "Good thing I stopped listening to those spooks years ago. If they can come up with something good to say, I might listen. But I've not heard anything besides the usual blather." He nods as Noeline points out that the Guardians have talked to them, but he knows that they're going to be having trouble from both sides for a good long time to come. Well, it's their challenge - he's probably not going to change anyone's mind on his own, but he's certainly not going to make things worse either. "In a way, Shakahn might well be the least important piece in this little game, but he managed to establish his legitimacy in the eyes of the people by claiming the old king was about to sell out to Kislev and allow the country to be taken over. I doubt even Gebler can operate all that effectively without some support base in Aveh. And we *could* operate much better with them out of the area and being able to take over their bases and whatnot. So I think Shakhan is a good weak link for us to knock out. "As for the treasure... well, Shakahan's not even close to finding the Jasper, and I know where it is. So I'm not concerned about that. It's more what he's willing to do in order to find it."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
In truth, it's a bit strange, but... she'd heard similar sentiments about the Drifters' forced fates from the others. Those that are in complicated situations. Those that don't particularly like being forced into a larger-than-life battle.
"... if she can dominate our will, then that will be the end of it," Riesenlied expresses. "But I wouldn't give up on the chance that she does have such control over us." There's a quiet sigh. "More than being on one side, what grieves me most is hearing the pain in the voices of both Lord Siegfried and the Guardians."
She pauses. "They bear old pain, old grudges. Left unchecked, they'll rope a new generation of both humans and demons into their strife."
A pause. "Shakhan is the public face to the people of Aveh... I see. It allows Gebler to maintain a degree of secrecy in turn, while also expanding their territory and allowing them to have eyes over a wider net." She lets out a little noise of thought. Public campaigns, then. Discrediting him, destroying his popular support. Fighting the culture battle.
She does agree. It seems like a good weak link to strike. Gebler's capabilities are phenomenal, as they've seen in Adlehyde. To be able to respond rapidly to them like that, out of the skies... they are a dangerous foe indeed.
She pauses again, and then slips a picture of a man in a black hat and chaps. "... I was planning on telling Lily, but I think you should know as well. This man... he calls himself Marcus Rider, an agent of Smith & Luio in Bledavik."
A pause. "I believe he is affiliated with Gebler, and his is a psuedonym." She tilts her head. "... I spoke with him about the topic of Id, when he demolished Garlyle seven years ago, and I do believe he was there at the time. Garlyle is now a known ally of Aveh and Gebler... it is a lead you could pursue, at your convenience."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Ever so softly, Noeline snickers to herself. "Well-- you would not be the first to think poorly of the Guardians, that's for sure. As far as either of us can tell, they are as injured from the wars of the past as Mother is - blind and helpless, and forced to throw their voice out to as many Drifters as possible in hopes that some might answer. Whether that counts as poor judgement on their part-- well, I certainly suppose I can't deny it, but at the same time it is the only choice they have right now."
"Certainly, we won't begrudge anyone their beliefs - Ethos or Althena, Guardians or Granas. It is more to just underline the point that-- we have been given a chance, I suppose, to prove ourselves."
She pauses-- hesitates significantly at the idea that Mother might have that sort of power over them. "I-- certainly hope Mother cannot simply control us. My gut instinct would say she cannot - because if she could, the ways of our culture would be rather different. I do not think the Tainted would have come to be, in that sort of an environment, let alone someone like the two of us. ... we shall see, I suppose - but on that front, I do at least believe I have a little in the way of insurance. It might get me killed, certainly, but insurance nonetheless."
In some respects, it pays to have a Guardian in your head. Even if he's a bit of a dick.
"... Aveh is a big country, and an entrenched one. A long war with a bitter rival will do that - it might be rather hard to make something stick without some extremely significant sort of proof. To be honest, even if we were to point out Gebler's role in shadier dealings - it might not matter, if the populace see them as their elite guard," she mutters with something of a sigh. "Still, it might be a particularly good way to see if we can't learn their origins, and chase things up the chain a little."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Bart takes the picture and looks it over for a moment. "Something useful to go on, at least. Although we've got other operations that we're planning as well, but any avenue that we can pursue against Gebler and their pawns would definitely be useful. Garlyle has been... interesting. They don't seem to be really participating in the war, but they're searching for something. We have no idea what, they're been pretty closed mouth and General Baal, their commander, isn't really talking to anyone these days." Pretty dang secretive, from what Bart had been able to tell. Not that his intelligence assets were the best. ...or really his own, since Sigurd seemed to be handling all of that sort of thing. Bart hasn't really commented on the Solaris connection, mainly because he doesn't like people knowing how much he DOES known about that sort of thing. Solaris themselves are dangerous, and Bart isn't ready for an all-out confrontation with them. But he's glad that his crazy plans at least sound reasonable to a pair of crazy Metal Demons who have defected from their people. ...not necessarily the best people to be asking commentary from, but the pirate takes it where he can get it. "Overall, Shakhan is crazy - the man is power hungry and I expect he's hoping to be able to turn the tables on Gebler eventually. And I've got some tricks up my sleeve against him for when the time comes." Yes. Vengence is best served cold. And yet very hot indeed. ...because it's never really 'cold' in Aveh. Except at night because... deserts. Arg. Bart needs to not do these mental monologues. "So, provisionally, I'm willing to say this will work out. I want to talk to Lily and Leon first, as well as consult with my people. But for the time being, we'll see about bringing in some supplies, and maybe stashing a few people who need to rest in a quiet, safe location. Get people used to you folks, and maybe see if we can reduce some of the gut reaction of fear and the like people have to you Metal Demons. And once I've confirmed things... well, we can see where we go from there."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods gently towards Bart. Garyle is something of a personal pursuit of hers, given what had happened there, and how they've resurged up here. It was irrational, but it felt like something she needed to deal with... if only to close that chapter of her life.
