Scene #9319: Meeting the Great Sage

Owner	Pose
Kukuru	Those arriving in China today are treated to the sights of a somewhat idyllic countryside on the way to the gathering place indicated by the summons. The forest is quiet save for the scurrying of animals through the brush, villagers are working hard hauling supplies or resting by a creek, and the weather is pleasantly cool with a light, dry breeze blowing through the area every now and then. Most of any noise, then, comes from a large building at the bottom of a long slope, flanked on both sides by steep hills and blocking off entry from one side to the other with its high walls. The stuff-hauling villagers seem to be bringing most of said stuff inside, given quick once overs by yellow-clad soldiers before being waved into the building acting as a checkpoint for anyone coming in and out of the area. The Elites coming here today, whether by invitation or just by overhearing things, aren't given much trouble by the guards/glorified militia on the way in, either. Those that were here once before would even be cheered for their efforts in saving the villagers that last time, with a few of those rescued villagers even being recognizable now among the aptly-named Yellow Turbans. The Elites are joined by a man in black garb with a striking red sash around his waist, although he seems to be keeping his mouth shut for the time being while he's busy observing everyone and everything. Inside, it's clear that the building wasn't originally under the control of the Yellow Turban. The remnants of purple banners and uniforms can still be seen as repurposed bedding and bandage materials, and anyone looking at sealed documents scattered or shoved into corners of the building can clearly see that this building was previously controlled by the local governor under the authority of the Emperor. One of the soldiers leads the Elites in past other soldiers too busy gawking and being starstruck to move supplies themselves, and his role ends pretty quickly once a man in yellow garb and comes out to greet them with a light raise of his hand. "Ah, the heroes have come back. Thank you for accepting my invitation, friends." The man greets everyone warmly, holding a fist against the opposite palm despite looking like he hasn't slept in days. "Come, come, sit. Pardon the dust, but as you've seen, this land is not as rich as it once was." Nodding lightly at the soldier who hurries off to get some pitchers of water, the tired man gestures at a long and modest wooden desk with a whole seven seats arranged around it and a map of China with various coins scattered around the surface. "I wish I could offer you more, but as you can see, this land has seen far better times. Heaven has forsaken us, and things have only gotten worse with Dong Zhou's soldiers..." He pauses, then shakes his head. "My apologies. I don't believe I've had a chance to introduce myself. "My name is Zhang Jiao, and welcome to the... I suppose this would be the first proper base of the Yellow Turbans."
White	White had no ties to these people, this land, or the events that preceded her arrival. She had simply heard it come up in conversation and became curious, with little else to do for the afternoon. After hearing about the coincidentally significant overlap in participants here with those she intends to work with on her own issues, it was easy for her to make her mind up and arrive after gently inquiring the location. She arrives in her usual dress, hood and boots with a store-bought soft brown leather coat thrown on top, and her long hairbraid spiral-wrapped loosely around her body with the end tucked into a coat pocket. Being checked for, she assumes, weapons on the way in is no issue to her. There's no physical way any of them could find her weapon, not that it would matter if they could. If anything she arrives carrying so little that she seems unprepared for the trip to get here. She's more than content to just brush off the aforementioned dust and sit down on a chair, a crate, a table, or even a bit of floor if need be. Then, it's a matter of waiting, as she expects to hear more about the situation from listening to others discuss it than from addressing and questioning the local leaders herself. That would be stressful, anyway! It's not strange, to her. It's the way of a spider to quietly sit in a corner and wait patiently, after all. The soldiers should be glad she's not tucked up against the ceiling or making webs. Okay, maybe she's a little tempted to, just to see their faces, but she can behave herself. When it feels like she absolutely has to, she quietly responds with "White." to the introduction, and tries to convey the implication of a curtsy without getting up from her seat.
Audrey Basque	It's a day. Enough of one that her phone has been on mute and still is! Audrey is tired, emotionally crushed, and just overall having a bad time. But despite those things, she still needed to get out of bed, and do something. Anything. This was it, but she wasn't presentable, and even her family's closet, grand as it is, would not contain era-appropriate clothing for this trip. This meant two pit stops, one to go exchange some of her regular old money into ancient Chinese coinage, and gold just in case, which is easy enough in the Multiverse! And then another stop, looking for a store in Grand Dorado that would have just what she needs. And that too is easy enough. So when Audrey does arrive, it's wearing nice, fancy Chinese clothing; her hair is down all the way, though accented by red ribbons to each side. She's wearing a nice three-layered dress, with big white puffy sleeves and a mix of white, blue and reds, with some gold lining and a nice blue skirt. Dark blue thigh-highs match the skirt and the dress top, with sturdy brown leather shoes. More importantly, she's wearing the black cloth facemask she was given by the mysterious stranger last time; it's one of those gaiter-style masks, that covers from her neck to her nose. It's black, patterned with fancy red lines, and tightened up enough that the curves of her nose and mouth are evident. After obligatory greetings and hellos (White, especially, is not escaping that), which she pushes herself to perform with near-enough the same zeal as usual, she follows along to be led to Zhang Jiao, her day a bit improved by the cheers they get along the way. Once they arrive, and they're given the hand-in-palm greeting, she mimics it, bowing politely. "It's an honor to meet you, Lord Zhang Jiao. Audrey Basque, at your service. Not to cut to the chase, but have there been sightings of those monsters we fought last time, since then?"
Calvin Nash	Calvin enters in his Marshal uniform, and has a Paladins ID to present. If asked, he checks his shotgun with a guard, and asks that it be well-looked after on account of being a family heirloom. Either way, he follows their host and then mirrors the gesture from the man in yellow with enough confidence to suggest it isn't his first time making it. "Paladins Chevalier Calvin Nash." He even adds, "Prestentin' himself to Lord Zhang Jiao." They haven't met! "The Commonwealth got news of those monsters recently and they sent me to help keep a lid on things." Calvin takes a seat at the table. "That is," he says, "To get the fightin' over with as quick and clean as possible. Longer somethin' like this goes on, more harm it's gonna do to the people we're s'posed to protect." 'We' apparently implicitly includes Zhang Jiao. "So 'the dust' ain't really a concern, and it's somethin' we can even help with, once you're a little more dug in." He removes his uniform's hat, setting it on the table and off to the side, resting on its crown. Then, he flips his COMP open, taps a few keys, and reviews some notes. "From what I read, Dong Zhou kinda forced your hand. Been makin' plays pretty boldly, especially now he's got this help. When did that happen?"
