The timing of the ring and the overhead thunder is suspicious. Cease your play-acting, fool. The ring marks you as a criminal conspirator. Give it to me. I only ask this once.
"I did not know that man would be here. Nor was I aware of you specifically before I walked into this room," Daisuke whispers calmly.
"My associate was interested in that man regarding some sort of altercation from this morning, and when I saw he wore the same face as my esteemed employer, you can understand how it would peak my curiosity. I meant no offense. It is no crime to resemble another man, and I certainly didn't intend to imply any hypothetical wrong doing on _your_ part."
"I have found our conversation enlightening, Honorable Hoshi-san, but I regret that have taken up too much of your time," he says aloud.
He waits, allowing the noble the opportunity to dismiss him.
Something was happening here, and this Hoshi cleric was involved somehow, though he didn't appear to know it.
She is about to question both Kyras and Imuri about their discussion when Shoto saunters off towards Wong Tsai as if they were suddenly his entourage; her mouth opens to call him back so they can finally discuss Bethany and all the other issues at hand when Azami sees the other Wong Tsai in the corner, speaking with the dancers. It causes her to distractedly follow Daisuke and Kyras, and when Daisuke leaves Kyras' side to confront the other Wong Tsai, Azami bumps into a courtier as she adjusts where she is standing to maintain a view of both confrontations.
With a few embarassed bows, she mumbles apologies for her stupidity and lack of awareness, still unable to keep her eyes from flickering between the twin Wong Tsais. Surely, magic is at foot and if she stops watching them, one may disappear into the mists. Tension rises in the center of her back and shoulders - certain any moment one of the two will recognize her from this morning and flee - or attack.
The courtier is finally satisfied with her distracted and completely ingenuine self-abasement and leaves her; she watches Daisuke approach the man and speak low to him, gesturing. It's then that she notes Imuri's hustling of the nearer Wong Tsai into another room; the door shuts and Azami sighs with frustration at the pompous Shoto. Marooned amidst a hundred annoying socialites, her gaze turns between the door and the other Wong Tsai that Daisuke is with. She notes Adviser Chujitsuna striding purposefully towards the gardens.
And then, a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder - a storm immediately overhead; the marking of a moment when a decision must be made, where one's lot should be cast. The dark reflections of people outlined by the lightning flash float in her eyes like cursed ghosts - insubstantial and unimportant in the face of all that lies before her now. Relics of a past that can not sustain itself.
Azami turns and walks towards the door where the Dragonborn is trapped with Wong Tsai and Imuri Shoto, briefly wondering which she would wish to kill first if she were in Kyras' place.
Opening the door, she interrupts whatever they are doing without an inkling of concern - her words are for the Warbanian. "Something is happening. Be prepared to leave." Her gaze passes over Imuri to cast onto Wong Tsai, looking for a sign of recognition in his eyes.
@Tokine:
Following the thief's progress over the wall as she runs, I think she has the right idea....so much power here...Ryo? The last thought was as she thinks she hears him in pain as she drops over the eastern wall trying to get away from the terrible power of the Queen.
With her vision not hampered by the lateness of the hour, she knows she will still have trouble following someone trained in the arts of theft and deception. The Guards likely less so, but still perhaps they can delay her. "Alarm! Thief in the courtyard! Blackclad female! Robbed the Emperor's...Robbed the Palace" Her shouts are hard to hear over the building thunder
She draws no one to the Garden. The powers displayed there are beyond the guards ability to deal with. She just hopes Ryo...He knew her somehow...not quite friendly, but...subservient?.....Poor Garden
@Chu: As you are running to the garden, you hear Tokine's voice from down a different access tunnel, one that leads to the courtyard outside the private garden; "Alarm! Thief in the courtyard! Blackclad female! Robbed the Emperor's...Robbed the Palace!" Her voice is not very far, you could reach her reasonably quickly, but so could you get to the gardens in a short time. The cadre of guards you were able to gather all look to you for direction; continue to the garden, or go after the curator?
