ꙮ Lunchtime, in Rifton. Saranzaya promised that there’d be momos before you left, and momos there most certainly are: delicate little steamed, filled, twist-sealed dumplings filled with all sorts of delicious and hard-to-identify things, served in a dazzling variety of ways. Some of them are served with dipping sauce, some of them are in bowls of thin, clear soup; there’s meat-filled momos and bean-filled momos and some filled with a sharp, hard local cheese; some are spicy, some are savoury, there’s even a few green-tinted ones that Saranzaya points out that are oddly sweet, with a scent a little bit like fresh-baked bread and an incredibly delicate flavor. ⁂
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#chapter 4: the beast
#saranzaya
#sq
#full cast session
ꙮ Zaya orders for you all, and helps you navigate the mysterious waters. There’s a massive poster on one of the walls of the place advertising that CHEF JULIENO, who apparently started the place but does not run it on a day to day basis, will be competing in the next IRON CHEF competition, with a level of breathlessness that sounds like it’ll be happening in the next couple of days or so. ⁂
ꙮ There’s nice ale on the menu that’s made right here in Rifton, and a cold, savory yogurt-based drink that’s a little salty and is always served with a big mint sprig sticking out, and another dairy-based beverage that’s more vigorously fermented to the point of being slightly effervescent, tangy and foamy and oddly refreshing. 🙧
ꙮ Momos: They’re basically lil’ one-bite suckers! There’s a few of them that are, maybe, two bites, if you’re feeling particularly dainty.
is, with a perhaps slightly uncharacteristic enthusiasm, sampling everything. There’s a few he’s been getting seconds of, but mostly he’s gotten one of everything, and then gone back for seconds–and thirds…
has a ball of a time with the momos- eagerly trying every which one, collecting them on a plate and then just sort of randomly moving them about as his arms cross around to do other things like… get more momos or reach for the ale. “Spice,” he says, biting into one that is tinged faintly orange. The ale gets a sip after that one. Another swiftly races from palm to other-hand-fingertip to mouth, “Cheese,” he remarks, chewing a bit longer.
is also eagerly sampling each one, though that is fairly characteristic. She is taking care to make sure she doesn’t overeat to make sure she tries each one, and seems to be scribbling her observations down with a stylus on her tomestone.
is also engaging in the ‘try everything’ strategy, although apparently she’s frequented Juliano’s establishment in Queenstown enough to have a few preferences and advice she’ll suggest if anyone’s looking for some particular thing, or prefers to avoid meat and isn’t sure what’s what, or so on. Mostly she’s just enjoying everyone’s enthusiasm!
: “Any favorites, Awa?” She asks, strangely intent.
has garnished their momo with some of the hot peppers from Samudra, a delighted puff of steam venting out after popping each momo into their mouth. They’re currently trying to figure out if they can trick Saranzaya into eating one.
: “Whatcha got, Luce?” Don’t need to -trick- her if she’s already -curious-.
: “Front runners are: this savory bit with the unusually spicy and sweet sauce dip, and then this one with the cream cheese, and theeeeeeeeen… this one with egg and herbs and something else that is spice but not spicy, if you get me.”
is multitasking a bit at the lunch table - he’s got a few sheets of paper he’s largely been focus on scribbling down on with some kind of strange featherless and ink bottle less quill. And while doing that, using a pair of chopsticks to randomly grab momo’s from the center plate without paying much attention to where on the plate it’s from. Occasionally there’s a mild reaction when he grabs one that’s particularly hot or sweet unexpected, but he’s mostly focused on the paper.
: “These are some peppers that I brought from Samudra - I find them quite satisfying. Would you like to try one? They’re very good with this one.” They push forward one of the meat-filled momo with a bit (not a whole one, they’re not actually a monster) of Samudran chili atop it.
: “Yeah I get you. I like that one a lot too. Usually prefer spicy, but the flavors here are amazing.”
takes a break from stuffing his face full of momo to peer over Aury’s shoulder curiously. “Quite intent on your work, hmm? What holds you so?”
: “Oh, absolutely. The chance to try pepper from a whole different world?” She carefully pops it into her mouth, and promptly has a reasonably-extended religious experience which ends in a frantic grab for her glass of minty ayran.
: “Shit Zaya, remind us to crack out the FU when you want to try things. We’ve got. So many snacks. From Samudra and Almachadta.”
: “So there was this thing with radio signals last night and - need to make sure I get my thoughts down on paper before I forget them, and before we get to exploring Queenstown.”
blinks. “Would it be a bad time, then, to ask what a ‘radio signal’ is? Or should I Just assume that, like so much of our other arcana, it’s best left to those already acclimated to it?”
: “We were attempting to track usage of a Far-Caster, so that we might find Xi, and perhaps Tasna with him.”
: “It’s a special kind of light you can induce a crystal to emit that’s strong enough to pass through solid objects and bounces off the sky itself. We’ve been trying to figure out how to use it to send messages across long distances here for a hot minute, and never could get it to work, but apparently Aurelius cracked it last night.” She sounds duly impressed.
: “Oh. Uh. You know how farcasters work based on sound waves given off by different crystal resonances? Radios are… kind of like that… except with electricity and they’re generally better for wide scale communications rather than direction lines…?”
joins in sampling the full vegetarian menu, delighting in the textures and flavors of the fried and steamed momo. He looks up at the advertising for the Iron Chef competition. “Hey, Saranzaya? Off topic, but… there’s no chance I might be able to join the competition somehow, is there? Some loophole or qualifying contest?”
listens very attentively to Aury and Zaya’s explanation, but clearly hits his limit early–at ‘a special kind of light’–and his expression gets increasingly…glazed…from that point on. “I…see. It sounds fascinating, and probably best left to those who are familiar with it, then.”
: “Oh! Archie!” She rummages around in the small pack she’d been carrying with her. “I’ve got something for you.” Rummage rummage rummage, and she pulls out a paper-wrapped parcel of clothes, for him. “Also, they’re pretty famously open to anyone who wants to join, although this upcoming competition is one of the really serious ones, so you’ll be up against some real competition.”
takes the parcel and begins unwrapping it. “Thank you for the clothes! And that’s good to know. I’m sure we have more pressing business, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dying to join now that I know it’s here. Even if I don’t win, just entering would be so much fun.”