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki, having made inroads with the nascent Yellow Turbans when aliens and nonsense from Lord Dingus (Dong Zhuo) had threatened the natural course of history. How a historical loser like Dong Zhuo had gotten propped up the way he did wasn't exactly Natsuki's concern. Her ideas rotated around the opportunities the most-likely winners of history presented when they needed help, the pure arbitrage of pushing a cause she knew could be a winner over the line with a little (or a lot) of help. Finding the right horse to bet on was a Concord Acquisitions special, and so Natuski had enlisted her little brother once more to assist her in the ensnarement of new opportunities to spread out her investments. She had her own reasons for wanting to own a nice chunk of China, but when it came to being in control of the most 'real' types of estate, it was hard to go wrong! Takeshi Nuki, also present with a small gaggle of locally clothed laborers from the family with straw hats down over their heads to hide their portraits from inspection, has been paying some mind to the Yellow Turban's provisioning and positioning, wearing an open buttoned black tangzhuang with brass buttons and red cord ties over a white undershirt and hakama pants, minds a heavy cart of goods. Some of them are luxury foodstuffs and high calorie foods for spreading out as gifts, while others are large clay jars of preserved spices and salt, chests of pearls and chips of gold for spending as payroll or award, and other odds and ends that a foreign noble or merchant king would bring. Having led the party, and let her brother engage in the far easier job of playing generous friend of the people, Natsuki sticks with the small gang of Concord partners she recognizes. Wearing a Shanghai-style cheongsam in vibrant red with a depiction of a dark cherry blossom branch from the hem up and across her whole profile to bloom faint pink and delicate-bud flowers across her chest. While, for once, she wears the buttons up in the style of the outfit, the 'progressive' (aggressive) form-hugging and tight in nature of the cloth dress gives her a daring look for the locality and shows off every curve of the tiger-eared Osakan beauty. It's also, certainly, custom. 'It's an honor to meet you, Lord Zhang Jiao.' Takeshi waits outside the command pavilion while playing his 'merchant and friend to the smallfolk' act, and Natsuki strides in abreast of Audrey with a lingering smirk at one of the starstruck soldiers before fully seeing -- ooh, rugged -- Zhang Jiao. Placing hand high on collar and bowing slightly, Natsuki echoes the sentiment. "My lord Zhang Jiao. No apologies necessary, though I accept yours gladly in the hosting spirit it's offered. I am the Lady Nue, Natsuki, and as promised I've come with aid in many forms to ease these... little logistical woes. Your Yellow Turbans are the hope of the people of China, especially with the aid Dong Zhuo is gathering. Heroes can only do so much, don't you agree? And someone has to pay them." Calvin's attendance - to keep an eye on things - gets an amused-to happy turn of attention to the Marshal. "Keep a lid on things? Well, those aliens that Dong Zhuo is working with were abducting people... it might be some bargain."
Petra Soroka	Petra is here in ancient China today! Not by invitation, or by past involvement, but by a secret third thing: hearing that Audrey and Natsuki are assisting a revolution in history specifically so that they can claim some section of territory once the existing government is overthrown, and thinking that that sounds like a really good time. She could have done research into the political situation surrounding the revolt, since she was told its name by Natsuki earlier, but... she doesn't actually care very much! Fundamentally it doesn't matter very much to her whether she's helping the 'good guys' or not, because sometimes the affairs of other people are more of a funny little toy that she gets to roleplay inside of as if she's an actor along with them. She doesn't have any clothes fitting for Han Dynasty China, though; or at least, not specifically. Instead, Petra falls back on old reliable, wearing her baggy harem pants along with a sleeveless tee over a binder, straddling the aesthetic line between an indie grunge concert and Wuxia cultivation; though the leather collar tips the balance more towards the former. While walking through the beautiful countryside, she habitually thumbs a cigarette out of its carton, and then drops it and slices it in half with a tendril of morphmetal before lighting it. Along the way, Petra falls in beside Audrey, eyeing the outfit. It's pretty, sure, but there's something slightly off about it, and in Audrey's demeanor, that Petra can guess the source of but would rather press her thumb into the wound to make sure. "Yo. What's up with the mask? You look like you're about to start throwing kuji-kiri." Petra gives a casual raised hand in greeting to the soldiers welcoming the group in, vaguely interested in the praise as a depiction of the aftereffects of whatever nonsense happened before. This wasn't the place with the hallucination Audrey had with the skeleton wall, was it? Petra doesn't remember how the timeline matches up, but so far, everyone seems relatively normal, which is only interesting to her in how it establishes a baseline to be altered by weirder things in the future. Like aliens, and war. "Thank you for accepting my invitation, friends." Petra sits down and slouches a bit in the chair, arm draped over one side while she listens to Zhang Jiao. She's vaguely captivated by his vibe, in a purely intellectual sense-- Petra is profoundly uninterested in guys, except as subjects of weird narrative fixation. In this case, she immediately thinks that Zhang Jiao looks a lot like an older Woz, and then starts panicking a little internally on whether it's racist to think that. She has to introduce herself when she gets a chance, though, or else she might be mistaken as a hero or friend! "I'm Petra. I heard about this all through Audrey, and figured I could lend a hand too. So," She sticks her tongue out slightly, lifting her hand off the arm rest to make a small peace sign. "It looks like Heaven hasn't forsaken you after all, since it sent you me." "So what's the timeline looking like on this all? As a war, are you thinking years, or months? Are you worried about getting starved out?"
Kukuru	White's in for a pleasant surprise: Nobody checks her for weapons because everyone's got weapons. If anything, she might even get some confused and concerned looks if the guards don't see any weapons on her. One of them even offers her a spear! It's a pretty crappy spear, sadly enough. Luckily for her, there's also plenty of crates to sit on thanks to so much stuff being brought inside by the steady flow of workers. Most of it is food and clothes, but there's also plenty of spears bring brought out to racks near the entrance. One of the younger 'soldiers', clearly a child that probably snuck in, even comes by to gawk at White with wide-eyed wonder before being led away by the hand by her father. Zhang Jiao gives her courteous nod, and that look of concern is briefly mirrored on his face before he goes right back to the warmly tired smile. Takeshi's arrival outside, meanwhile, gets plenty of attention by virtue of his cart of stuff! The soldiers here are used to seeing that kind of stuff passing through on a regular basis, but they're certainly not expecting to see that here as part of the Elites' entourage considering the whole peasant militia thing. Despite their obvious emaciation, however, the militia is actually quite good about sharing things around once Takeshi and crew start distributing the foodstuffs. Natsuki, too, catches plenty of looks from the militia, and probably for all the reasons she's aiming for. Foreigners are already uncommon enough, and someone of Natsuki's stature with that kind of daring dress is literally unthinkable for them. She likely awakens something in several of the soldiers, too, while the few that can still manage to string words together lead her in to the meeting area. Audrey's arrival, meanwhile, catches the attention of the stranger in black joining the Elites even with as distracted as he looks by everything else. Recognizing that mask from the first/last time they had met, he actually nods slowly at her in a quiet greeting, taking a moment to raise an eyebrow slightly at her choice of outfit. "That suits you. Hm. Has your wound healed yet?" He taps on his cheek, apparently remembering why he had given her that mask in the first place. "It bothered you last time. I have medicine." He taps on the right side of his chest, probably indicating some kind of medicine he has stored in an inner pocket. Petra coming along besides Audrey and sounding so familiar gets a curious look from the stranger in black, too, and he greets her with a light nod as recognition settles back into his eyes. "Kuji... Kiri. Is that a weapon, or some kind of combat technique?" Unlike the stranger, Zhang Jiao is far more willing to speak and project, and he even laughs softly when Audrey, Calvin, and Natsuki address him. "I'm no lord, Lady Basque, Lord Nash, Lady Nue. Regardless, thank you for the kind words, and for coming today. It's good to see so many familiar and new faces again, especially in this land's time of growing need." He laughs again at Petra's comment, too, somehow sounding like one of the few genuine gut-laughs he's had in a while despite only really talking to anyone here for the first time today. "Indeed, the heavens haven't, if they've sent so many warriors to join us today. Now..."
