Aulus Lusius Allectus: Alright
Ryusui: <@!155025784451497984>, <@!481723837453434881>?
Ryusui: Mitsunari, Aulus Lusius Allectus, you okay with starting without them if they're not ready?
Mitsunari: I can do that, yeah, though I feel weird about this being mostly a two-man show for the entire adventure in Milltown.
Aulus Lusius Allectus: Hmm... I'm fine with it going either way.
Aulus Lusius Allectus: Yeah, it is dangerously close to becoming a buddy cop thing.
Mitsunari: (I do want to get Chell and Boozoo more involved when we get to the Alliance side of the equation.)
Mitsunari: (Assuming we get away with our inevitable confrontation with the Under-Regent and aren't run out of town, of course. XD)
Ryusui: all right, in that case, let us...
DiscoDude: ---BEGIN SESSION---
DiscoDude: Session logging commenced
Ryusui: So, recap from last time.
Ryusui: You just decapitated Officer Kurgel, the guard Under-Regent Zyll dispatched to accompany you (at your request) on your investigation of the mills.
Ryusui: One way or another, this display has earned you some measure of trust from Ivon, the tight-lipped foreman of the paper mill, and his fellow laborers.
Ryusui: He's standing in front of you, trembling a little at your display of murderous talent, but willing to cooperate now.
Ryusui: What do you do?
Mitsunari: "Well, now that that little living obstacle is out of the way - What were we thinking in bringing him along? - why don't we start from the top, eh? Aulus?"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "It seemed like a good idea at the time, and even when it was obvious he would be an issue, we still needed to seem like we were playing along. Anyway, yeah, from the beginning, but quickly."
Ryusui: "Who...are you?" Ivon says, looking at you all in confusion. "Are you with the Alliance?"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: would simply take out his military insignia once more, worn and faded though it might be. "Generally no. But lets just say I can see eye to eye with them when the Marquisate get involved."
Ryusui: That last comment puts a concerned frown on Ivon's face.
Mitsunari: "Yeah, I suppose we're still kind of working for the Eyrie, or at least this guy is, but as a group, we're naught more than your friendly troup of unaffiliated Vagabonds."
Ryusui: "We still don't know if we can trust them," a laborer hisses.
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "If it eases your concerns at all, I'm not going to flip out because you use Marquisate machinery, or because you find the current Under-Regent disagreeable. Also... as of right now we have a corpse of an Eyrie soldier sitting in your workshop, if someone doesn't do something quick heads are gonna start rolling."
Mitsunari: "Indeed; though you're right in considering me to be an untrustworthy individual," he gestures to the corpse, "as you can plainly see, that holds true regardless of what faction I'm speaking to. I like to play these sorts of squabbles by ear, personally."
Ryusui: Two of the laborers nod at each other and, with perhaps less hesitation than one might expect of papermakers, proceed to haul the corpse into a corner. Another one sets to work cleaning up the blood.
Ryusui: Ivon shakes his head and holds up his hands. "At this point...I would not risk the lives of myself or my workers on combating you," he says, clearly as much cowed by your display as impressed. "I have no choice but to trust you. If nothing else, I can be certain whatever you do to us will be quicker and more merciful than what the Under-Regent will."
Mitsunari: "Ha! I'm always quick and merciful with this thing. It was kind of my job to be so, back in my homeland. I've been eyeing up a particular neck since coming here to Milltown, actually... but alas, that can wait for tonight. Or tomorrow, depending on how long it takes to gather real evidence and form a plan."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "Hmm... a bit slow on the draw, I already have a few ideas, but it depends on what Ivon can tell us about the situation."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "If it shakes down how I think it might, you may like this one too."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: would that look toward Ivon and muster a friendly, if a bit to clearly intended to curry favor, smile. "So, perhaps you can enlighten us to what exactly has been happening in Milltown."
Mitsunari: (Ironically, despite Mitsunari being the clearly shiftier character, Aulus is the one who'd be an actual active threat to the Alliance here; Mitsu's indifferent to these guys. XD)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: Ryusui
Ryusui: Ivon looks around, and a couple of the laborers nod. "If you have been to the mills, you know much of it already," he says. "These machines were built to last, but...not last forever. Milltown as it is would not survive without their output, and yet..." He sighs. "They are dying. And the clearing will die with them."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (To be fair , Aulus kinda has this vague belief that once the Marquisate and endless conflict that comes with them is out of the forest, the relative peace will just kinda cause the Alliance to dissolve to naught but the most hardcore anarchist elements. So he isn't exactly getting ready to mop up the individual cells.)
