Aftermath

[Learned Hand]

The man is slowed by a trapdoor at the top of the tunnel; enough soo that Kairos is able to easily catch up and rest the daiklave in the small of his back.

When he speaks it is through gritted teeth. 'Climb out of here and kneel on the ground. If I wanted you dead I would have already run you through from behind. I swear to you that as long as you do as I say I shall not harm a hair on your head'.

Following the man up he takes in the scence. He is in a small, private jetty in the inlet of a river. There are a couple of small sailboats moored. He forces his captive forward towards the boats, looking for signs of other people. He does a cursory search of the boats, which takes only minutes, even with a hostage.



When he's satisfied that the boats are empty [assuming they are] he grunts in satisfaction and cuts them off their moorings. Then to the surpise, of his captive he sheaths his sword.

'I honestly do mean you no harm. Come; we must go back to the chamber and the other councillors. Order must be restored, and the only way to do that is to present a united front. Unfortunately, for the good of the city I must insist that you accompany me. You will be the 5th councillor. That should be more than enough to accept our surrender'.

He leads the confused man back to the chambers.

[bravesirrobin]

[There are 6 councillors, for names and roles check the Inside Maluka thread.]

The man says nothing, there is fire in his eyes, but he displays no defiance in his actions. He watches the empty boats drift gently down the river. And leads Kairos back down the tunnel. As Kairos closes the trap door behind him, he fancies for a moment he can hear the sounds of commotion and chaos in the distance. But it passes quickly, and he puts it down to an overactive imagination.

The walk back through the tunnel seems much longer than the mad dash out, due to the tired muscles and slower pace. The man stumbles more than once and Kairos himself is less sure footed. They reach once again the short shaft back up to the chamber and the man, still silent, looks pointedly at the still unconscious woman on the floor, and then expectantly at Kairos.

[We may have to pause here to figure out what's happened to Ferric in the meantime. See the earlier post as to what happened in the room once Kairos had barreled out.]

[missdixievoom]

Once Kairos is in the hole and out of the way of a flying blade, Ferric uses Call the Blade and activates his caste mark. His daiklave shoots out of the wall and straight into his waiting hands.

The two men start to look significantly more uncertain and back away into a corner, trembling a bit.

'In answer to your question,' says Ferric, 'it all depends on you. You might die - if you try and fight me. Or you might get to have a nice sit down and a chat in a quiet corner for a while. Which would you prefer?'

Ferric intends to find out who they are and what use they could be, if any.

[bravesirrobin]

The two men swiftly sheath their swords again, more or less succeeding in looking like that was what they meant to do all along.

They pick up chairs from the floor, and sit down in a corner.

The slighty taller one says; "Before we answer any of your questions I would like to know what your intentions are towards us and towards our city?"

[Learned Hand]

bravesirrobin said:

They reach once again the short shaft back up to the chamber and the man, still silent, looks pointedly at the still unconscious woman on the floor, and then expectantly at Kairos.

[As I understood it there was a woman who I punched in the face at the top of the shaft (possibly, but probably not, knocked out). She was called annoying-woman, and one person who I tried to grab, but who fell at the bottom of the shaft, and is knocked out. Is this right?]

Sorrow radiates from Kairos. 'She fell as she ran from me, and knocked herself out. She will be fine though, once she wakes up. I promise you that my allies and myself will provide her with the best possible medical care. You lead, and I shall carry her up behind you'.

He emerges from the trapdoor, into the council chamber, squinting in the light.

[bravesirrobin]

[You are correct. You now have two unconscious women, and three captive men. Mysoginist.

Before you re-emerge into the room I'd like to know how Ferric is handling things - though he may simply wait for your return.]

[oneiros]

bravesirrobin said:

[You are correct. You now have two unconscious women, and three captive men. Mysoginist.

[Given what I'm suspecting he's about to do, that's not the word I would have used... ]

[Learned Hand]

bravesirrobin said:

Before you re-emerge into the room I'd like to know how Ferric is handling things - though he may simply wait for your return.]

This is the only reason I'm not already charming the bloody councillors

[missdixievoom]

'We are going to bring liberty, peace and equality to this city, and you are going to help us, or be removed from office - I assume, since you are here, that you are councillors, or close to the council in some way. It is clear from the short time I have been here that this totalitarian state of affairs has made the populace unhappy. I suggest you go along with our plans, and it will be easier for you if you are happy about it, as all good men should be.'

[bravesirrobin]

Though there is a perceptible raising of the eyebrows, the two men say nothing. They sit there in silence, merely waiting to see what happens next.

[missdixievoom]

Ferric looks at them with disgust and sighs. 'OK, fine, sit there in silence. I don't really care what you think. Like I said, going along with us will only make things easier for you, not easier for us. I'll just wait with you until the rest of my group of incredibly powerful anathama friends arrives and then we can decide exactly how painful your removal from office will be.'

[Gains 1 point of limit because he feels belittled by the raised eyebrows]

[Learned Hand]

When Kairos arrives the room stinks of sullen silence. The solar gestures the council member who leads him up the ladder to sit in one of the chairs around the table, and nods greeting at Ferric.

As he lays the woman he was carrying on his shoulder on the floor he speaks. 'My friends. Please believe that I am desperate to give an account of my actions today. However, first I must tend to the women who have been injured' As one of the councillors begins to talk he raises a hand. 'Please, for the sake of your friends, allow me to heal them. I promise I shall listen to everything you have to say as soon as I am satisfied they are safe.

With his back to the conscious councillors he makes a fuss of apparently tending to his 'patients'. Unlike his pretence of healing, however, the furrow of concentration on his brow is not fake. Kairos realises that he relies too much on his voice, as he desperately shapes his hands into the katas required by the combo he has privately named Unconquered Love.