Kukuru	Moving onto the briefing proper, Zhang Jiao takes out a thin stick and shifts some of those coins around on the map first. He has to nudge them around and course-correct several times, though, and he eventually settle for just moving them by hand. "I'm afraid there have been several sightings of those monsters since you last came by... we still have no idea what those things are, but they're fearsome foes regardless of where they're from or what they're made of. They all appear to be under the control of Dong Zhou's forces, and..." A pause, and then he realizes that that name might not be familiar to most anyone here. "A small time commander of little note under Lu Zhi. Hunting bandits, maintaining security, nothing like this. In this past season, however, he's come to power after unleashing those giant skeletons and floating cages upon the land. We've yet to determine how he was able to do that, but the materials we were able to salvage from the last battle against them didn't look like anything we've ever seen before." "Whatever the case is, he's been expanding his power base at an alarming rate. Kidnapping villagers, exploiting people, demanding higher and higher tax collections while using the Emperor's name as a shield... Even in the Han's current state, his behavior is an insult to those that were once blessed by the heavens. I've heard some whispers that he's been meeting with an unholy creature in secret, but as you can see-" He sweeps his arm towards the working soldiers throughout the building, none of them dressed in anything remotely approaching finery or even an ancient Chinese business casual-level of dress. "-spies and funds alike are in short supply, and I have not been able to confirm these rumors. We're but a gathering of villagers and peasants here, nothing like the coalition of warlords forming against him." He points at another spot near the center of the map, drawing a light curve around a small stack of coins with his finger. "They've met limited success, though, so I'd like to hope we can make a true difference in stopping whatever Dong Zhou has planned." A troubled look crosses his face for a moment, and then he nods slowly at Calvin. "Agreed. The people of this land deserve peace, and battling a foe like this would take far longer than I'd like if we do not act decisively. The Lady Nue appears to have solved our food problems for the time being, but I'm afraid this could take years at the rate things are going." He adds, nodding towards Petra's question. "I'd like to say that we're all spurred on by a greater calling, but fiery hearts can only fight for so long before reality brings us back to the earth." Zhang Jiao turns to the Elites, then kneels on the floor. "We need your help. I cannot promise you material wealth, but your names would be remembered forever in this land's history if we can save it together."
Audrey Basque	"Yo. What's up with the mask? You look like you're about to start throwing kuji-kiri." "This mask," Audrey glares, which is actually accentuated by the fact it's really just her eyes visible over the black and red cloth, "Was a gift by one of our helpers last time. Though, now that I think about it, he never introduced himself." She motions Petra towards the mysterious man in black who's been silent most of this whole time, without being rude enough to point. "And a gift like this should be worn." A slight pause, as she furrows her brows. "Also, you know why." It's also, certainly, custom. She asides, stage-whispering to Natsuki, "You have got to introduce me to your tailor, by the way. This doesn't quite fit me, but they didn't have one exactly my size. I'm just glad I found something that wasn't just a bland qipao. Though, you certainly wear yours well." "That suits you. Hm. Has your wound healed yet?" "Ah, yes, it did. I'm afraid I've accumulated more," she starts, though she seems to panic a little at the offer of medicine, before calming herself and going "Ah, no, it's alright. The pain is gone already. It's just a matter of waiting." She also asides, when he questions Petra: "She means jiuziyin. No, sorry... jiuziqie? I'm afraid it's not my specialty." She makes rough hand signs to demonstrate. Mudras. "I'm afraid there have been several sightings of those monsters since you last came by... we still have no idea what those things are," Well, that's what Audrey was worried about. It isn't a one-off, which means Natsuki was right on the money guessing someone is tipping the scales very intentionally. "The fact they're so obsessed with kidnapping people means they have goals beyond just winning. We need to find out where they're keeping those cages and deal with them, otherwise fighting their army might well be pointless if that's how it replenishes." She approaches the table and the map, to look over at where the coins are placed. "I don't suppose witnesses can confirm which direction the cages took off in, at each location?" That sounds too easy. "We need your help." She whispers, to Natsuki again, "Should we just ask for Dong Zhou's land? That seems like a good starting point, and he's lost his right to it. And should we... offer some funds?" Audrey has no idea how to handle this, but Natsuki seems to.
White	White, to her credit, is not one to complain about gifts. She probably doesn't realize in the moment why she's been given a spear, but she takes it inside with her after quietly thanking the guardsman responsible. If nothing else, she's familiar with how to rest with a hafted weapon, so she doesn't look any more strange now that she's armed. She doesn't seem to take offense to a child's attention either; despite appearing blind to casual observation, she turns to look their way and raises a hand to wiggle her fingers as the kid is led away. She's a friendly spider, you see, a peaceful spider. Setting aside that she's not a spider anymore... Maybe she needs to update her catchphrases? Zhang Jiao's concern is, well, little concern of hers as long as he doesn't ask her to leave. Instead she focuses initially on greeting her colleagues (and Calvin) with small handwaves as each arrives, pleasantly musing on how she's familiar with enough people to not be meeting purely strangers on every outing these days. Audrey's particular focus on seeking her out is noticed, but leaves White innocently puzzled as to the motive; she supposes she's been paying Audrey's safety a fair bit of attention recently, so maybe it's just that, she thinks. With proverbial eyes in the back of her head, White does watch Natsuki's retinue do their work outside with part of her divisible mental focus. She can't clearly hear everything said, but lipreading through walls is a wonderful trick, and it's a sort of interesting diversion up until the brass tacks are brought out for discussion. It's a good sign of what to look forward to at home, as well. White's ears burn when she hears 'spies', but she reminds herself that conditions are rather poor for her to leverage her own brand of intelligence operation. She hasn't been throughout most of this land to use her teleportation for an advantage, and without it her observer-clones would have to traverse on foot at slower rates than human scouts could manage. Not much point in worrying about it for now then, but... Oh no. He's kneeling. He's begging. Is she going to look totally evil if she ignores a gesture like that? She totally will, won't she? But, it's not her responsibility. She wasn't even sure she was going to join in on this war when she came here to listen. But it'd be embarrassing as a Commander not to have some kind of idea here, wouldn't it? "Have..." she begins to ask, her voice plainly too soft. She pauses, and inhales, and tries to project a little bit more until her body language implies a stage-shout, and it's right then that Audrey asks approximately the same question so White settles back down and brushes her coat off. If they have a lead, that's quite actionable. If they don't, then that's a pretty severe lack of information, but something specific to work on regardless. It's either that, or hunt down the heart of whatever's making these... Giant skeletons? She's missing a bit of the context, on that one.
Petra Soroka	"Kuji... Kiri. Is that a weapon, or some kind of combat technique?" "Ah-- uh,..." Petra hesitates, being addressed by the mysterious stranger who seems to know Audrey and is probably locally involved, especially on something as trivial as minorly bullying Audrey. She also hesitates, because she doesn't really know how to explain the joke. "Uh... like, ninja hand signs. I... guess they're probably a martial arts thing?" In order to brush past that awkwardness by instead directly confronting him, Petra puts her hand on her hip and levels a piercing gaze at the stranger in black. "Who are you, anyways?" "Was a gift by one of our helpers last time." Brattily, Petra folds her arms and takes on an exaggerated tone to Audrey. "Oh, I see. So it's a favor, gifted..." Abruptly mid-sentence, her energy drains away and the smile slips off her face, and she sighs, putting her hands in her pockets. She doesn't end up finishing whatever the bullying thought was, staying silent for a stretch of seconds lost-in-thought, until mustering up a little more energy to make one last retort. "Well, you only just now told me about how you got it. So how would I know why, unless there's another reason?" "I'm afraid there have been several sightings of those monsters since you last came by... we still have no idea what those things are, but they're fearsome foes regardless of where they're from or what they're made of." Still residually smug from having elicited a laugh from someone, Petra shifts her position in her chair and drums her fingers against the table, more focused from having scored social points in an interaction. "So, I figure this is something you would've already figured out, but just to be sure: these aren't rooted in any kind of mythology you're familiar with, right? Culturally-rooted ideas, fears, folk tales, magical creatures, anything like that? They're just 'unfamiliar' monsters?" "We've yet to determine how he was able to do that, but the materials we were able to salvage from the last battle against them didn't look like anything we've ever seen before." "What kind of materials? Techn--" That might not be the right word to use here, and Petra hastily adjusts. "Metal, wood, or biological?" "Kidnapping villagers, exploiting people, demanding higher and higher tax collections while using the Emperor's name as a shield..." "So, either the monsters are something he's doing with the permission of the Emperor, or the information just hasn't gotten to him yet. Hm." Petra frowns and temporarily forgets her own mission in being here. In the span of a handful of exchanges and one smile leveled in her direction, she's accidentally got roped into the politics of the war, rather than the funny game of conquest she came here for.