@Tokine: Your catburglar friend slows a bit, just long enough to dump an ornamental urn and a wheelbarrow across the path, in your way. It costs her a few precious seconds, but now you are faced with the choice of trundling through the gardens themselves, taking a path around, or attempting to vault over the obstacles.
You hear guards being mustered, but they seem to be moving so slowly. Too slowly.
@Azami: You see Imperial Advisor Chu go tearing by, broadcasting telepathically that Curator Nagano is in danger in the emperor's private garden, and that Queen Llirrianna has started some kind of fight there. Six guards are following him. You are moderately surprised at the advisor's footspeed.
@Imuri and @Kyras:
Sense Motive - is he using his fear or is he unafraid? And is he attacking with the ring somehow, or buying time?
The lowly functionary is genuinely terrified for his life. He stops pounding the ring on the ground and looks at you, his face wet with tears and his eyes wide and glassy. "Wh-? Ring? I...I what?" he looks at his hands in terror, but does not seem to see the thing.
@Daisuke: The cleric of Nethys bows shallowly to you. "Much better." He seems to re-evaluate you, noticing your mon as if for the first time. He leans in and whispers to you."You must make a pick-up tomorrow at dawn. Go to the cartage company of Xun Rui Bao, in the warehouse district. He will have a small box. You must bring it to the City House of Clan Hoshi and leave it in the ancestral urn that marks the door. Is that clear?" He holds out a small scroll tube for you to take. It, too, bears the crest of the Hoshi.
Kyras spins away from the scene with Imuri and (a?) Wong Tsai. "He's under an illusion spell, and the ring radiates necromancy and summoning. Take it from him. I trust you can handle this? Call if you need his head torn from his shoulders, and you can't stomach it." Without so much as a goodbye, Kyras leaves Imuri to follow Azami.
He finds himself in a jog as she follows the snake-man out of the room. "What's going on? Has there been another attack?"
Will
Perception
"Of course, I understand," he says, accepting the scroll and tucking it safely into his kimono.
Bluff
Dare Mo's orders did not dictate that he run errands for a Hoshi lord, and he still wasn't sure this man was a Hoshi lord. A moment ago he seemed truly shocked and offended by the revelation of his duplicate, and now he's giving out strange orders. Curious.
Was this cleric an unwitting pawn of some unseen master, or a clever charlatan?
He would have to consider picking up this package.
With a quick bow, he backs away from the cleric and looks to see if he can find Kyras.
The ring, Imuri says calmly. Give it to me now.
Azami glances to Imuri briefly, looking between him and Wong Tsai as Kyras steps away to follow her lead. Her expression hardens to a focused blankness as she steps imposingly into Wong Tsai's personal space. No malice, no righteousness or anger is conveyed in her expression--instead there is an emptiness of anything that cares whether Wong Tsai continues to draw breath.
It's hard to tell if she just put this mask on, or if she took the other mask off.
As Wong Tsai stiffens, Azami pulls the ring off his hand and places it in Imuri's palm. Her expression changes for the Shoto scion--a look between warriors fighting for a common purpose. She lifts her head in a nod that is an unspoken invitation to join them.
Then, she turns, jogging in the direction of of the Gardens. When Kyras asks his question, Azami stops in the main room. Her eyes seek the Erinyes and Tiefling that accompanied Llirrianna, mentally assessing the number of guard remaining in the palace.
"The Queen has attacked in the Emperor's gardens. Guards have already gone with Advisor Chujitsuna. The question is, whether this is the actual battlefield, or a distraction from the true front line." Azami locks her gaze with Kyras, voice low. "Remember, our battle lies elsewhere."
It only takes a few seconds for Imuri to scan the room and notice the relevant missing persons. Tokine must have occupied the Queen he thinks. He slips the ring into one of the small pockets of his kimono sleeve and looks down at the pathetic man resembling Wong Tsai. [b]You have been manipulated by enemies of the Empire. Do not accepts more gifts or any work outside your normal responsibilities. If you do, the Spider will find you in your sleep.[/i]
The Shoto returns Azami's look briefly and nods before rushing towards the imperial gardens. He makes eye contact with the lesser courtiers in the way, his cooling demeanor warning them to make their excuses and vanish into the night.