Ryusui: "The Under-Regent knows this, and he sees fit to have us employ more laborers to offset the failures. But it is not enough. It is...merely a bandage on a mortal wound. Without the expertise and knowhow that built the machines, the end of Milltown is...inevitable." A laborer or two sighs; parts of this speech seem familiar to them.
Ryusui: "But he will not permit Marquisate engineers to aid us. He has staked his career in the Eyrie on the Marquisate's eradication."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "Would the Marquisate even be so willing?"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "I'd imagine the last thing they'd want is to give the Eyrie and extra edge over them."
Mitsunari: "Hinging his career on a plan that will collapse in on itself someday even as he refuses to change it? Now that's classic Eyrie; I can hear the cries of 'turmoil!' from afar as we speak. I feel as though that's not the part of his wrongdoings that I'm concerned with, however. Did you hear how the guard misinterpretted my friend's accusation? I'd say that's telling of something a bit more sinister than zealous overcompensation. I'm positively giddy here!"
Ryusui: "There are rumors," Ivon says, shrugging. "No one truly believes the Under-Regent is fit for his position. But rumors alone will not remove him from power. The town continues to prosper for the time being, and it will continue to, just as he intends...until his lies are no longer enough to keep the mills running."
Mitsunari: "No no no, see, that's the thing." Mitsu pokes his cheek and tilts his head in a rather cutesy manner. "I'm not the 'convince a jury' kind of prosecutor."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: frowns, he was seriously hoping to tie up most of the loose ends, but now it looks like he still has more leg work and is up against the clock. "It is already all but presentably clear that something happened. Evidence would be appreciable, but clearly this can't continue... Is that is then? I was hoping everything would come together after speaking with you, but I still have questions left unanswered."
Mitsunari: "We do have someone who personally knows the suspect, hmm~ Someone we've yet to talk to, hmm~?"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "Iron, leather and paper. Fit to make weapons, armor and pamphlets. And, yes it already seems like we will need to visit the producers of his favorite Sherry. But there is will be more to it then that."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "We need to figure out who in Milltown can speak for the people, and honest provisional leader. And then we need to figure out who is genuinely loyal to the Under-Regent, and who will fold given a chance."
Mitsunari: "Oh, you're still on about the whole 'Zyll's behind the Alliance rumors' theory, huh?"
Mitsunari: He glances at the workers to gauge their reaction to this little assumption.
Mitsunari: (Does Aulus still have a hold from his Figure Someone Out roll, or should I refresh that with my own?)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "I don't know what to expect. But it is something dangerous that's still unaccounted for."
Ryusui: (Let's say he does!)
Mitsunari: (I'm still convinced that the millworkers, if not guilty themselves, at least know who is responsible for the thefts and fliers.)
Ryusui: So what next, Vagabonds? Anything else you'd like to ask Ivon?
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (I thought I burned all of them, but if not, yeah I'd want to figure out if he is hold out on who took them.)
Mitsunari: (Which question would that be? I guess "what are their true feelings" regarding talk of these loose ends?)
Mitsunari: (Or something else?)
Ryusui: (I mean. You haven't asked him directly :P)
Ryusui: (Not now that he's willing to cooperate, at least)
Mitsunari: "Actually, you wouldn't happen to know about where that stuff's been going, would you?" Mitsu turns back to the mill workers right after he turns to leave.
Ryusui: Ivon frowns. He looks again, to the other laborers, whose expressions run the gamut. Finally, he makes a choice: "Come back here, at night. You will meet the 'thieves.'"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (Aulus isn't anywhere near ready to leave, all the stuff I was saying about things I still need to figure out should of been within earshot of Ivon.)
Ryusui: (yes but you never addressed him directly)
Ryusui: (i thought you were talking to Mitsu)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (Alright.)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "If we are gonna try what I intend to try, we won't have until the night. My little plan. Once Mitsunari pays a visit to the Under-Regents friends and hopefully digs up some dirt, and I figure out who can act as a provisional leader, we would pay the Under-Regent another visit."