Petra Soroka	"-spies and funds alike are in short supply, and I have not been able to confirm these rumors." "Oh, I can probably--..." Petra is about to volunteer as a spy herself, but she's distracted by the tiny motion from White, and remembers that she did introduce herself as a spymaster. The fact that White doesn't actually say anything besides one quiet word, without using her TTS, feels Significant to Petra, so she reaches into her pocket and taps on her phone with a thin web of morphmetal to text White under the table. > wait are you havign trouble talking > do you need someone to talk for you? > :sticker_doggyConfused: > you can ignore that it was habit "The Lady Nue appears to have solved our food problems for the time being, but I'm afraid this could take years at the rate things are going." "Cool. She's always seemed like a good businesswoman." Petra looks out of the corner of her eyes at Natsuki, reminded by the show of generosity that absolutely the plan here isn't generosity. So, of course, Natsuki must have more plans beyond that, and Petra's signaling she's on board with them. "We need your help. I cannot promise you material wealth, but your names would be remembered forever in this land's history if we can save it together." O-oh. He's kneeling. That feels too serious for Petra's liking! Usually she's the one kneeling, if there's women involved; and if there's a man involved, he only ends up kneeling after being beaten down and humiliated! Petra awkwardly sits up stiffer in her chair, averting her eyes and no longer relaxed. "U-um... well, our definitions of material wealth might be a little different, so hopefully that's not a problem. I'm not interested in payment directly. But I, uh, can't--" An alert flashes in her head, like a message in the inbox designated for Lilian's words. "... promise heroism for free."
Natsuki Nuki	The extra hands, mostly in simple robe tops and open tang jackets themselves, are quick and adept at getting the right crates out first - prioritizing different with different treats. Takeshi makes a show of opening up a case of thick, wrapped biscuits, taking a salesman tone. "These, warriors, are my Ten Men biscuits! Eat these rich biscuits the day before a battle and you'll be infused with strength and stamina for battle! And there's food for farmers too, food for labor, and water enough!" Proud, closing the top, he shifts to another case - jerkies and preserved fish, which he openly welcomes people to take their share of, soldiers included. What the biscuits are, really, are just vitamin infused knockoff Calorie Mates with some slow-release stimulants baked in, but Takeshi knows the truth of this period: that a fed warrior will make an hungry one look like they are fighting a god of battle. A small knot of well-fed soldiers could fight much more effectively than a conscripted peasant force - and a bit of superstition was always a good seasoning, as soldiers were a superstitious lot. "There's plenty, and more to be brought, so be patient and eat slowly! There's enough for tomorrow!" Takeshi calls into the crowd, personally hefting a big urn of salt himself. "Hey, these are for your pursers. To trade out, where's your stockyard?" Natsuki had deployed her brother to get the groundwork done, and Takeshi is an expert at actually doing the work and moving the product himself, having had to set back up countless times. Big and strong and well-fed looking, he knew it was important to present that Hero Unit chic for the people and show face. The Yellow Turbans knowing of them and understanding their tangible assistance was currently cheap to buy - and Takeshi was here to get as much as he could. He, and the goons, don't notice the surveillance, but also there's nothing sinister to surveil: Natsuki showing up and providing the Yellow Turbans their starting funds and provisions like it was drawn up in the scrolls was an intentional step in colonizing the moment in history with her name and Concord colors. ---
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki's used to the stares, and particularly the ones she earns from daring clothing choices. She's delighted by them, because it means the fit is working, and the motion of shoulder and hip and step are all calculated for maximum impact. They drool, and lose their words, and she smiles and serves a few looks and a few smirks and a soft hyu-hyu two note amusement. One such is to Audrey, who is squinted at more than she's served at, scanning Audrey for flaws with a moment of concern, and then she softens and comes off it before pressing. Something's off (negative) about her junior, and Natsuki's compassion isn't nonpresent... She's just got a lot of business to get done! "If it's the same forces supporting the power of two new oppressors, it sounds like some kind of proxy war, almost - or just a resourcing operation with help. " Natsuki considers, drawing up a thumb and forefinger to hold chin. "Still, Zhang Jiao, please consider your funds for now quite sorted - my brother and caravan have brought enough tradeable goods and funds for you to provision yourself for at least this full season - we've packed for buying locally for now, and as you might need war materials I can procure them." Approaching the map table, Natsuki leans in besides Audrey. "Quite right, jun~ior, but don't just sling around funds. Peddling takes purpose, and right now what's more valuable than worthless gold is food in bellies and stability. We can offer that, yes? What can you offer, space mage, for our war plans?" Standing up and aside, out of council from Audrey, Natsuki taps the Yellow Turban territories. "Zhang Jiao, as I was saying to my compatriot - Stability is the thing your Yellow Turbans need to be able to offer the people as quickly as possible. A decisive action towards that would be... taking and holding a nearby fortress, preferably from Dong Zhuo," Her finger tracks across the map. "And using that to gather up what strong warriors you can at that meeting-place that will calm the people, to smash through the people assisting the abductors. There has to be a reason that the forces are working with Dong Zhuo and that small timer, right? Why not just do it themselves?"
Calvin Nash	Keep a lid on things? Well, those aliens that Dong Zhuo is working with were abducting people... it might be some bargain. "Yes ma'am, they were," nods Calvin. "But even before that, people fell through the cracks. You got disease, floods, drought, you got your governors takin' advantage of people runnin' from one or the other, and not so much as a peep from Chang'an." "So," he says with a tight frown, "It ain't no wonder Dong Zhuo figured he could get away with it. Well. The buck stops here," he says, authoritatively thumbing his own chest. Calvin's attention turns from Natsuki to Zhang Jiao. "Now," he says, palms flat on the table. "I appreciate you lookin' at things the way they are, 'stead of just how they should be." One hand lifts, index pointed appreciatively (he has a variety of points and this isn't the 'scolding a wayward dog' one that Petra and a select few others have received). "A bit of good news for y'all is, between me and Natsuki you ain't gonna find much better, as far as experts on monsters go. Information's gonna be valuable, we can get you that on the fly if we gotta. In my case, I can do it even if I ain't never seen it before." We need your help. "This is my job, Elder Brother Zhang," says Calvin, palm outstretched, switching his form of address based on Zhang's discomfort with 'Lord.' "I get paid fair and square to do it from people who ain't goin' broke anytime soon, so you can be sure that's what I'm gonna do." "The rest of these folks, well," a light shrug. "We'll see," he says cryptically. "Different organizations." "You wanna do me a favor," he says, branching back on topic, "You just remember where your heart's at today, down the road when things start to look less like they do now and more like they oughta, and you keep an open mind when we send in folks with new ideas and ways of doin' things to help pick up the pieces." Leaning back in his seat and folding his hands in his lap, Calvin eyes the map. "Tell me 'bout this 'unholy creature.' What else do the rumors say?"