ꙮ The clothes in question: A rich deep-blue open vest with daring, bold red embroidery on it in intricate patterns, with a wide red sash to wear underneath, and red shalwar- immensely soft, wide at the legs but then gathering at the cuff - dyed to match the sash and the embroidery. Caion would almost certainly flip his pancakes.
says, with dead seriousness, “Oh, there’s NO business more pressing than the Three Grand Soups.”
: “Oh man, that looks amazing!” he says, marveling at the unwrapped garments.
beams both at the design and quality of craftsmanship and then at the thought of being able to surprise Caion with it later. “It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.” He tucks away back to the bathroom for a moment and emerges wearing it, his Samudran lab coat tucked neatly into a red bag.
: “That’s not sarcasm, by the by.” Aurelius mentions off hand while plopping another momo into his mouth.
: “Three Grand Soups?”
takes out a notebook and gets ready to start noting the local food traditions and culture.
gives Archie an appraising and approving nod. She’s good at what she does! Towards Wolf: “Yes! The soups deemed to be the most impressive and important and capable of showing off a chef’s wide range of skills. Every chef is expected to be able to make at least one of them as a signature dish. Bouillabaisse, borscht, hot-and-sour, and shark-fin. The Iron Chef competition around the Three Grand Soups is one of the most important things that happens in Queenstown on any given year.”
: “That’s four. That’s … definitely four, right?”
: “It’s absolutely four, yes.”
blinks, slowly. “So, they…added one, at some point? Which were the original three?”
: “Nobody knows, and if you ask, everyone argues about it, so we’ve just accepted that there are four Three Grand Soups.”
: “Maybe it’s like… a tactical thing. You can only choose three out of four, and you’re trying to find the right combination to make, to have the best spread to beat out everyone else.”
laughs brightly. “Or maybe, because this is the Beast, they are forever locked in a competition and forever at a draw?”
is…completely mollified by this, and nods as if that makes absolute perfect sense. (He’s a yeresh, religion and tradition is kind of his Thing, maybe it does.) “Ah! Ecumenism.”
looks down a little more directly at his notebook trying to hide his momentarily mildly stupefied expression before shrugging it off.
: “They wanted to boot shark-fin off the menu because landsharks are dangerous as fuck, and then the Queen told them, collectively, to quote grow a fucking spine or borrow someone else’s, end quote. Don’t tell her I said this but it’s just because it’s her favourite of the four.”
: “Who judges?”
nods at the question. “And is the competition purely cooking, or is gathering the ingredients considered part of the challenge? More directly, do you think the chefs who present shark-fin are more highly regarded in the contest?”
: “A panel of citizens chosen by the Iron Chefs themselves. Usually a decent handful of food critics that have done it before a bunch of times and have a good reputation for fairness, and then some wild cards - a hunter everyone’s popping for that month, or like, some kid who won a tourney and everyone thinks they’re cute and wants to see them at the judges’ table, or whatever.”
: “Competition’s all about the cooking - chefs will contract out some of the ingredient-gathering through levemetes and personal favours, some of the time. Although if you did something insanely daring to get your ingredients you can dramatically tell a story about it when you’re presenting your dish and, I mean, that definitely matters to some judges.”
gets back to scrawling notes, immediately formulating a strategy. “I see, I see. And contestants enter individually, yes?”
: “Yep. Juliano’s won three years in a row and the Queen’s steaming mad about it.”
looks amused. “And she cares…why?”
chuckles.
: “Does she … compete?” She sounds delighted. And hopeful.
looks like there’s something complicated and something simple to say in response to that, and goes with the simple option. “‘cause it’s something she can win. She’s sponsored Lauritz for the last, like, decade– sorry, Luce, Lauritz really IS the best– but Lauritz nearly got done in by a landshark two seasons ago and doesn’t wanna fuck with shark-fin soup any more.”
: “She -has- competed herself in some challenges, but– nobody wants to be the judge who votes against the Queen, so she feels like it’s not a fair fight, and it’s not like she can enter anonymously. So she stays out of the really important ones, like the Three Grand Soups.”
: “Lauritz the best? I must not have remembered everything after all.”
laughs.
: “I mean, it’s a matter of taste. Obviously I love Juliano’s work, too.”
laughs into a hand. “He’d better watch out for any surly bony rockfish, otherwise he might have to retire forever!”
started smiling when Zaya started talking, but when Luĉja says that line she laughs so loud she startles herself.
is laughing also, though.
: “I will never fully understand how humans perceive food.”
: “And that’s why Juliano’s the first Endjinn Iron Chef, and not you.” She grins at them.
: “You’ll never believe this, but Luĉja’s actually sort of become our team cook.”
you could all swear the giant Endjinn is smiling. Their face can’t move. But you know they are.
chuckles softly. “It’s much preferable to my own travel cooking. Do you like stew, or stew?”
looks at Zaya curiously. “That’s an interesting point, though. Are humans the only judges, or are Endjinn and others allowed to judge, too? It would be an interesting challenge to try to cater to so many varied palates.”
: “There’s always at least one Endjinn on the panel, Ludovicxo’s whole thing is food criticism and he always has the most fascinating things to say about texture and presentation. I suppose it makes sense that he’d pay more attention to those aspects?”
gives Wolf an amused snort. “Well, I’d like to try it, sometime. There’s no food that’s bad food if it’s made by someone who cares. I’d even–“ -and here she pauses dramatically- “–love to try Luce’s cooking sometime.”
laughs. “Oh, it’s perfectly edible, don’t mistake me. I learned that much. It’s the variety that suffers.” He gets a bit of a grin. “Lucja cooking burgers, however…”
: “I don’t know why you’d ever be worried, Friend-Saranzaya.” They pick up a small rock, and eat it, for dramatic effect.
grins, delightedly. “Oh, you’ve had burgers? Do they make those on the planes you’re from, or has there already been planar culinary exchange happening besides just those delicious peppers?” She’s finishing up the last of the momo on her plate.