Mitsunari: (Under-Regent's supplier?)
Ryusui: Ivon blinks. "What friends?"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "From there we would make a small show, or rather Mitsuri here would show off a bit, spar some of the soldiers one to one, then make a point of taking them on, five to one or the like." for next line he would look over to Mitsuri specifically. "I'm sure you'll get a kick out of that." before looking back to the group. "Point is we would try to separate fair weather friends from the loyal outright. Deal with those willing to throw their lot in with the under-regent, and imprison him if possible. If we have the evidence for it all, it would go a long way toward looking like something other then outright rebellion."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "... I think I missed the whole push the, External Eryie agents bit. But you get the idea. But the longer we wait, the harder it will get, and the harder a sell it will be."
Mitsunari: "Well hell, my plan is simply to find enough evidence to satisfy my own sense of due process - which isn't much more than what we already got - sneak in, and just off the bloke, eheh."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "And that would be anarchy, no one would be able to see how that would shake down. Also blowing up a second keep this week is not on my to do list."
Mitsunari: "Hey hey hey~ we're not blowing up the keep, just quietly removing one dude. I'm pretty sure you don't actually have the authority to control who replaces him, anyway, unless you want to round up all the bad eggs, which may result in the collapse of Eyrie influence here entirely. Not that I care; just that I know you care."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "I am not expecting full control over everything, let alone the final replacement, just assurance that the interim would have some order to it."
Mitsunari: "Oh, have a little faith - the Eyrie are experienced in internal upheavals. Icetrap only went the way it did because the replacement got offed before he could even take control~"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "I suppose so... Still, how exactly do you plan to sneak into a keep with one entrance and the majority of the Under-Regents forces? The one that is on high alert?"
Mitsunari: "Well, we Vagabonds have gotten ourselves a private audience with him once before, haven't we?"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "Yes, but if we just kill him we'll get swarmed by everyone... ugghh we are about to do an Eyrie classic aren't we." Aulus is clearly getting frustrated with Mitsunari's unwillingness to employ a modicum of tact. Also he is wondering what Ivon is thinking about all of this.
Mitsunari: "I never said we'd get caught, silly. That's actually the whole problem I have with your plan."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "We go into a room with a living person, and leave when they're dead. They'll find out with yours just as easily."
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "In fact, they'll probably keep their eyes on us, considering their last set sent to do that disappeared on them."
Ryusui: Ivon is, with understanding hesitation, slowly getting the laborers to resume paper-making. The one you saw cleaning up the bloodstain off the ground is currently cleaning some blood off the machinery; the two you saw hauling off the guard's corpse are currently moving a suspiciously mushy-looking* sack. With that business out of the way, though, the laborers seem content to resume paper-making while the two of you discuss plans.
Mitsunari: (Obviously, I, the player, think we're grossly overthinking this.)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (Probably, yeah. But Aulus kinda cares about what happens to these people, and his reputation...)
Mitsunari: (Keep in mind that his actual mission is "investigate the possible Alliance presence in the clearing." Technically, the Under-Regent ought to be a side-project.)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (Also I'm tired and thus not fuctioning 100%)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (right... maybe now is a bad time to run the game then. since clearly I kinda forgot about it.)
Mitsunari: (So I think I'd like to describe a move to possibly close out this scene.)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: "You know what, lets just meet these thiefs first. Maybe they'll have a better angle."
Mitsunari: (Never mind, then - I was gonna try exercising the Plead With a PC move, but you beat me to the punch. XD)
"Oh, well alright then. The disappearance of a lone guard on our watch won't look good, but I'm sure they'll have nothing on us before we make our move, right?"
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (And end?)
Ryusui: (If you wish!)
Mitsunari: (Remember the post segment.)
Aulus Lusius Allectus: (we didn't really do anything though. also I need to take care of other stuff.)
Ryusui: (gonna agree with that, if that's all right with you, Mitsunari)
Mitsunari: (I do wanna try a swap I realize I should have done last time.)
Mitsunari: (Can I swap out my THRILLS Drive for JUSTICE? I'm thinking his own twisted sense of justice is what ejected him from his homeland to begin with. XD)
Ryusui: (By all means XD)
Mitsunari: (And (mostly) done.)
Mitsunari: (Will you do the honors?)
Ryusui: (And with that, let us...)