White	White reaches into her pocket when Petra texts her, turning her screen on without pulling it out or turning her head toward it. She can text pretty fast at this point! > It's fine. > Miss Audrey is handling it. > I only just got here, so I can't do anything special until I have some time to poke around. She seems to stop there, but after a few moments adds something. > And it's fine. :sticker_doggyHeadpat: She has no idea what that might imply, she just thinks that the stickers are cute and it's innocent to pat a dog. Then, Natsuki mentions something she'd been wondering about too; the presence of a fort that might offer more breathing room, the kind of thing that loses a significant amount of its advantage against specialists who can circumvent strong walls and raised bridges, without losing its value after being taken. She's already having thoughts about that part now, and she oh so bravely slides her soft murmur-voice in after Calvin's, given he mentioned information about monsters. "If I can see... Part of the monsters... I might learn something. Like its name." she suggests, assuming that between Petra's questions about mythological basis and Calvin's knowledge of monsters-in-general, a name might spark something between those gathered.
Audrey Basque	"Well, you only just now told me about how you got it. So how would I know why, unless there's another reason?" The outline of Audrey's frown at Petra is just visible enough through the layer of tight cloth over her lower face that making it out isn't hard. It's not hostility, outright, but it's a cold wind between the two if nothing else. "There is, and you know it, and I don't know why you're so intent on hearing what you already know," she huffs. "What can you offer, space mage, for our war plans?" Audrey perks up, and then looks towards White, before looking back at Natsuki again to respond, within obvious earshot of their host. "Fortress walls and gates are no obstacle for me, and White is even more skilled in that art. If our plan is to take a fortress, the two of us can easily get an entire army past the walls without even needing to contest them. We can also greatly reduce the time and cost of moving armies between locations." She eyes the map, considering. "I can also perform divination. Broadly, right now, but also before battles. We can adjust plans accordingly and plan ahead that way." She eyes Natsuki, in a way that seems to ask 'Is that good enough?' honestly. She figures 'fighting' is already the broad domain of everyone present, so there's no need to mention it.
Kukuru	White's little waving wiggle gets that child's eyes to light up, and her father notices soon enough to let the kid wave in return instead of just ushering her away. There's still serious discussions going on, and it wouldn't do to distract the former spider from the important business going on. Still, while she's being quiet, the father only offers White an apologetic smile while letting the child indulge in waving for a little while longer. Outside, the Yellow Turban militia buy into Takeshi's sales pitch like... Well, a militia made of starving peasants presented with free and high quality foodstuffs. They're all hungry to a man, but this is still the early days of the pre-enshittified Yellow Turbans. Motivated by hope rather than opportunism, they hang onto the enterprising Nuki's every word before continuing to help with distribution to those who can barely even stand or walk themselves. The kid White wiggled at can even be seen helping ferry some of that water around while holding a piece of jerky carefully between her teeth. She does pause to gawk at Takeshi for a moment, though, before waving him over to lead him towards the stockyard... No, no stockyard. Just more crates with barely enough food to feed even a squadron, never mind an entire rebellion that hasn't truly started yet. "he never introduced himself." "Who are you, anyways?" The stranger tenses up briefly as the topic of introductions comes up between Audrey and Petra, but not in a 'I'm in danger way'. It's more of an uncertain tensing, as he doesn't know how to actually answer that without making things awkward. Still, he does't want to leave either of them hanging, so he just starts with "I... Don't know." He looks off to the side, already uncertain if he should have gone that far. Still, better to finish that than leave the sentence hanging, and he bows his head briefly in apology before returning Petra's gaze with a remarkably upfront one of his own despite his answer. "I don't know my name or where I'm from. Sorry." ""Also, you know why." "The pain is gone already. It's just a matter of waiting." The stranger looks from Audrey to Petra, then chooses not to ask and nods in knowing-he-doesn't-know understanding. If there's some personal matters going on, it's certainly not his place to dig unwarranted. "She means jiuziyin. No, sorry... jiuziqie?" "Uh... like, ninja hand signs. I... guess they're probably a martial arts thing?" Audrey demonstrating with those hand gestures illuminates quite a bit more for the stranger than what she and Petra say, the latter prompting him to murmur "Ninja..?" in utter confusion. Once he catches on, however, he nods with that silent 'ahah' note coming from him while holding his hand up in a brief gesture that totally looks like a ninja hand sign. "It wouldn't be unthinkable. Some of these do feel natural, although they're not my specialty either."
Kukuru	"I don't suppose witnesses can confirm which direction the cages took off in, at each location?" Although White doesn't finish her sentence, even hearing that much from her is enough to get Zhang Jiao's attention. Audrey, ever ready to ask those pointed questions, helps guide his focus back to the map. He points at the pile of coins first, then another singular coin a short distance away. "Dong Zhou's forces have been amassing here, with much of the movement of those..." "Abductors." The stranger suggests while Zhang Jiao struggles to come up with an easier name than 'giant skeletal monsters', and the sage nods. "Those adbductors coming through checkpoints like these, carrying captured townspeople in them. For what reason, we're not sure, but nobody who's been taken away has ever returned. We were lucky to liberate this checkpoint from their control, but even the coalition's forces aren't going to hold them at bay for long." He points at several more coin-indicating-checkpoints, several just inside of the circle he had drawn earlier indicating the coalition's forces. "Unfortunately, with how many of them there are, I don't see any choice but to hope they can continue to hold." "these aren't rooted in any kind of mythology you're familiar with, right?" "Metal, wood, or biological?" That has Zhang Jiao thinking instead of answering right away. The gears are turning as he goes through what folklore and monsters could actually be related to the abductors, shaking his head every now and then. "They haven't eaten enough to be jiangshi, and they do not look like animals... Trees, perhaps? The limbs we recovered could be roots... And could the floating orbs be related to Sun Wukong's stone?" After thinking it over for a few more seconds, he turns to Petra. "You may be onto something, unfamiliar as they otherwise are. We've found metal in their remains, but the others..." He turns to wave one of the soldiers over, whispers something to him, and he leaves. Shortly afterwards... One of the abductors' arms is presented. It's broken in several places, but the flesh wrapped around the bone is unmistakeably synthetic. Plasticky, even, with nothing even remotely feeling like something anyone could or should eat. Needless to say, it's definitely not the sort of material that could be made with technology from the 180s. "it sounds like some kind of proxy war, almost - or just a resourcing operation with help." "It's possible. Even though the land has been going through a drought for..." The stranger starts answering that instead of Zhang Jiao, pausing as a confused look comes back to his face. How does he even know that? Noticing that the stranger is having trouble figuring something out, Zhang Jiao helps finish answering. "The land was once abundant with food and water, and it could be plentiful again one day. But who would...?" He starts to ask, then chuckles once he remembers that none of the visitors here are actually from here. "I suppose that would be possible, too, if someone from faraway lands had their eyes on this place."