: “I’m told there was an entire adventure.” He looks directly at Salme.
feels his mouth water at the memory of the tofu burgers and then lets out a tiny, garbled half-wail remembering that he lost his rights to the last one.
: “A certain someone is overtly fond of grand gestures.”
: “Heheheh, and thank goodness for that!”
: “Tch, there’s no wrong reason for a feast!”
: “Very true.”
: “I’m not sure I would call it a culinary exchange? There was a lot of research, and some … theft. And we invented buns?”
lets his eyebrows go up towards his hairline. “Theft?” He certainly looks more amused than chastising, however. “You made me party to a transgression, Salme? For shame!” He grins, a little. “…a delicious transgression, for sure…”
raises both eyebrows and laughs. “That sounds like a story you’re going to have to tell me sometime in detail. Although probably not… here and now, since the tracks are clear and we should be making our way over to the train station soon, I believe.”
: “All that beef and bacon absolutely did not come from Samudra, Wolf. Though the butcher has been appropriately recompensed.” Though she does nod and pop one more momo in her mouth before straightening.
shoves one, two… five different momo into his mouth at that and begins chewing quickly, before washing it down with a mug of ale and scrambling to get a few more words down on paper.
reluctantly gets up from the table, stowing away his notebook, strategies brewing in the back of his mind.
gives Salme a very arch, very dry look. “If you paid for it, it’s hardly theft, then! You didn’t even transgress properly, I’m ashamed.”
laughs helplessly into her glass as she’s about to start finishing it.
: “You haven’t tried the sardine gin, then,” he mumbles.
: “There was—yeah. Sardine gin before there was proper remuneration.”
makes a very complicated expression that flickers between impressed and disgusted at rapid speed. “…tell me you’re joking.”
: “I’m sorry, wh– no, I think I’d rather not know.”
thinks about it for a moment. “Sounds peaty. I’d be in.”
looks aghast. “Why would you put moss in a drink?”
: “Yeah that atrocity comes from your Academy, Archie, so I hold you responsible. And for the five scholars that insisted I try each version.”
: “There are plants in this drink, Friend-Wolf. Surely it cannot be that strange?”
: “I…I do suppose, but…moss?”
smiles. “Ah, if they were scholars being insistent about it, there’s half a chance they were serious and half a chance they were playing some kind of joke. As much as researchers take their work seriously, we know how to have a sense of humor, too. Well, most of us, anyway. And most alcohol is plants when you get down to it! Moss is something we have a lot of, and if you play your cards right, it can be deliciously savory.”
just makes a face like someone who’s had to judge a lot of pies of wildly varying quality and is rather glad he missed this particular taste testing.
: “Oh, it’s– we have that here, too. You burn the moss, I think, and the grains absorb particular flavor from the smoke? I’m not an expert, but I’m sure a tasting flight is only a train voyage away.”
looks wistful at the thought. “I might have to make a supply run before the contest begins, assuming it’s possible. I have a department to make some special inquiries in.”
rises from the table. “It sounds like we will have several errands to attend to in Queenstown, then.”
: “It’s a good place for it.” And, with a smile, she leads everyone – probably back to the Inn to pick up their stuff, I’d imagine, and then in the direction of the train station.
doesn’t look convinced–and looks rather alarmed that he’s just accidentally signed himself up for the thing he was glad to avoid–but gets up and shuffles along with everyone else.
slams a now empty mug down on the table, before gathering his papers and vanishing them along with the pen, before sliding back and standing up.
ꙮ The station: It’s very obviously more of a cargo outpost than a passenger station, although it’s comfortable enough. Certainly, it’s got more places to sit and wait for your train to be ready than the Liminal Express’ station currently does! Although that is, after all, a work in progress. The train itself is an enormous black hulking monstrosity, crouching on its tracks like its own kind of voracious beast, ready to strike at a moment’s notice, a forbidding-looking black pilot swooping out in front of it, with anti-fiend tines and blades attached in alarmingly haphazard-looking ways.
calls out a thanks to the server and chef, regardless if they can hear it, and jogs to catch up. (An empty bottle is mysteriously filled with Ale To Go.)
looks at it with some mixture of curiosity, amusement, and alarm. “Oh, cool. You know, normal train stuff.”
definitely leans a little bit away from it as it comes into the station. “…I like ours better. It’s friendlier.”
: “Oh, wow! This thing looks like it can punch its own hole in liminality by itself!” He tilts his head this way and that.
: “Yeah, they don’t normally have wings, just pikes and sawblades.”
ꙮ You’re ushered aboard - one glance at Zaya and they know whose tab to put it on. It’s… not as opulent as the Liminal Express, that’s for certain, although it’s comfortable enough. There’s a couple others getting on the train from here - a round, jovial-looking Endjinn with comically large catlike ears bumping out either side of his head, an appreciable fraction of a monster-hunter clan that was out here on a bounty for something - but the seven of you get your own special car, with nice big windows to look out.
looks around the train in awe, cataloging the differences between the Liminal Express and this one. “Honestly the pikes and sawblades were pretty badass.”
ꙮ It’s structured as a bunch of couches facing one another, with end tables between each set of couches, with painstakingly-carved wood paneling and brass accents; there are lamps glowing with soft gnosis that must have been recharged as the train was preparing to depart.
: “It’s more that I’m concerned about the need for the pikes and sawblades…”
nods. “I’m not sure if I am or am not excited to find out why those are needed. I did decide to make some upgrades to my fighting style since our sparring match.”
looks over at Archie and offers a silent…fistbump.
takes it with an impish smile.
: “Fiends usually stay off the tracks of well traveled lines, but always best to be prepared in case one of them didn’t get the memo.”
settles herself on a couch from which she can see all her new friends’ faces. “Yeah. And they’ve been extra spicy lately in the outlands, so people’re taking extra precautions.”