Appearing to pluck at the bruises of the women, he is fact playing the latent essence currents in the air, sending sugar-coated essence towards his real audience. All he has to do is infuse their current emotions with that essence. Anger can so easily become grudging respect, for a man must be powerful to wound you so. Grudging respect is a step away from respect. Fear is just the darker side of admiration. The trick is to not try to add anything, just put a shine what is already there.

Reaching out with his mind Kairos fancies he can even feel the echoes of their thoughts, and permits himself a smile as they fall into place. No safe-cracker ever felt happier to hear everything click into place.

At first there is a jumble of anger, hate and fear. This is distilled into indignant questioning. How dare this man -this murderer- presume to command us in our own chambers? How dare he enter this room, sword drawn? Then the questions mask compliments. How dare he flash us that smile? Flex those muscles as though he was in charge? Then the questions are compliments. Why would he help his enemies? Maybe we should hear what this swashbuckler has to say.

To finish off the performance Kairos uses Phantom Conjuring Performance to create a golden light around the bodies, that appears to melt into them as a beautiful chord hums softly in the room.

He wipes the smile from his face and appears solemn as he turns. 'They shall be as good as new when they awake from the healing sleep. Please forgive me from interrupting you earlier. I shall hear everything you all have to say. Only first' He smiles, and -he can't resist it- uses Phantom Conjuring Performance to make his teeth sparkle for a split second; short enough that the councillors may think they imagined it. 'Please reassure me that I have the honour of talking to 3 members of the council of Maluka'

[combo of HSDD and 4 dice of excellency, please]

[bravesirrobin]

[Successful 3 dice stunt - woohoo!]

There is no outward change in the councillors, but one of them says;

"We are indeed the Advisory Council to the late Lord Manaas. The two unfortuante women you have there are also members of the council."

In the far distance Kairos again hears the sounds of a large mob, but a little louder this time, he can tell by the reaction of others within the room that he is not the only one who has heard it. Shouting, whistling, breaking glass. The noise seems to be gradually building...

[oneiros]

[Hmmm, so where's the sixth one...? Also will have to refrain from posting until the timeline catches up ]

[Learned Hand]

'Believe me, sir, if I had been able to stop her' he nods to Annoying-Woman 'stabbing me in the back by any non-violent means, I would have. As for your other companion; she fell running from me and all I could grab as I tried to save her was her tunic. I'm sure your friends can verify my story'

He pauses, whilst the two more placid councillors nod, and almost impercepitbly raises his chin. Even more imperceptibly, he activates Mastery of Small Manners.

'Please permit me to offer my surrender. If you wish me to, I shall leave immediately with my army. Otherwise, I shall stay and offer you my services in quelling this disturbance' -he gestures to the window- 'with or without my army as you see fit

'Your lord was cruel, and becoming crueler. He exploited the peple of Maluka to make himself and his city great. But he never saw that Maluka's greatness is in its people. One of the council members - I know not who- was wise enough to see that.

'That council member summoned me in order to free the country from an iron grip. I say 'summoned' not 'hired'; I am not to be paid, nor will I extract any tribute from you in order to leave. My army and I can feed ourselves in the wilderness, where we will return to until we are summoned again. Many of my men died today. They gave their lives for nothing so base as money. Rather, they gave their lives so that others may live. For the imprisonment that your people endured was not living. My men knew that; I know that; and I think that more than one of you knows it to. That is why I came and fought, and that is why I will leave. One iron fist must not be replaced by another.

'However, we must insist that certain conditions are met. These were the terms of the agreement I made when I agreed to liberate this country at your behest. Firstly, after our departure we ask that government is retained in the hands of the council. You shall be independent of any decisions by outside countries. However, I must insist that you treat your charges with a greater degree of kindness that your erstwhile lord did, so that my men have not died in vain. For that reason, I must ask that the previous system of taxation i.e. 100% of produce taken, with a stipend redistributed back to the producer is taken, is replaced with a fairer system. I suggest a 50% tax; this will allow you to feed your forces, sell some for the state, yet allow people to feed themselves [I'm relying on my 5 dots in bureaucracy here to suggest a sensible amount]

'If we can announce this today I wager your riots will finish swiftly.

'Secondly, Maluka must be opened up to free trade, and must open diplomatic channels with its neighbours, as befits a great power. The scrutiny of your neighbours is no bad thing for ensuring justice for all. More importantly, the great power of Maluka allows you to have influence in the affairs of your neighbours; influence that you can use to your advantage.

Thirdly, you must restore order as quickly as possible; to do this I suggest you avail yourself of my talents.

There are numerous other decisions to make, but I trust to your justice and wisdom. However, to prevent you making the same mistakes as your master I must request that you follow my specific instructions on any further matters as and when I give it. Unless of course' -Kairos is able to silence the protests- 'the coucil unanimously opposes me. In that case I shall bow to your sovereignty. This country is not, nor ever shall be, mine to control. Further, I assure you that I will not be around often to give such advice.

Finally, we would ask that when we leave, if any of your soldiers want to leave with us, they are allowed to go. We are not kidnappers, and we shall allow you to make sure that the choices of the soliders are free, in any way you see fit.

Gentlemen, to sum up, my actions have been in line with the instructions of the council. Having succeeded in my mission, I am giving you your country to rule as you see fit, and taking my force away from your lands. . There are a mere 5 conditions, one of which is in fact a confirmation of your sovereignty.

What say you?'

[Using MWD, comboed with an excellency for max motes in order to make them think that 'They, in person, were the one that summoned me in secret, that this is best kept a secret, and that the deal I have outlined was agreed at the time of summoning]