Kukuru	"Still, Zhang Jiao, please consider your funds for now quite sorted" Speaking of people with eyes on this place, Zhang Jiao nods lightly at Natsuki with a grateful (but ever tired) smile on his face. "Thank you, Lady Nue. I would say that the Heavens would smile upon you for this, but-" "But I, uh, can't--" "... promise heroism for free." "Your friends are correct. Taking a checkpoint is one thing, but taking and holding a fortress would take more than a stampede of people. We'd need..." The sage starts, then stops for some agonizingly long seconds as a thoughtful, distant look crosses his face. It looks like he's reminiscing about something. Once he finally speaks up again, he sounds a bit more somber and tired than before. "... We would need to consider the material realities, too, even if all I want is for the people to have their peace once more. I won't ask you to do any of this for free, but all I can truly promise is a future repayment if... When we liberate enough territory with access to Dong Zhou's coffers." Even at a glance, it's clear Zhang Jiao really doesn't have anything to promise beyond future ransacking, and he doesn't even look too keen about that for some reason. "There has to be a reason that the forces are working with Dong Zhuo and that small timer, right? Why not just do it themselves?" "So, either the monsters are something he's doing with the permission of the Emperor, or the information just hasn't gotten to him yet." "you got your governors takin' advantage of people runnin' from one or the other, and not so much as a peep from Chang'an." "Would the Emperor have a reason to...?" Zhang Jiao starts, stops, and then a slow grimace crosses his face as another possibility starts forming in his mind. "No... He wouldn't. There must be some limit to how depraved the court could be, even if..." He trails off, mind already wandering to the possibility that the Emperor could be responsible for this proxy war soemhow. "If... If we just say that the Emperor was behind this, that would mean... All these monsters would be a smoke screen for how far the Han has fallen. If everything could be blamed on the abductors rather than those controlling them, then..." "I appreciate you lookin' at things the way they are, 'stead of just how they should be." "Information's gonna be valuable, we can get you that on the fly if we gotta." That seems to snap Zhang Jiao out of that conspiratorial funk, and he returns to that tired smile once again. "Any information you could obtain on those things would be invaluable. They're bound to be coming back to any one of these checkpoints, and another battle could lead to recovering more parts for your investigations." He looks towards Natuski once again, then towards the new supplies being brought in. "If even our soldiers can recover some of those parts, we'll make sure they reach your capable hands. "This is my job, Elder Brother Zhang," "You wanna do me a favor," "Elder br...? Now you're sounding like my brothers." The sage chuckles quietly, then strokes his chin lightly while listening closely to Calvin's request. It'd be easy to just nod and agree to it thoughtlessly, but he actually stays quiet to listen to what he's saying, to commit it to memory, to intertwine it all with what he had been told long ago by the one who taught Zhang Jiao so much about what he knows now. "... Of course, Younger Brother Calvin. I won't forget this, either." "What else do the rumors say?" "They're wholly inconsistent, for starters. Some rumors say that the demon is a lanky man in blue, others have called it a white woman-" He explains, then hastily adds while looking at White. "-wearing barely anything, and yet others claim that the demon is like a large metal serpent. The only consistency between any of them is how Dong Zhou has been followed by a metallic, oily scent ever since all this started."
White	White had been theorizing something about the kidnappings, maybe that the people themselves were being used in the creation of these 'abductor' weapons or something related to them. The best thing she can think to do, for now, is use the ole reliable; Evil Eye of Analysis. She stands up from her seat behind the others and steps closer when the soldier brings out the broken-off arm for inspection. Her eyes open halfway, and she directs her faint-glowing gaze down on it. If it's purely a mechanical component, she should be able to get a precise reading on what it's made from at the very least, and she might also glean the official name of the thing it belonged to, even if something as simple as a model number. If it had an origin in biological life or magic, she hopes to draw out hints about those elements that could give them a lead on where to look for production facilities or the like, even potentially the name of the person (hypothetically) used to create it, if her conspiracy theory holds true. Audrey talking her up again doesn't quite make her smile, but she does straighten up a little as if she's been reminded of her dignity. An entire army is kind of a lot to teleport at once, and while she kind of hopes it won't come to that... Well, she can't let down a junior in the same field, right? That'd be embarrassing enough to die. Hearing 'white woman' makes her blink twice and momentarily meet Zhang Jiao's eyes, and 'wearing barely anything' catches her off guard enough that she reflexively looks down at herself. No... Her coat is right there, and her dress didn't flip up. Okay, good. This isn't a free service visit after all.
Petra Soroka	"There is, and you know it, and I don't know why you're so intent on hearing what you already know," Petra frowns in return at Audrey, but this is, unfortunately, not the place to keep antagonizing her. So instead she turns away to focus back on the meeting, channeling the same air that she's seen from Lilian a million times before: that Audrey's answer was simultaneously insufficient for being engaging, but sufficient for answering all of Petra's unstated questions, and now she's got other things to focus on instead. "Just the scientific method, I guess." > It's fine. > okay > yay There is actually nothing that White's sticker usage implies to Petra, either! She may have added the dog stickers into her linguistic library as a specific aesthetic choice, but that doesn't make them a personal signifier. It's good to pet dogs! She just sent the sticker automatically and thought it was immature, and seeing the commander of the Demon Lord's Tenth Army sending one back is surprisingly adorable. "I don't know my name or where I'm from. Sorry." "Wait, really?!" Petra twists around in her chair to stare at him, wide eyed and seemingly just curious and surprised, but with a distant unwholesome glint behind the expression. "Well, I wanna know more about that! What happened? Did you just wake up here and decide to join this fight?" "Those adbductors coming through checkpoints like these, carrying captured townspeople in them." It's only at this point that the mental image of 'giant skeleton monsters carrying human beings in cages to kidnap them' finally snaps into place in Petra's mind. She blinks and shakes her head, the original body type of the skeleton in her imagination flickering rapidly between humanoid, bird, dog, or dinosaur. It's fucked up. Even for her, it's fucked up. "Well..." Petra eventually says, looking at the coins spread across the table. "... I don't know if I've got any hope of any of those townspeople coming back after that. Whatever they're doing... the skeletons aren't very promising." "We've found metal in their remains, but the others..." Petra squints down at the arm and pinches a bit of the weird plastic flesh between her fingers to tug at it experimentally. Her mental image, now that it includes 'non-animal', 'made of plastic', and 'An Orb', is completely incoherent, and she gives up on trying to interpret it at all. If they're artificial, though, that does mean a lot, and means there's a chain of them coming from somewhere. "Well... I don't know how much I can say before seeing them, but I'm... aware of, some people who specialize in creating armies of monsters with some similar traits." She means robots, but these might very well be robot skeletons of some type. "So I might have more answers if I can get my hands on one."
Petra Soroka	"I won't ask you to do any of this for free, but all I can truly promise is a future repayment if... When we liberate enough territory with access to Dong Zhou's coffers." "Sure, alright." Petra waves away the problem of future payment easily enough once it becomes clear that Zhang Jiao is stressed enough about acquiesing that he won't be moved any further at the moment. Also, she feels intensely weird about insisting on payment, when she hasn't done anything and doesn't particularly care about money-- she still wants it, but only for the aesthetic of conquest and tribute. In all actuality, she'll end up spending more money on this war than she'll get from it. "We'll figure it out later; it's a promise." "Uh, for a fortress..." Petra looks down at the table with a thoughtful expression. She holds her hand over it, and a rivulet of metal runs down her bare shoulder to drip off of her fingertips, forming a new Silver coin along with all the others, that quickly shifts into a miniature Beauty of Ash. A telekinetic battleboard figurine is a fun toy to play with when talking war, so Petra gestures to drag it around a little bit aimlessly while she talks. "I can't offer much besides raw force in taking one, or with the logistics of moving armies or whatever. But since Dong Zhuo is getting outside assistance with his weapons, it's only fair for you to get some too. I can transport shipments of defensive weapons to a fortress once it's captured that outstrip anything you'll get in this era, so the personnel requirement to keep it secure will go way down." What she means, by weapons, is 'a platforming stage filled with lasers and bombs'. But she soooooo wants to build a platformer level. You have to let her. "There must be some limit to how depraved the court could be, even if..." "Sometimes it be that way," Petra nods, sympathetically. Why are so many governments evil! ". . .others have called it a white woman-" Petra mumbles under her breath, "Unholy creature... the white woman." Somehow, the faint emphasis is perceptible.