: “I figured yeah it had to do with the same reason this places has high fuckoff walls? Fiends.” She was waiting for Aurelius to settle, but when she doesn’t seem inclined to, she tugs him into a seat next to her.
spins into a couch opposite Saranzaya, kicking back with both arms across the back of the couch.
wasn’t being particularly indecisive, though few move at the speed of Salme, and he’s not one to argue.
sits near one of the windows and subtly reaches a hand into his bag, the tiniest peek of purple cloth poking out from inside and wrapping around his finger as he takes in the sight.
ꙮ The train makes a bunch of weird train noises, hissing and growling in its machine way. You can feel the surge of burning gnosis, and then the rippling that the train’s boiler starts to make in the gnosis around you, as it builds up… You hear the train-gates creak open, slowly… and then,
The train begins to move, not with the smooth elegance which you are used to, but with a methodical and breathtaking power. No train is simple, and a train that only barely relies on gnosis for its function is a complex work of human art, and you can feel the sheer force of it in the soles of your feet as it begins to crawl forward, picking up speed, clack-clack, clack-clack.
ꙮ And then Rifton begins to pull away behind you, as you head north, towards Queenstown.
rather quickly buries her nose in her tomestone; she’s got some reading she promised she’d be doing on the journey.
: “(Huh. Someone sure does like trains),” she whispers, not really to anyone in particular. She can’t really fault them, though. This train is a marvel.
nods with a quiet chuckle.
feels the rumble and rev underneath him as the train picks up speed and keeps his eyes on the landscape, transfixed, floating somewhere between hyper-attentive and hypnotized.
watches out the window over Archie’s shoulder, a smile playing around his lips as the unfamiliar landscape rolls past.
ꙮ Things in the distance that might be mountains, or they might be absolutely enormous sheets of metal piercing the ground brutally; things in the distance which are almost certainly mountains, albeit small ones. Red clay and red sand and red stone; even the trees have a red-purple cast to their leaves (but you did see, and eat, purple greens in Samudra, so perhaps that’s not as surprising as it could be.)
lets the vibration of the train rolling over the tracks course through him, savoring the jostle and sway. He idly and intermittently hums a song, looking left, looking right through the windows.
ꙮ It’s a long journey, but luckily it’s fairly uneventful - Zaya muttering in interest, reading through your records of your exploits prior to this moment, but keeping any questions she might have to herself, for the time being. The moons drift through the sky in their arc - all six of them are visible, right now.
turns and watches the scenery falling by, leaning into Aurelius because he did told her to be herself, and the self she is would be glued to his side. If he’s still working on his project, though, she tries not to jar his arm. “Only / There is shadow under this red rock,” she murmurs, quietly. “(Come in under the shadow of this red rock).” The words aren’t a prophecy; they don’t mean anything, she doesn’t think. They just feel right.
: “Hmm?” He probably pulled the papers back out after a small amount of watching the moons and resumed scribbling all over them.
shakes her head. “Just a poem. A long one.” She turns to watch him work. She doesn’t understand most of the diagrams, but she’ll save her invasive questions for later, once he’s got all his thoughts out.
: “Here under bright moons / that silver shine across the stone…” Wolf says, not…quoting, just riffing.
ꙮ In the far distance, a handful of truly enormous long-necked lizard-monsters graze on the tastiest leaves at the tippy tops of purple-leafed trees that only they can get to. In the nearer distance, there’s a mountain pass into a ridge of mountains, and it looks like that’s where the train’s headed. It’s… boring? But it’s the fine kind of boring, the kind that means that nothing’s going wrong, the train chugging away, breathing out great fluffy clouds as it goes.
quietly files away for later that the leaves at the tops of the trees seem to be the best as he lets the soft purple fabric rub gently between his fingers like a worry stone.
does not pull out her tomestone(!). Just leans against Aurelius, watching him work, feeling the seat beneath her, the warmth of him next to her, the comfortable stillness of the air.
ꙮ Eventually the plain you’re traveling across gives way to hills that the tracks snake and sneak between, which becomes the mountain pass; the slope is not effortless, but the train is inexhaustible, was designed for this journey, and it rises- crests the pass.
: “What’s on the agenda?” he suddenly asks. “Or are we showing up somewhere to make trouble?”
: “I’ve got a few places I need to visit for various reasons, but 7 to 3 SQ’s waiting for us before we get into the city proper.”
: “And from what I’ve heard…we should be prepared for a fight?”
: “I would wager that within…no fewer than twenty steps out of the station that the Scorpion Queen will find us. And challenge us to a Rite. Maybe thirty steps.”
: “And probably with your backup weapons you don’t feel much attachment to…”
ꙮ You can see Queenstown in the distance, long before the train starts pulling into the city proper. It’s huge, bigger than the Academy complex or the Courtyard by far, and -sprawling-; there’s concentric rings of city walls, most of which have been built on top of and around by now or covered with bright murals. A huge chunk of it’s a massive foundry district, built around a crack in the ground that’s visibly bright even from afar; another huge chunk of it’s a huge, mostly open-air bazaar built around an ancient-looking public square, the brightly-coloured stalls and streamers of which you can still see even from this far out, at least until the train descends through the pass for its final approach.
gives a wry look at his sheathed blades, one hand caressing the well-worn hilt.
: “Oh, that’s why I made the giant crystal sword from another plane. I figured she wouldn’t be able to resist it.”
laughs.
: “Zaya you didn’t hear that.”
perks up at the sight of the bazaar. “Zaya, that’s your bazaar right?” Her eyes are gleaming at the prospect of … shopping.
ꙮ Towards the middle of the city, there’s a fortress, jagged metal at odd angles; there are a few other buildings like that throughout Queenstown, scattered randomly. It looks like the city built itself around those structures, and there’s some more recent metal construction that looks like an attempt to copy the style, if not the impressive height.
looks proudly out over it. “It is. I can’t wait to properly give you the tour.”
: “Oh yeah, this is a place. I can practically inhale the darksteel from here.”
smiles. “I’m looking forward to it, myself. I don’t tend to use much in the way of weapons, but I’m sure SQ and I will be able to find appropriate Rite stakes as an alternative when the time comes.”
