This is a relaxing follow-up to the events of Hope in Danger! thread, where King Astor is holding a meeting about what the various groups have learned during their excursion into Vintergard.
In this thread, you will canonically catch up on the events of the main story thus far. Anyone may join the meeting to interact with other characters and NPCs and catch up on the story.
Smokeless flames illuminated the large tent, casting a warm glow over its crowded interior. Though it had been the largest construction that remained intact after the explosive death throes of the DEAD.naught, it was still too small for the mingled masses of Starcalled and Landers, all of whom...
Smokeless flames illuminated the large tent, casting a warm glow over its crowded interior. Though it had been the largest construction that remained intact after the explosive death throes of the DEAD.naught, it was still too small for the mingled masses of Starcalled and Landers, all of whom had been summoned in the evening on the order of King Astor Balthas, first of his lineage. By his right-hand side, the red-headed devil himself, Lord-Commander Levi Pendragon, stood tall, his chin raised and his hands clasped in front of him, resting upon the pommel of his illustrious sword. To the King's left, stood a blue-haired man, eyes obscured by opaque glasses. Bending down slightly, he whispered into the King's ear, guiding his gaze towards the entrance of another individual of note.
White Whistle Childress strode through the tent's flaps. The beastwoman had been absent on the eve of such a momentuous battlefront, but her harried hair and the stench of machine oil on her skin clued the observant in on what she may have been occupied with up to this time. The woman looked at the crowd that already flocked upon the king's summons, and found herself a spot off to the side, crossing her arms as she too awaited what message had to be shared.
So too was the Phantom of MIT present, a slight man slicing through the disordered crowds to stop just shy of the front. Ordnung, disaffected by circumstances, waited with the patience of a surgeon, or perhaps a student. It was crystal clear to him what would happen here, with the presence of the King, flanked by the Lord-Commander and the Royal Aide. Indeed, it would be...
Hear me, subjects of Astorea.
A commanding, and yet paradoxically calm voice silenced the crowd. In four years, despite his temperament, Astor too had risen to the duty of his throne, regardless of whether or not the veterans who knew him before accepted this.
You've done well to thwart the advance of the DEAD.naught, and with this, have proven too that Astorea once again possesses power enough to take back what we've lost with the descent of the Dragonship. Soon, with Camp Hope IV as our foothold, we shall begin our reclamation of Vintergard in earnest!
Murmurs spread through the crowd, some excited and some disturbed. Only Ordnung looked disaffected, even bored. He wasn't here for this.
Childress and her Black Whistles have uncovered and secured three routes into the heart of Vintergard, allowing us to strike directly at our foes, while the Lord Commander and his Lion's Pride shall be tasked with the defense of our base camp during this war effort. As for the one in charge of our long-awaited counterattack...
The King turned his many-ringed hand to one side, gesturing the blue-haired man over.
...Royal Strategist Accelerator shall be coordinating all willing Starcalled for these elite operations.
One breath, two steps. With a poise undisturbed by the attention suddenly thrust upon him, the gaunt advisor positioned himself to the front. He caught the Phantom of MIT's gaze for an instant, holding it with...what? Disdain? Mockery? Arrogance? before sweeping through the room once more. He was a slovenly-dressed man compared to the regal figures behind him, his pinstriped shirt only partially buttoned up, while his dark pants snagged against the packed earth floor.
Yup, it's me, Accelerator.
He waved at them, cracking a shallow smile.
Bit more effort than I want to expend right now to explain the whole reclamation plan, especially as mission details are on a need-to-know basis anyhow, so it'd be a better use of our collective resources to get everyone up to date on the Vintergard Magia situation instead. You've all seen what happened to one of the players who had been slain by the DEAD.naught, yes? Beheaded and then assimilated, before his powers were adopted by that hunk of metal? I'm sure you've all got plenty of questions regarding it. Well, it's a good thing then, that there are those amongst us who have the answers.
He clapped his hands together.
Now, who was it again...ah yes. @Seigi Ling Ling, @Magi Heart, @Ueno Mizuki, @Cleo Looker, and @Yugam of Team...Scout. Could you please come up to the forefront and explain what exactly the Magia were up to? Ah, and you can leave out the bits about that Bloodwurm you corralled along with you.