Tokine wrestles with her kimino sash as she runs, a fine silk kimono, properly wrapped, does not afford one the flexibility needed in a pursuit.
Kyras, Azami, Imuri, and Daisuke take off running and almost collide headlong into Chu, who immediately points down a side hall that leads out into the Grand Courtyard and says "We must assist the Curator, let's catch this thief and quickly!" before dashing off with his retinue of six Imperial Guards. From out in the courtyard you all clearly hear Tokine grunt in surprise and pain after what sounds like a body hitting the ground.
Daisuke and Kyras, neither of you really knows where you're going.
Azami and Imuri, you both know that the Emperor's Private garden -- to which neither of you has permission to enter -- is straight ahead, but Advisor Kage has (obviously) gone down the side tunnel to help Curator Nagano. Where are you going to go?
@Tokine: You bite the dust, hard. Your kimono belt has slid down and in the split second it takes you to adjust it you trip over the urn spilled by your quarry. You are bruised and scraped, and your kimono is badly torn and stretched, but otherwise you are fine.
You see the catburglar sprinting away, putting more and more distance between you. She is now 80' away. You see troops coming out of the guardhouses just as another giant lightning flash and thunderbolt hit. The guards, you realize with dismay, are far too slow and cumbersome to catch such an acrobatic opponent. You get a surge of hope when some of Yohei's archers, the elite unit of tengu, appear on a high wall. If they can draw a bead on her...
With no way to tell whose body hits the ground outside, Imuri rushes to the scales advisor and looks for his bearings.
So there was another thief. Curiouser and curiouser.
What were those strange growls? He was told to meet this Wong Tsai, and perhaps he had, but defending the palace from thieves was not his mandate. Though he was uniquely capable of catching the intruder, it would be out of character.
Still, if he was to assist Kyras the trust of his associates was necessary, and the lamentations of treacherous creatures would have to wait for another day.
Daisuke takes a quick look back toward the horrid sobs , before running straight ahead toward the garden.
Seeing the chase is lost, she can at least help her allies. She rises to her feet with a stone in her hand. She strikes her glaive upon the ground. A mote of light floats out of each bell and settles on a stone. She throws it toward the thief and it explodes in bright light.(60' radius)
"Archers! Guards! The thief is at the center of the light!"
Internally, Azami sighs. The Advisor had said the Queen had started some attack, but now it sounds as if there is only a thief?
Her head snaps to look back at the room from whence they came, hearing the horrible sounds coming from it. She skids to a stop; to the others, she gestures the others to go ahead of her, "Follow Advisor Chu and aid Tokine with the thief!"
What skill would she have in apprehending a thief? With Tokine, Shoto Imuri, Kyras, Daisuke, Advisor Chu and six guards, they would likely have it in hand, as well as the guard near the wall.
Instead, Azami's eyes dart between the entrance to the Garden proper, and the door where Wong Tsai was left behind.
If the Queen was there, perhaps she could distract the elf from Tokine and Kyras. It would mean entering the garden, but it could also keep Kyras from being killed, or taken.
But what by the Mists was happening to Wong Tsai?
To a guard still in the hall, she says, "Inform the Captain of the need for ninja and light troops for a thief escaping near the wall. Also, there is a disturbance in that room over there."
Azami then bursts through the forbidden entrance to the garden, hoping she will distract the sorceress long enough to allow the others to escape. She ducks and darts to the side upon entry to avoid any awaiting attack, pulling out her bow and nocking an arrow, scanning for her queenly target.
When he realizes that Tokine is at the center of the trouble, Kyras uses his long legs to great effect. He barely notices Azami breaking off from him and heading through a different door than he took. 'She knows the palace better than I do. She's likely just taking a shortcut.' He follows the naga advisor through the corridor, bursting out as he unsheathes his katana. He immediately finds Tokine with his eyes (noticing, of course, the tears in her kimono with some approval) and rushes to her side. "Are you all right?" He holds the sword out, protecting her and keeping an eye out for threats.