: “It’s enormous. I’ve never seen anything so big. Or so much metal.” She touches her irrica bracelet. She’s never … owned metal jewelry before.
ꙮ As the train arrives at the station, you notice that there’s some kind of commotion going on at the platform. There’s a crowd of onlookers, and a handful of huge armored knights absolutely armed to the teeth and wearing shiny armor, and - there’s a throne made of blades that’s far taller than seems reasonable, oriented specifically so that you won’t be able to get a good look at it until you’re disembarking from the train. It’s just… sitting right there, on the platform, surrounded by its entourage.
: “I see twenty steps was too generous an estimate.”
: “You can understand why I thought everything in Alamchadta was so small now, I assume and -“
is definitely gripped by the sight of the massive…it’s a city, a true city, closer than anything to what he’s seen only in dreams and Song…and then is equally gripped by the sight of that massive Throne. “Ahh. I see.” He breathes deeply, exhales…and starts…slowly…to smile…
: “- The entire fucking throne? Really?”
grins. “Nice of her to bring the party right to us.”
: “Yeah I understand why you thought everything in Almachadta was so small. I also understand where you being a dramatic motherfucker came from.”
laughs, a short bark.
: “Friends - I will not be using my shield this fight. Though I will still do my best to protect us.”
looks at it appreciatively, comparing the sight that stands before him to what he remembers of the stories he’s heard of SQ. Clearly, she was determined to live up to them.
: “Fair enough, it’s not like stalling’s ever gone particularly well.”
ꙮ The train pulls in to the station. Someone, outwith the station, plays an ornate trumpet fanfare.
smiles more, fangs glinting. “Have heart, my friends.” The grin turns distinctly…wolfish. “She will not find us easy prey.”
: “(As long as she’s not depressed when she kicks our asses. I don’t think I could cope with someone being this dramatic and depressed about it).”
: “I never added ‘losing’ to my deck, so I’ve always been ready!”
ꙮ As you disembark.
stands up, straightens out his mantle, makes sure his frilled cuffs are just enough out of the way, and takes a swig of the ale he bottled.
disappears his work and stands up while loosening up.
ꙮ The Scorpion Queen is seated on her throne of blades. One foot crossed over the other, head tilted back with a haughty smirk, looking down her nose at… well. At everything and everyone, really. One of her clawed feet wiggles back and forth, restlessly. (It’s unclear whether the claws are part of the armor she’s wearing, or part of her.) ⁂
ꙮ She’s got four arms, and two of them are holding one enormous blade and the other’s holding a smaller (but not much smaller) one and the fourth is tapping out a relentless rhythm on the armrest– well, on a particular flat blade embedded in the arm of the throne, there’s nothing restful about it. ⁂
ꙮ She’s got to be at least seven feet tall, lithe and whip-strong. Her armor’s pitch-black and iridescent like a scorpion shell, with a slight reddish cast to all of it; it was clearly designed for her, very specifically, with an eye towards aesthetics as well as functionality. Her tail rises threateningly behind her, scorpion-stinger looming sharply and menacingly; she holds it in such a way that it’s impossible, at any point, to look at her without being Aware of its Presence. She’s got jet-black hair and she’s wearing aviator shades, but you can still see how bright her eyes are, even from behind them. ⁂
looks up, and looks like this is the first time she’s seen something interesting that made her smile in weeks, and immediately scans the party with her eyes - lingering briefly on Salme, and then on Luĉja, and then on Wolf for an extra beat, and then at Aurelius - and her face cracks open in a huge laugh, ruining the ominous looming sneer-down-the-nose effect completely. “Goddess, you really -are- the dumbest motherfucker in the universe. Alright.” And she laughs, and laughs, and laughs, and stands up, and the crowd immediately, instinctively, draws back - forms a wide circle, centred around you all and the queen. ⁂
: “I know you need something from me, but I’m gonna make you work for it. That’s how things go around here. So here’s the deal: We fight, me against all of you. I win, I get…” She squints, again, at Luĉja. “No, that’s bait.” She turns to Wolf. “I get his knives, and I ask you to do me a favor, and if you do that favor you’ll get an answer to your question. You win, you…” She shrugs expansively with four shoulders. “I don’t know, it won’t happen. You’ll get to be the first people to have ever WON against the Scorpion Queen. We got a deal?”
: “We get the throne!”
can’t curse under their breath, since they don’t have any. They just curse.
: “You’ll have to settle for a box, afterwards!”
can feel the pressure of the Scorpion-Queen’s presence, like a physical thing, like a hand pushing down on him, trying to force him to his knees. He wants to bow, he wants to kneel. For a second, his knees tremble…and then he feels his heartbeat in his chest, in his ears…and with a curl of his lip, part smirk, part sneer… ⁂
: “Yeah, sure, lets get this out of the way.” He gives an apologetic shrug in Wolf’s direction.
: “I don’t ever recall saying no to a fight before.”
…he pulls his blades from their sheaths and spins them into his hands, wolf-gold eyes flashing brightly as he lifts his chin. “Terms accepted,“ he says, in a voice that’s half song, half growl. “You want these blades, O Queen? Come and take them.“
seems a little surprised at first to to have been overlooked, but he quickly recomposes himself, closing his eyes, letting them begin to glow in reply to hers.
-grins- at Wolf. “Oh, I like you too. Alright. Let’s go.” And she slams one of the swords into the ground, and a tongue of flame licks down it and scampers across the ground to the edge of the circle, where the crowd’s watching, and pyrotechnic-looking waist-height flames spring up in a dueling circle around you!
ꙮ A [Rite of the Dragon] has been invoked! The stakes: Wolf’s knives! [Battle With A True Hero]. The Scorpion Queen can be attacked from any lane; she can only attack people in the currently-active lane. She gets one attack per lane, per round.
ꙮ Salme, Snipe?
ꙮ You hear the beginning of some ominously poundy drums, and then the Scorpion Queen makes a ‘cut!!’ gesture with her free hand, and snaps her fingers, and grins.
- You hear — and your Star hears — a song, echoing from the stillness: Triumph of the True Hero!!