And, just like that, he stepped back, opening up the stage for those Starcalled to speak their piece, lighting up a cigarette in the meanwhile. Right, it certainly was going to be a long night, no matter what they talked about. Why not take the time to relax?
Ah, and if anyone else has any questions, no need to raise your hand and wait your turn. We're all adults here, no? Ask away if the details of the reporting team seem insufficient. But for those who've been on a separate team...
Smoke curled upwards, collecting at the ceiling of the tent.
...please, wait until you've been called up.
Accelerator smiled again, tapping ash off to the side, then pulled out a tome to read through as he waited for those of Team Scout to make their move.
If, of course, they would.
This is a knowledge-sharing event, sent on the evening of the DEAD.naught's demise, allowing all characters to gain IC knowledge of important story and lore developments that have occurred within the S4 threads thus far.
Please keep your posts dialogue-focused, with a maximum of 150 words. This is relatively low-effort. One-liners are cool.
Not everyone in a Team needs to speak up; Accelerator will be moving along to the next Team once he deems enough important information has be shared with the others.
If anyone wants to interject and pose questions or observations, go ahead. This is a comms thread, after all. Keep it flexible.
Note, of course, that if you want to, you could also freely peddle false information, if you believe no one else can catch you out on the lie. This might change if GM Asch rules against it, but I'm always for a buncha chaos.
Unrest surfaced at Yugam's report. If the DEAD.naught had been a singular incident, then it could be written off as an anomaly. But if the Dragonship's Magia were habitually assimilating all organic lifeforms into their steel frames? Thoughts surfaced within the minds of the Landers, of all those civilians who had perished during the Dragonship's crash, and so too did thoughts surface in the minds of Starcalled, imagining their past bodies, now swallowed whole by monstrous machines.
It would appear then, that the DEAD.naught was indeed a 'regular' bot.
Through it all, Accelerator remained unfazed, snapping his book shut. Had he already known? Or did he simply not care for such news?
Thank you for your report either way. I will have to, owing to public safety concerns, request that no one share the relevation of such capability of assimilation to the general populace. Alas, some may derive false hopes from this, which is rarely of any benefit for past traumas.
The blue-haired man waited for Team Scout to move off, joining the rest of the masses once more and then locked eyes with @Luthien.
Now, could the members of Team Time EX please make their report? I believe they are...Luthien, @Ash Vargold, @Rael, and @Kyra Vashtana. I've heard mention that you've encountered quite a diversion along your way to meet our King? What happened?
He blinked, then cracked a more good-natured smile.
Oh, and Ash.
Accelerator motioned the wolfboy closer, dropping to a more private tone.
Lady Lisbeth Maeven would like to congratulate you on your admirable defense of Camp Hope IV.And, if you don't mind a little advice from one man to another...when a lady of such stature tells you to visit at your convenience, she means 'as soon as possible'.
With that, he stepped back once more, patting Ash on the back in a consolatory manner as he allowed Team Time EX to take to the stage.
As they began to organize their thoughts, so too did another arrive into the tent.
None knew him, not anymore, but once upon a time, the name @Aalam Abungu was associated with a certain doggedness and professionalism, of callused hands willing to delve deep into whatever work was offered. A job was a job, after all.
And this job, one that Cessia sent to the longstrider specifically, was certainly one that could not be shared in polite company: to report on the mannerisms of the man who had risen so swiftly to a position of trust with King Astor, and to design a plan to quickly remove him from his post, if need be.
This is a knowledge-sharing event, sent on the evening of the DEAD.naught's demise, allowing all characters to gain IC knowledge of important story and lore developments that have occurred within the S4 threads thus far.
Please keep your posts dialogue-focused, with a maximum of 150 words. This is relatively low-effort. One-liners are cool.
Not everyone in a Team needs to speak up; Accelerator will be moving along to the next Team once he deems enough important information has be shared with the others.
If anyone wants to interject and pose questions or observations, go ahead. This is a comms thread, after all. Keep it flexible.
Note, of course, that if you want to, you could also freely peddle false information, if you believe no one else can catch you out on the lie. This might change if GM Asch rules against it, but I'm always for a buncha chaos.