Natsuki Nuki	Takeshi finds a pile of stuff and frowns at it. Sure, he could pile stuff here, but... "Go grab some planks and rods!" Takeshi calls, taking a moment to grin down at the children and set down his big jar of salt. Some of the goons hustle over, gathering some items from their surroundings and others from the cart. The gang start setting up a temporary structure of more than a pile, picking up some of the old banners and flags and recruiting some of the laborers and locating a weaver having eaten already and energized to lead the group in stitching together a pole and pile tent with some mats down to keep the goods up off the raw ground. Like a little tutorial structure put together, it's still a full step up from what the Turbans had before and gives Takeshi a spot to start centralizing the goods he's dropping off and taking a final inventory. 'Supplies for a season' was a boast that was accomplished more by funds than raw edibles in the caravan - monies to disperse out for mercenaries and merchants each to secure grain and meat and other necessities. The support of the smallfolk was absolutely necessary for operations such as the Yellow Turbans and so something tangible to ease the pain of letting go of produce now would build even more trust and support for the Turbans... and the Nukis. Meanwhile... 'But even before that,' 'Would the Emperor have a reason to...?' Natsuki's attention lifts off the map. "Droughts and all, from what I've heard the Han empire is in decline." This would be because of her study of history and also several decent arcade games loosely based on the Romance and a conversational ability with people rocking a sagely goatee and sharp eyes. Saying 'hey, I'm pretty sure you're the protagonists of history here' doesn't quite fly, and gives away part of the game for free - and she's already giving away a lot. Better to play out the merchant queen from afar with interests in China. That was as honest as necessary - and fairly close to true. "The most likely thing that's happened is that the Han is at least tacitly supporting this because of Dong Zhuo. The Emperor might have bargained with your abductors for a good harvest, or to spare the rest of the empire, or any number of reasons, or Dong Zhuo might have done so himself for personal ones, but out here? The Han has fallen." As evinced by the general state of affairs, and also, the alien abductors. "In a crisis, what people need is food, and shelter, and security." Natsuki states. "What leaders need is soldiers, supplies, and surety. They're different things to manage. I think we could make a dramatic move... But I understand if you're thinking smaller than a fort for now." Her casual confidence, all in a lean forward and then rock back too plant free hand on off-hip, speaks loudly to the thought that she might have considered taking a fort entirely free. Because of who had arranged themselves - including the conquest-hoping Petra - Natsuki clearly thought that the power was there to simply hand it to the Turbans. Then again... Holding a fortress full of alien abduction victims might not be as ideal as it was laid out in her head. The reticence of the Great Sage, and the lack of him leading in, has Natsuki simply return to Calvin. "I'm investing in friends and allies, Marshal. When you have things already, you start wanting to make a difference, don't you?" She asks, throaty-interested with a dash of sweet. The way she means it, and Calvin hears it, may be different, but that's part of the fun too.
Natsuki Nuki	'If I can see... Part of the monsters... I might learn something. Like its name.' Natsuki flashes a grin and lifts her attention to the White woman. "Not just our information specialist but our surveillance specialist, isn't she? If you could send some of your cute little ones out to find where the abductors are, and where they're aking things, that would be even better. Between you and Audrey, we should be able to learn what's going on at least. And, Audrey, why don't you perform some divinations for Zhang Jiao and help him find the next few best steps to take. That way, when we move, we can strike with several sort of Heavenly blessing as well as the element of surprise." 'I can transport shipments of defensive weapons to a fortress once it's captured that outstrip anything you'll get in this era, so the personnel requirement to keep it secure will go way down.' And now they had a plan. "Hyu-hyu-hyu, now we've got a plan, hmm? I would give your people some time to ready, Zhang Jiao, but gathering a tight force of fighters to help hold the fort for a short time will be that decisive action, and then from a safe place, you can start your campaign of peace. Really, destabilizing Dong Zhuo here might mean the other groups resisting him get an advantage."
Calvin Nash	"All I can ask you for," says Calvin with a nod. He dutifully taps in details about the rumors, despite Zhang Jiao's remark about their inconsistencies. man in blue white woman? big metal snake Dong Zhou smells different now 'metallic, oily scent' He then makes a few more authoritative hunt-and-pecks, angling the back panel of the bulky wrist-computer towards the severed arm displayed. A soft whine follows a click, and line by line, 2040s technology and 90s tech-debt renders a grainy greenscale image of it for Calvin's use later. "What I got works better on living things," Calvin says. "Or at least things that still move. But I can check my compendium real quick, see if those descriptions you gave ring any bells. Let's see here..." .save .load *com Compendium v. 2.0 developed by Trina McElwain To access an entry directly use .entry followed by full or partial name or entry number For search query use .search Browse family directory with .families Use command .operators for search refinement. .search man AROUND3 blue OR clothes AROUND3 white OR snake AROUND3 large No results found. .search lanky blue OR white woman OR metal snake 3 results found. Wangliang Wangxiang Jiangshi .families A spread of different categorizations of demon flashes down the screen. Calvin's brow knits in concentration as he peruses them, but ultimately finds nothing conclusive. "Well." Calvin closes the COMP. "Maybe your man in blue's a water demon, maybe your white woman's a mountain demon, could be your snake's an underground sprite, but that wouldn't explain Dong Zhou smellin' like oil, and I figure anybody'd know a jiangshi if they saw one. You ask me, they ain't demons from around here, or on this planet, if that's what they are at all." "Petra," says Calvin, looking across the table, arms crossed. "You build robots. You think he got replaced by one?" He says it emphasizing the space between the two syllables, 'ro-bot.'
Audrey Basque	"Just the scientific method, I guess." It's pointedly noticeable that even with her huffs and rebuttal, Audrey doesn't actually WANT Petra to lose interest or look away. She simultaneously wants to grab and shake Petra, shove her away, and-- "Sure." It's the air that's disarming. Petra's ability to embody her is uncanny. "A-Anyway." Yeah. Anyway. "I... Don't know." "... oh." Audrey feels a bit bad about pointing it out now. "Ah... sorry. I don't... really have anything that could help with that. I could try reading your fortune, but it wouldn't yield something as direct as your identity. If you even want to know it. A heading, more like, is what I could get you." Unless this man's name is literally etched into the stars, which, probably not. Still, it's the best she can offer. "It wouldn't be unthinkable. Some of these do feel natural, although they're not my specialty either." "Part of your fighting style, maybe? Something you've forgotten but your body still remembers how to do. Might be a clue." "Dong Zhou's forces have been amassing here, with much of the movement of those... abductors." Seems like the plan is to strike at the heart, then. Natsuki's managed to lay everything out clean. She listens, a bit fascinated, at the exchanges between Calvin, Natsuki and their host, regarding various myths and monsters. She'd presumed the meddling forces had to be from another world, surely, but to imagine they're not, or that they're at least mythologically relevant to the area and era, makes her wonder how much of the supernatural is present here to begin with. The guards and soldiers all seem... quite mundane. But she HAD placed her hopes on this version of history being accurate to the myths, and Zhang Jiao's relative calm in the face of all this increases her hope. Look she really wants to meet a couple folks from this era okay, let an astrologer dream of meeting famous ones. She decides to settle the matter. "Lord Zhang Jiao, word is you're... familiar with sorcery. Is that the case? You don't seem particularly out of your depth. If so... this might make some of Dhon Zhuo's commanders pieces we need to place on the board, too." She looks at Natsuki, specifically. "Especially THAT one. He'd be at the fortress, wouldn't he?" "And, Audrey, why don't you perform some divinations for Zhang Jiao and help him find the next few best steps to take." "Of course. I'll see what I can scry. I might even be able to sense where they'll strike next, so in our downtime, we can hopefully deny them more prisoners." She'll need a moment or three to gather her things, lay out a star map and mark some things, but once that's done, she'll work with Zhang Jiao to identify points of interest on his map. Where the bad vibes are, where the good vibes are. More importantly, when those vibes are flowing.