: “Yeahhh. That’s more like it.”
: “Mm, I see.”
’s arm suddenly flicks out in a blur, and a red beam of energy– no, it’s just a ruby-red throwing dagger, strikes [Wild Swing] from SQ’s hand!
[Snipe] - [Wild Swing] gone!
considers her for a long, long moment, and then takes a running leap and a very high jump, not hitting her but flipping past her. “A little bird told me you’d be in a maid outfit or something?” she says thoughtfully as she reaches out a hand, lightning-quick, and snatches something from her.
[Snipe] on [Massive Pyre]
: “Damn, we really should have put that as the win condition.”
: “Hahahahaha, oh my Goddess. No. That was– no. That was a whole dumb thing that happened because of a mixup.”
grins at her, and then at Awa both, rolling her shoulders, pleased.
immediately refreshes her hand because they bumped out all of the cards that she wanted to open with.
invokes [Chain Lightning] crackling across her fingertips and crackling out and zapping Aurelius for [3] and then she takes [1] and it zaps Archie for [3]! She takes [2] more stress herself for targeting each of them!
ꙮ Archie and Aurelius?
produces his spear with a flick, and then begins to trace runes into the ground around himself with white gnosis.
[IvoryBlood]
ꙮ Oh yeah [I Am The Odds] means that did +2 more damage to both Archie and Aurelius, sorry!
surrenders himself to the frenetic, battle-mad energy of Beast as the glow in his eyes shines a little brighter and he begins to bob and weave in a new, less predictable pattern the party has never quite seen before.
[Living Shadow] on self with Quick from the Glory upgrade, then [Shared Growth] - everyone else on our side of the rite draws 2 and I draw 7, two from Shared Growth and one for each ally who drew a card
: “…ahahahaha.”
ꙮ That’s a lot of cards!
glances between the Awoken and Wolf and moves in quick doing some flashy things with her smaller blade - but what REALLY happened is she set off a smoke grenade with her free hand! [Smother] for [3], and Wolf can’t gain defense until the end of his next turn!
ꙮ Wolf and Awoken?
draws two cards at the start of his turn, so Archie, you get another one.
draws dark gnosis up around himself–as if his own shadow comes up into his hands and wraps around his arms like ivy–and he looks at the Scorpion-Queen with a fierce smile and wolf-gold eyes. “I’m gonna hit the fuck out of you,” he says, with the force of absolute certainty.
[Dark Prophecy], giving [Rootblade] and [Everyone Dies Someday] Quick until they are played. Awa will get +1 defense because he cast a non-strike rite.
grins hugely at Wolf. “Oh, yeah?” And she licks her lips.
ꙮ Awoken!
holds up one, then two, then three dark-tipped fingers. “Don’t mind me. Take the center stage!” He drags the fingers across his chest, his body briefly pulsing with tenebrous energy.
[Dark Prophecy!] - gives [Everyone Dies Some Day], [Rage], and [Real Ultimate Power] the Quick properties.
refreshes again, then… “Ah, yeah, now we’re talking. Heads up, babe!” And she swings at Salme with a [Wind Up] for [2].
ꙮ Salme and Luĉja!
’s eyes shine, burning and radiant. As they run foward, crystal-blade ready, you can feel the ground quake with their [Rage!]. But before coming into striking distance, in a whirlwind of gears and metal plates, they reveal their core and fire out three pulses of gnosis directly at the Scorpion Queen. Just as quickly, they recompose their plating and take a defensive position just in front of Salme.
[Brilliance] [Rage!] [Void Flare!] [Warmonger] Red passive, white passive - Salme gains 1 Defense, deals 3x7 = 21 damage to SQ.
: “Daaaaaaaaaaamn. Someone ate their fuckin’ wheaties.”
is actually reeling from that!
pauses for a second, glancing over his shoulder at Lucja. “Stole my bit…!”
: “Brother-Friend-Aurelius, you know we’ll need at least three of those.”
laughs. “Fair.”
laughs and laughs and laughs, and as she does, burning gnosis flickers over her too. Isn’t rage just one step sideways from wild, impulsive joy? And then she steps back, watching, waiting. “You seem familiar, you know.”
[Rage!] as a Quick then [Lurk], drawing 2. Luĉja gets +1 def for non-strike rite, Archie gets +1 cards for Lurk.
: “That so?” She grins at Salme, unable to help herself, before whirling towards Aurelius. “Of course I seem familiar! I’m the hero!” Her big giant fuck-off sword lights on fire, from tip to guard, and she hits Aurelius with a souped-up [Real Ultimate Power] for [11]!
ꙮ Aurelius, Archie!
gives back [1], at least… before rubbing at his face and putting up his guard.
[Second Wind]
+1 Defend for archie and a draw
: “How ya gonna hold all your options in those lil paws, my guy?”
: “That’s the fun part. I’m not.”
[Feint] and [Brilliance], drawing 3 and gaining a Divinity Stack, then Defuse, handing out 15 Rites from my deck to whoever wants them!
actually barks out a laugh. “Ohhh, oh I see. Well, then, in that case.”
: “Hm, that’s not going to be nearly enough to stop you from… whatever it is you’re about to do, but.” She deftly dances through the sea of murderous possibility Archie left hanging in the air and then another heavy swing from her greatsword at Wolf - [Heavy is the Crown] for 6!
ꙮ She takes [1]! Wolf, Awoken?
inhales through his nose. “In the beginning, there was a spark.” [Everyone Dies Some Day], quick version. You feel your essence turn, loosening. ⁂
: “And the spark cleaved the world, in an act of love.” [Rage], quick version. Somewhere, a fire burns without breath or fuel. ⁂
: “And it bled until the clots chilled and they were frozen in time.” [Tracer!] […]
: “And then those pure of heart went to a whole new wor-“ [Void Fl…]
: “… actually, you want this one?”
jams his hands in his pockets.
: “(Doesn’t count until I actually put the cards on the table, anyhow.)”
looks over at Awoken, clearly fighting back a barking laugh. “If you’d be so kind, my friend. Be my backup plan, would you?”