He can feel the magic in the air, with its darkness and malice almost taking form. He can feel the Dragon almost sniff the air, as if smelling a recently uncorked fine wine. Still, he cannot identify much about the magic except that it is much, much more powerful than he is.
The door to the room containing Kyras and Imuri's erstwhile prisoner is closed, so none of you are able to see the source of the hideous sobs and moans. They fade as you all race forward. With a surge of effort, Chu, Imuri, and Kyras arrive almost as one at Tokine's side just as her cast illuminates the area around the thief. A rain of arrows from Yohei's deadeye archers pours out of the sky, but something very curious happens. Another of those rude black smudges appears in the air where the woman is running, then as it fades, suddenly she is running, 50' or so to her right, as if she had taken a different path through the garden not ten seconds ago when Tokine was chasing her.
The arrows all stick into the soft soil, their intended target now far away, and vaulting over the palace wall with immense grace and ease. Her chase is not over, though, as palace ninja have been mobilized and will be giving chase.
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As Chu rounds the corner he spots the downed Tokine and looks quickly for the fleeing thief, as Kyras passes him he gives another hiss of irritation. He easily cleared the obstacles that had knocked Tokine down as he pursued the fleeing thief with inhuman agility. With each stride his claws lengthened and his horns grew more pronounced, his draconic heritage always showed itself in stressful times.
As he cleared the first of the obstacles he couldn't help but feel the raw magically energy thrumming through the air. What is happening in the gardens?
@Azami and @Daisuke: You both burst into the garden and are met with a scene of horror. Every plant has wilted to a hideous black stalk. The soil is dry and barren. All life is gone. In the center is the remains of a man -- a gardner or attendant, presumably -- he is lying on his back and his chest has been torn open, his rib cage opened like a bird cage, hinged on either side. His heart has been removed with no small amount of violence, and printed on the ground, in blood, are the words IT HAS BEGUN.
Somewhere a swift calls. Somewhere a nightingale chirrups.
Spellcaster-types: There is, in the air, an overwhelming feel and scent of Necromancy, but no magic is active in the gardens or courtyard.
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Chu skids to a halt as the thief gets to far away for easy pursuit. His irritated hiss grows louder as he turns away and heads back to Tokine's side. "I must head to the gardens, I know not what help I can be but obviously the thief is too fast for me. I will aid the gardener as best I can, praise be to the Emperor that my death is quick but the Queen has gone too far..."
His claws were visibly longer now, his horns and frills as well, his golden scales seemed to be shining even brighter in the half light. He pointed to Tokine as he spoke to the guardsmen that had followed him. "Your weapons will be best suited in protecting the Curator, guard her with your lives and follow her command." He bows his head in respect to the guardsmen as he begins to move towards the gardens.
The overwhelming scent of necromancy lacing the air mad his scales crawl. Whatever was happening tonight was not good, not for the Empire, nor for the Emperor himself. He had been a fool to leave Kotei behind...
In these same books, accounts are given of the smudges left in the air when they vanish from time and reappear elsewhere, "as if the gods themselves had erased them from the world..."
Kyras takes note of the thief's magic, though he can't quite place what sort of spell it is. 'Why can't you teach me something useful like that?' Almost unconsciously, his hand is drawn to the concealed magnifying glass in his pocket. He feels it through the cloth, even as he continues to scan for threats. When Imuri appears, apparently there to protect Tokine as well, he frowns noticeably, and considers whether or not it would be a breach of protocol to stab the brash young noble scion.
Daisuke stood calmly in the grim, lifeless garden. His left hand rested on the scabbards of his swords where they met his belt, his right just away from the hilt of his katana. He turned slowly, surveying the grisly scene.
It has begun?
The Black Dragonflight was finished with subtlety apparently. So be it.
Every shadow will be turned against them. They will learn to fear the darkness.
Azami's eyes pass over the desolation. She tightens her grip on her bow to build a wall between emotion and action, telling herself, Enemy first, as she scans the gardens for Llirrianna. She can pay attention to the thickening sensation in her chest later, when Azami once again has the luxury of time and solitude. Until then, best not to linger on the blood spread like a lady's painted fan across the barren ground.