Calvin Nash	When you have things already, you start wanting to make a difference, don't you? "I appreciate it in a professional sense, Ms. Natsuki," says Calvin with businesslike cordiality. "Them people out there'll appreciate it a whole lot more in a different kinda way. I ain't so dumb I can't see it affects them a lot more than it does me." "However else I feel about it you can chalk up to..." He frowns. "Organizational differences. Talkin' 'bout it don't go nowhere at best. At worst, it's counterproductive."
Petra Soroka	"You build robots. You think he got replaced by one?" "I dunno," comes the reply from the resident expert roboticist, queen conqueror with nations left ruined in her wake. "That'd be crazy." To be slightly more helpful, she lifts up her fingers to go through her thoughts systematically. "Metal's a pretty obvious sign of a robot, but oil's less common than you'd think. Not that there's never a combustion-engine-powered robot walking around, but I don't think I've ever seen one that was humanoid and human-passing. I figure it's more likely left on him from something else. Maybe his white woman, but maybe... synthetic plastic like this, needs oil to make it, right? I'd be surprised if they were producing the components for the skeletons locally, but it's a possibility."
Kukuru	White's analysis of the abductor's arm reveals quite a lot about it! In addition to being made of synthetic materials that just plain don't exist in this era, she's already presented with even more information that could very well raise even more questions. For starters, it's from something called an All-Purpose Biped Mk1, and it's parts are... 100% mechanical! The sinews holding the bones to each other, and the faded flesh to those bones? Synthetic. The fibers making up that flesh? Also synthetic. The bones themselves? Synthetic, of course. There's also something that's only identified as 'Will'O Residue' and 'Will'O Sap', neither of which even exist on this world, and all of it is made of some unholy combination of chemicals to simulate it all without feeling anything like the real thing. "Wait, really?!" THe stranger looks surprised for the first time in a while when Petra shows sudden interest in his amnesiac ways, although that glint doesn't seem to put him off one bit. If anything, he almost looks relieved that there's even a reason to bring it up now. "There's little to hear. I woke up..." He turns towards the exit, then points up at an angle towards where the top of that path leading to this building would be. "Closer to the town above us. Dong Zhou's soldiers and those abductors were passing through with captives, and I got involved with Lord Guan Yu. Your companions arrived soon after that to join us in fighting them off." He explains, gesturing at Audrey and Natsuki afterwards. Notably, nobody here seems to react when he namedrops Guan Yu. He's probably not here. "I don't know if I've got any hope of any of those townspeople coming back after that." "We can hold out hope, if we can find out exactly where they've been taken." Zhang Jiao answers, visibly straining a bit to sound confident about that. "So I might have more answers if I can get my hands on one." "But since Dong Zhuo is getting outside assistance with his weapons, it's only fair for you to get some too." "You may have your chance soon, Lady Petra. Their attacks have become more frequent as of late, so it's only a matter of time before we're to run into them again. And once they do..." Zhang Jiao looks around at the group, then towards the stranger, and finally at the militia soldiers still going about handling so many of Natsuki's and Takeshi's supplies. "We'll make sure to get you whatever you need to do your research. I have doubts even the greatest minds of the land could figure that out faster than any of you could." "Unholy creature... the white woman." The sage nods slowly, completely without realizing what this could actually mean even though he notices that emphasis. "Go grab some planks and rods!" The Yellow Turbans, if nothing else, are really really good at following orders from a charismatic leader with lots of food. They follow his tutorials closely as he goes through the process of making storage structures that don't suck absolute ass. Some of them even start practicing afterwards to get more of those little structures set up to fit even more of those supplies! "The most likely thing that's happened is that the Han is at least tacitly supporting this because of Dong Zhuo." "It's a... Not complicated, but not a simple situation, to be sure. Dong Zhou, acting with the Emperor under his thumb. The coalition against Dong Zhou, claiming to want to save the Emperor and restore the Han. Neither of those can grant the people the security they need, so that task truly does fall to us."
Kukuru	"But I understand if you're thinking smaller than a fort for now." The sage remains quiet for several seconds, letting his thoughts swim around in his mind for several quiet seconds. Soon thereafter, he shakes his head before turning to Natsuki again. ".... No. You are correct about needing to take decisive actions. The people need hope for the future if we're to pull through, both against Dong Zhou, and against the declining Han. Holding a checkpoint here and there won't inspire anybody if we're to do what the coalition never will." NATSUKI PLANS "I may be repeating myself, but I would be in your debt. With these supplies-" He looks over at the Nuki-sponsored storage racks. "-and so much new intel, we may be able to bring down several of their squads before they know what hit them. From there, the momentum could carry us through to a fort, and then... The coalition may even begin to follow our lead." Indeed, the plan sounds like it's all coming together! Zhang Jiao's looking fired up, the stranger voices no objections, and even the Yellow Turban soldiers that happen to be loitering around are already looking better after eating one of those Ten Men biscuits! "But I can check my compendium real quick, see if those descriptions you gave ring any bells." Both Zhang Jiao and the stranger watch Calvin get to work on his COMP with open curiosity, although it's only the latter that actually steps around to see what he's doing. Even though he's never seen so much as a calculator before, he seems more intrigued than frightened by the unfamiliar everything he's seeing. "Maybe your man in blue's a water demon, maybe your white woman's a mountain demon, could be your snake's an underground sprite" "We cannot rule any of those possibilities out, if the heavens are already showing their displeasure about the state of the land. For all we know, it could even be all three, each spreading their poisons into the ears of those who would listen." "You ask me, they ain't demons from around here, or on this planet, if that's what they are at all." "Planet...?" Both the stranger and Zhang Jiao murmur in unison, looking confused at what he could possibly mean. "If you even want to know it. A heading, more like, is what I could get you." "No need to apologize, but it's appreciated. A heading... That'd be more than what I have now." The stranger replies, shrugging once before reaching over to tug a light crick out of his neck. "Something you've forgotten but your body still remembers how to do. " Glancing at his sword, the stranger slides it out from the cloth wrapping he's using as a makeshift sheathe for the weapon, flipping it around in his hand a few times before wrapping it back up again. "Likely. I don't remember where I learned how to use this, but it feels natural enough. If my body could remember it, then my mind might, too." "Lord Zhang Jiao, word is you're... familiar with sorcery. Is that the case?" Zhang Jiao looks caught off guard for a moment by Audrey's question, but recovers soon afterwards and nods. "That's correct. I've only demonstrated those abilities a few times before, but there's no need to hide it from any of you." He takes a moment to look over at the stranger, then turns back to Audrey. "I learned sorcery from an old man years ago, when I was down on my luck and studying herbalism to tend to the sick. From then on, I've been able to utilize both, but I never imagined it would take me here." He gestures towards the soldiers, then at the Elites present. "But for now... Rest well, friends. Once Lady Basque divines where their forces are headed, we will be able to make our own move as well against Dong Zhou and..." "Fortress? That one?"
White	White frowns slightly at what she learns, not for its nature but for the less-than-direct usefulness of learning that it is, indeed, fully synthetic and mechanical. Still, she draws a cheap looking notepad with a wire binding and a similarly cheap ball-point pen from her sleeve, patiently scribbling out the particulars. The name, the 'Will'o' materials she noticed, the synthetic nature of each part... Then she tears that page out and turns to hold it out toward Calvin. At the bottom is a neatly written question, 'Do Will o' Wisps have demon bosses?' She, less than enthused, then closes her eyes and looks at Petra. "It seems like... An aesthetic choice." Meaning, someone makes them look like skeletons because they look cool, or they have some kind of identity tied up in their creations probably, rather than because they originate from a particular type of monster myth... Unless Will o' Wisps secretly have the power to manipulate only skeleton-shaped bodies? Spectral beings aren't really her forte.