"The Sult Ruins were the extent of Garlyle's involvement that I was able to unearth," she frowns. "It could be that they were trying to find the Jasper there as well." It's all theorycraft at this point. Anything is possible.
Shakhan is crazy... well, you do need to be crazy to be playing the strange bedfellows game with a group as dangerous as Gebler. "We, ah..." Riesenlied pauses. "We did run into them yesterday, when we were trying to secure Dragon Fossils to spirit away from Kislev's supplies. The whole op turned out to be a setup, and we still have to pursue the fallout from that, but... it was one of the drivers for this meeting, so to speak. Because both Fei and Leon felt that they needed to secure the Fossils for the Yggdrasil, or at least deny us that resource... and I knew there was more we could do about our tenuous connection."
She nods at that, and slowly holds out her hand. The human one, not the misshapen one that's turned rather draconic nowadays.
"Thank you, Captain Bart. I do look forward to our cooperation."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
With a light chuckle, Noeline picks at her hair. "That is one more obstacle down. For the record, we do have some field medics, who can assist should you have anyone who's a bit too injured to really cope with being on board a ship. Alternatively, we have a gaggle of adorable children who have even managed to tame Miss Keil," she adds with more than a little relish, her eyes flashing in amusement. Truly, a dangerous weapon. "Most of all, we have an acceptable supply of fuel, and a good deal of fresh water, and I would suggest that is our main commodity at the moment."
"I do not believe we have a significant plan of action at the moment - we are still firmly in 'lick our wounds' territory, and the events of the last week did not help matters - but I am intending to look more into the people behind that warehouse, to see if I can't pick something out from the rubble. As it were."
Riesenlied's wording does rather give her pause, though, and she does chuckle afterwards. "Ah-- bear in mind that we did resolve things with them reasonably peacefully, however, and assisted in airlifting Leon out when everything went south. I-- have to admit, I did not entirely catch where Fei ended up..." she adds, trailing off as she looks to Riese with a light frown. "But that is more because of the Trial Knight's appearance than anything else. ... he was rather incensed, but I do hope he is alright."
<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.
Bart takes the offered hand... and just sighs. "...I keep telling them not to get into any more trouble than they have to, and what to they go and do...? I swear, help these days..." He grumbles. Yeah, he figures it was probably a misunderstanding, but the captain is looking forward to hearing what the reasoning for this little operation are going to be. "...next time it would be good to hear about that first, before we discuss any other business," he comments a bit dryly, but it's clear that Bart isn't too put out. He's used to his crew getting into trouble on him. "As for Lily, deep down she's a big softie, although if you ever tell her I said that you'll probably wish that she had set you on fire instead. But both she and Leon are good people, and I don't expect we're going to have any trouble working with them in the future. As for the rest..." Bart pauses. "Let me finish up this current operation, and we can go from there. I don't know much about this whole warehouse shindig, and I'll leave it to you to pick things apart there. I've got some people who are going after a Guardian Statue in a dangerous location, and I need to make sure they can get out after they've taken care of everything." To a certain extent, that mission is Bart's main worry. It's entirely possible things could change drastically in the light of its outcome. Unlikely, but possible.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods gently, thinking that she probably should've done that -- but the mountain of topics she had to speak of had put things out of order. "My apologies," she nods. She shakes Bart's hand gently, and lets it go.
Lily being a big softie... yeah... she's seen it. She'd also be stabbed by a greatsword of hate if she told anyone else, too.
"And of course. We'll let you know if new developments happen as a result of that warehouse bust," she remarks. She rises gently as she rubs at her stomach again, where the staunched bleeding is starting to harrangue her again. "If you want any more liquor, do feel free -- Val is pretty generous about it."