: “Fuck ‘em up, Wolf!”
stops weaving just long enough to look over at him. “Hey, that’s my line.”
raises an eyebrow in Awoken’s direction.
ꙮ It’s everybody’s line, right now! Except possibly the Scorpion Queen, although even she’s in a defensive stance and looking at Wolf with flagrant curiosity.
wiggles his eyebrows at Aurelius but says nothing, instead pulling from his ale bottle.
then turns his gaze to the Scorpion-Queen–gold eyes fierce and bright, twin blades starting to weave in a sinuous, overlapping pattern, gnosis of multiple types starting to swirl up around him and blend. Flourishing first, sending thorny vines down his blades. Then fire, scorching the edges of his coat, his cuffs, but spilling out to lap at the Scorpion-Queen as well, flame-tongues licking at armor, looking for purchase…and then the fire flares, and rises, and rises, as he pours every bit of gnosis fed to him by Archie, plus some, as fuel for the conflagration! ⁂
: “I told you…I’m gonna hit the fuck out of you!” he says, voice rising above the flames–flames now golden, gold as his eyes! “You might be a hero…but I’m the hero’s Resolve.” And he dashes forwards, eyeblink fast, hitting the Scorpion Queen with two brutal slashes of roaring golden flame!
[Everyone Dies Some Day], quick, giving both of us [Exposure]. [Rootblade], quick, striking for 3 and buffing all rites in my hand to deal +2 damage next time they're played. [Wild and Pure and Forever Free], discarding *18* cards for +18 damage to my next strike...finishing with [Adrenaline Surge] for (3 + 2 + 18) x 2 + 1damage... *50 damage total*
: “Fuck!” And then they dance–
laughs, and laughs, and laughs, and parries blows, and dances with the yeresh, a quick and fast dance of blades and gnosis that, nevertheless, feels like hours of– of joy, of matching wits and strength with someone completely new, who can keep her on her toes. At one point, she gets her tail curled all the way around Wolf, pulling him scandalously close, her scorpion-stinger so close to his neck that he can feel it, and that’s precisely when he gets the last strike in, and when she sinks to her knees, she’s grinning hard. [The Last Word]
pulls out an absolutely, comically enormous hand-cannon from the left corner of nowhere, and, visibly struggling, but also laughing, bleeding blood and ichor, singed and glorious, sunglasses crooked on her face, her own blood is drawn into the cannon, and she chants… “When The Orchestra Of Creation Strikes For The Last Time… hahah, hah… just kidding.” The cannon fires, and she topdecks…
: “Fuck.”
[The Scorpion and the Frog].
laughs uproariously, slapping his knee and doubling over forward.
tilts her head back, and laughs, and LAUGHS, and laughs. “I’m changing the stakes of the Rite. In your favor.”
: “Wow, you even worded it so it doesn’t fucking matter if we use it too. Amazing. Piece of shit.”
also finds herself laughing, burning with joy.
: “Yup!!” She’s trying to catch her breath, and actually failing, and it looks like it’s been a long-assed time and she’s not used to -that- sensation, either- “I’m not taking your knives. You earned the right to keep them.”
: “God DAMN.”
sighs, and digs around in pocket for a moment before, eventually, pulling out a very, very old looking hip flask. On the side, very crudely engraved are the numbers “50/50”. Aurelius then stares at the Scorpion Queen, before tossing the flask to her.
pants, and laughs, and laughs, and grins, and there’s blood on his teeth, and there’s still little bits of golden flame flickering all around you, and in a very unusual tone, he says: “Oh. Ohhh…you cheat. I like you.” He chuckles, and drops to one knee in front of her, and plants his blades in front of her, one then the other, in the dust and the blood. “Keep them. I agreed to the terms. I lost. And could not be more pleased to do so.”
meets Wolf’s eyes, her own eyes burning ice-blue behind the– nah. She takes the shades off, tucks them into what must be hammerspace because armor doesn’t have pockets, and reaches out and takes the knives, with– surprising care. “Alright, but I’m not gonna melt ‘em down. And if you fuckers ever beat me… you can win ‘em back.” She reaches out and midair-grabs the flask and takes a swig and coughs hard. “Thanks. Goddess, it’s been a while.” Another deep breath. Or two.
chuckles, smiles beatifically…and flops backwards, boneless, to sprawl in the dust, bloody and panting, eyes closed.
whispers to Aurelius, “Have…you ever seen her be that nice to anyone before?”
takes a step forward. One, two. Enough to be crowding her, looking up into her eyes. “I absolutely know you, don’t I?”
: “Nice? Yes. Refuse to put the blades on the throne…? No.”
grins up at Salme through blood and sweat and dirt. “Did I meet you on a long shift in the messy bitch mines, babe?”
: “Must be going soft in her old age.”
’Wait that was YOUR handle? Mother fucker.“*
laughs so hard she’d take another Stress if she weren’t at cap, and wheezes, and holds her side.
is hugging her then, so tight, like she isn’t who she is. Like. “Oh. Oh.” She runs a hang through her hair, like she’s known her forever, though it’s only been … a few days, a week? “I thought I’d have to wait so much longer. Nice to meet you, AG.”
- Salme, The Sword-Saint invoked their 🟢flourishing gnosis [d10] -> 8.
looks at Aurelius, and checks his tomestone, and then looks back to Salme and the Scorpion Queen.
: “Ahahahah, god damn. We got flim-flammed twice!”
unspools flourishing gnosis, healing as much as she can. Not taking the sting of a battle well fought away, but maybe the discomfort of a continued situation.
: “We sure did…”
: “Fascinating.”
says, without opening his eyes: “I am deeply confused, but I’m kind of alright with that.”
was gonna wave it off, was gonna grumble, but– I mean, the hug is nice. Takes a much deeper breath this time, and hugs back. “Ah, I’ll be fine. Shit like that? Helps me remember I’m alive. Fuck, y’all are good.”
puts a hand on his face and drags it down slowly.