Best not to think of alizarin crimson flooding a canvas only this morning in the Temple.
That Daisuke joins her is noted in her awareness as one of many facts: the presence of an ally. His arrival distracts her from the ghosts the carnage summons to her mind; gratitude for that, too, Azami will reconcile later. Her voice sounds empty even to herself as she speaks low to the Hoshi ronin while still looking for the Queen. "Troops deployed for the thief. Something is happening to Wong Tsai." Focus on the facts.
The birds chirp; their music slams into that wall in her ribs, a sickening mixture of grim hope and horror in the sound. The thought "...not all life has been stolen," conflicts with the birdcage of the gardener's soul laid out before them.
If she cannot detect Llirrianna, then she will immediately leave this forbidden place to step back out into the hall.
Daisuke nods and silently follows Azami back to the main hall.
"To the right! She still runs!" Tokine sees the others coming and points to the thief as she continues her pursuit in the new direction.
She calls "The Queen attacked in the Garden...too powerful...Ryo?...then thief stole ancient dragon statue...oldest art in my care."
Not knowing what effect it might have other than her opponent is using some form of magic, she points her glaive at the thief and shakes it, creating a disharmonious crash that ripples out forward toward the thief. Leaves quiver and tree limbs bow as the wave passes on its way in pursuit.
@Daisuke and @Azami: As you walk down the hallway, heading back to the main room, you both quickly pick up the sound of distant fighting, coming from the space that is supposed to be for celebration and love and life and music. Who would dare defile such a place with battle?
Above the screams of the dying and the clashing of steel, a horrid wet gurgling babble can be heard, insane and high and keening.
"THEBLOODMEATTASTEWANTSPLATTERWHORESPLATTERGOREAHHHHHHTAKETHETAKETHEWILLWEA HHHHHHHMYCAN'TSOMEBODYTHEINSIDEPUTSITOUTWEWANTTHEREDBAGMEATDRAG!"
Tokine, once again on her feet, continues the chase, even though the thief is well ahead of all you and has put on a tremendous burst of speed. Magic pours out from Madame Nagano, beloved of Shelyn, but it washes over and past the black-clad woman with no discernable effect, just before she disappears from view on the other side of the courtyard wall.
Daisuke stops, placing his hand on the hilt of his katana.
Back against the wall, he moves up quickly and silently to the edge of the corridor, peering into the main room.
@Azami: There is no sign of the elven queen.
Azami immediately picks up running to see what in the seven hells is going on. She runs right into the room, right past where Daisuke pauses, bow still in hand with arrow nocked.
@Azami and @Daisuke: There are bodies everywhere. Some still have most of their skin on them. Some have exploded like blood-filled balloons. Most are imperial guardsmen. Two of the bodies belong to the Erinyes and the Tiefling, both of whom appear to have met grisly fates, their chests exploded outward and limbs missing. Their brackish blood mixes with that of imperial citizens.
Some of the fallen, horribly, are still alive. They crawl meekly and slowly towards the door.
In the center of the room are the Sera sisters. Both are bleeding profusely out their eyes, ears, nose, and mouths. They are back to back, weapons drawn, and both have minor cuts and scrapes.
Dancing around Zhongyi and Aki-Kirei are two tall reddish-bronze colored humanoids with leathery flesh and gleaming, gold eyes. Their hands end in blood-stained claws, and long snake-like and forked tails trail behind each. The smell of fresh blood hangs in the air. Each one wields a wicked dual-headed flail. They seem to emanate the smell of fresh blood. They are tall in a disturbing way, gaunt and awkward yet frighteningly quick.
Maybe the noise they are making is laughter.
They are taunting the Seras, both of whom are stone-faced and focused, staying together and fighting for their lives. When Daisuke tries sneaking up, one of his shoes squeaks on some blood, and the creatures turn and unleash horrid hissing growls at the samurai. It would appear you have both been spotted.
Ancient palace defenses are lumbering into the room in the form of two great stone golems. Strong as the creatures are, though, they are terribly slow, and probably will not arrive in time to help the Seras, or you.