: “Zaya did you know…”
stepped through the burning circle as soon as the Rite concluded, but gave Wolf and the Queen, and then Salme and the Queen, some space, but now she’s heading over to them, and she’s– glaring at the Queen. “Jae, you shouldn’t have tricked them like that.” An apologetic glance to Aurelius. “I didn’t– I didn’t get to the posts until the train ride was almost over. And then I. Had a suspicion, yes. I’m sorry for not saying anything immediately.”
: “They just let anyone on these things, I swear.”
: “I hate you both.” He lets his spear fall into nothing while letting out an exasperated sigh.
: “Oh, first name, I have been a bad girl.” She doesn’t sound too concerned.
finally does let the hug go. “When I saw [The Best in the Room] techne—but when you called Archie babe. Jae? Is that your name here?” She looks at Saranzaya and shrugs. “I’m not bothered. I knew they were hiding something and I had … I think I would have guessed, if I had checked my tomestone.”
laughs, some more. And this time doesn’t get a hitch in her side. Gets up, slowly– then hugs Saranzaya, properly– then nods. “Honestly, only Zaya calls me it, and usually when she’s mad at me. But suppose you can, too, if you’d like.”
nods, and then raises her eyebrows and announces to everyone. “Well. Guess who’s been pouring out her heart in DMs to the fucking Scorpion Queen via Linkpearl,” by way of explanation, before stepping back and giving her some space to reunite with Zaya.
starts laughing all over again. “These things are trouble I tell ya!”
: “Had a feeling.”
goes over and pokes Awa in the side, and then Aurelius in the side twice. “There is no way you had a feeling.”
: “What *else* do you do in those PMs?“
: “Calm your tits, I’m not flirtin’ with your girlfriend. Yet.”
: “Wait, you’re not even– go away, nobody asked you.”
doesn’t really mean it, though.
squares up to Jae, looking her in the eyes, making himself feel as tall as he can, trying to remember what body language he’s seen Wolf or Salme use when they’ve done this before. “I have to say, pretty neat trick, having it written in the truths of this world that you win the Rites you’re in. You win because you’re the winner. It’s why you so desperately want your chosen to win the Three Grand Soups, isn’t it? The thrill of winning a contest you know you have no guarantee of? I’ll be entering, just so you know. I look forward to getting you back.”
slowly turns to face Archie and SQ and just. Starts laughing.
grins at Archie with unmasked delight. “Ohhh, this is going to be fun. This is going to be FUN. I had an idea of the favour I was going to ask of you, but now I might change my mind!”
: “You’re lookin’ for V, aren’t you? Blue skin, spooky lady? I know where she is. And if you want me to tell you…” She slams the sword down into the ground. “Win the Iron Chef tournament with shark-fin soup!”
.
Lol too slow
: “I’ll be throwing everything I’ve got against you!”
: “…Pretty sure I can track her down… guess we’ll see which method is faster.”
starts to laugh, wearily, raggedly. “Oh goddess.” He still hasn’t opened his eyes.
laughs again, just filled with delight.
cracks their knuckles. “I do believe this will be…quite finomenal.”
barks a laugh, then groans. “Luc, please…”
looks at him with defiant confidence and a smirk that grows into a full, toothy smile. “I said what I said. I’m going to enter the Iron Chef tournament. There’ll almost certainly be opportunities for collaboration of some form or another. But I’m cooking, and I intend to serve up shark-fin soup like nobody’s seen here before.”
: “Bwahahahahah! Excellent. I’m very much looking forward to it.” She tugs her sword out of the ground, effortlessly. Wow, she’d… really gotten it in there, huh?
is, quietly, beaming.
: “I’m.” She rolls her neck around. “Going to go and take a bath for a thousand years. Y’all have the run of the place, I’ve had my duel.” She, very casually, reaches out and snaps her fingers, and the entire throne vanishes into thin air. It’s big enough that the vacuum it causes picks up a rush of wind.
that, at least, is enough to make Wolf open his eyes. “….alright, ah…” He pulls a face. “I might need a hand up.”
trundles over to Wolf and offers him a hand from a crouch.
runs over to him and lends another, supporting his other side.
looks at the Scorpion Queen. “You also owe me a story. Several, actually.”
.
too slow again
grabs the hand and levers–if not up to his feet, at least up to sitting. “Thank you, both of you,” he says, in more of his usual, earnest tone. “You made that moment possible, and I am…very happy. And very grateful.”
: “Mmmm. Gonna be a minute before I can make good on that one. I can write you an IOU if you want?”
: “My pleasure, Wolf. We make a good team. I’m definitely happier to be on this side of a Rite with you than the other.”
half-turns around, to look at all of them, and– and then she puts her shades back on, rather rapidly, and turns away.
: “Hey! What’s with the moons?”
: “Gotta say Wolf, it was great, and then it was a loss, and then, well… in the rearview, I figured out how to win.”
: “But we can save that for next time.”
smiles slow and bright and fangy at that. “Oh? Well. I shall be very interested, my friend. Very interested indeed.”
hollers “Got me by the ass” over her shoulder.
: “Seriously…?”
: “I mean it’s not like Solei or the Palimpsest-King knew more?”
: “Fell into a hole, probably.”
grumbles, “Yeah, well, neither of them had a history with moons either…”
moves to follow her, and is nearly physically swatted away, with a gesture towards the six of you, and she nods, and returns to the platform. “Alright, let’s get the six of you settled in. I– at this point I know she knows more than she’s letting on but she needs to go soak about it for a while, I know you’re not getting anything out of her any time soon.” She shrugs, slightly helplessly.
: “She mentioned a bath. Are there baths?”
: “Oh, there are -definitely- baths. Should I take you there first?”
wipes some sweat off his brow now that he’s back to regular movement speed. “A bath definitely sounds good right about now.”
: “Please, by all the little gods and goddesses.”
: “After that dust-up? Yeah, a bath, a launderer, a tailor, a smith…”
ꙮ And she leads you off, and there are baths, and they are glorious, but concerning the baths, more will, I’m certain, be written another time. For now, it’s time to soak and relax! A long train ride directly into a Rite in which you went all-out… That’s a lot of soaking you’ll need to do!