Act 3: The Ball - Crisis

Tibur smiles. "I do possess such gauntlets, yes. I'll add them to the list."

"And if I may ask for one more, I've been making a study of Weaving, and I would greatly appreciate an item of power that would increase my natural affinity for the craft."

"Ah. Yes, such artifacts are notoriously difficult to acquire. Luckily for you, I have one. Anything else?"

The king's gaze falls on Théo.

"Nothing for me, your majesty. I follow out of honor, not for reward," says Théo.

Steve rolls his eyes and says, "I highly doubt Nadia expected you to charge an Earth Elemental when she signed you and the other up for our mission. Take the reward, you earned it."

Théo is still reluctant to accept but offers, "I suppose I could do so if Kaja and the others were also rewarded."

"Their efforts must be acknowledged," the king agrees. "Which is why I will publicly thank them for their involvement in this conflict, and discuss with First Zerva the best way to reward them. But you've been directly involved with this group's efforts from what I've heard. Is there anything you would wish for?"

Mollified, Théo says, "I chose my kit expecting that I would be fighting humans but these past few days have opened my eyes to greater dangers. If I am to keep up, I'll need to start rethinking my setup. Heavy armor is fine when you are fighting in a Myrzen formation with others wearing the same, but not so good with these guys. Their formation relies on speed on maneuverability so I'm gonna need something that increases my mobility."

"My personal bodyguards are given enchanted boots that do exactly that. Maybe you would like a pair?"

"That would be great, thank you, your majesty." Théo salutes the king by banging his fist against his chest plate.

"What about you, young Devil?" the king asks Steve.

Steve laughs and says, "Yeah, you owe me one. And you better believe I'll collect someday."

The deceptively young man smiles. "I wouldn't dare to refuse you," he says, before he turns to Amber. "And what about you, miss? Do you wish for anything?"

The teenager hesitates for an instant as she ponders her options, then says, "I'd like the biggest Bag of Holding you have, and as much money as you'll give me."

Tibur raises an eyebrow at her boldness. "Very well. It's yours."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Amber tries not to let it show, but judging by the way her body relaxes, she's relieved that he accepted her request. The king isn't done however and now addresses the whole group.

"Is there anything I can do for your group as a whole? Although you've asked for a lot already, the value of these artifacts pale in comparison to what you've accomplished over these last few days. I've heard reports of the battles occurring in the eastern part of the city, and from what Thirza told me, your sabotage of the enemies' supplies and the kidnapping of the their commander have saved a great many lives tonight. That's not even mentioning our rescue earlier. So please, tell me: is there really nothing else I can offer you? I know your first concern is to free your friends from my son's control, and while I wish I could help you convince him to let them go, I am quite certain he would refuse to listen to me. Is there anything else?"

"Huh. One moment please." Steve gathers everyone into a group huddle some distance away to discuss the boon they might ask for. Everyone has their say in turn, with Mihai not participating so much as asking pointed questions to keep everyone focused and on task. After a spirited discussion, the group finally returns to make their request.

"Well, we came up with two things. We run a company called Blue Sound. We make woven machines that increase the sound someone is able to project over large areas. Perhaps you've heard of us? Anyway, we want to do business with all the nations and trading rights would go a long way towards helping us into Emerald's markets. Specifically tax and tariff waivers."

"And the second?" asks the King.

"A friend of ours, Hortensia Mutilus, is trying to be named legal heir to her family's duchy, in light of the death of her brother. As you probably know, Emerald's inheritance laws make this impossible. We'd like you to change them so she can inherit. Hortensia and her family were instrumental in helping to stop the coup, by the way."

The king gazes at Steve with an undecipherable expression on his face as silence settles over the chamber. It lasts long enough that Fluffle and Amber exchange anxious glances at each other, until finally, the reincarnated emperor speaks again.

"I have indeed been informed about Hortensia Mutilus' complicity in the duchess' scheme, as well as her subsequent change of heart. Although I have reserves about her, I admit that her actions speak in her favor, and will thus refrain from exacting punishment on the young lady. It shouldn't be too hard to waive tariffs for your company in Emerald, as long as you present your products to the Crown first; but to change the inheritance law? The repercussions would be immense." The king makes eye contact with each party member before settling on Steve again. Then, he sighs and says, "But so would have the deaths of all the people you saved tonight. They owe you everything. It might take a few months, but you have my word: I will change the law."

"Thank you," says Steve, relieved the party could do right by Hortensia and her family.

"We're not sure, but if they can control the summoners across vast distances, it's safe to assume they can also suppress the ability to summon their Aspects. The real problem about the sleeper agents is that we're not sure how many there are. For example, did you notice how some of the ducal guards ignored the duchess and followed Caetronia out of the ballroom? Then escorted her out of the palace, leaving the duchess to the fire?"

"Possibly. The idea is so cunning, we suspect the Mimic is the one who first thought of it. Luckily, a high level Scan can detect whether or not someone is a green mage, regardless of the Elementals' best efforts to hide it. It's just hard to justify scanning everyone."

Fluffle crosses his arms and ponders the implications of this revelation, while Amber squirms at the idea.

Steve goes into thinking mode and asks, "How high level are we talking here?"

Konrad considers just how strong the spell would have to be, and as he does, a pathway inside of his mind opens to knowledge he never had before.

Knowledge: Arcana 30
Level of Scan required to detect a Green Mage, as discussed in the conversation up until now.

Konrad:

"Level eight," the king answers, before turning to Konrad. "Are you capable of that?"

Konrad bites the inside of his lip, and shakes his head. "Not at present, Your Majesty. But I believe I have had enough practice to be capable of it soon. It would be my strongest version of the spell yet."

"Then until you do,"—the king pulls something out of his pocket—"take this. It only has 3 charges, but it should help you."

He gives Konrad a silver ring.

OOC:

Konrad takes the ring and pockets it. "I shall see that it does."

Tibur turns to Mihai. "I do not want to sound insensitive, but I must ask: convince her of what exactly? I can certainly convince her of giving up your friend's body, but I don't know how exactly she's been assisting Edward in Lofell. It certainly has something to do with the election of the new Doge, which she would provide leverage for, but without details, I don't know if opposing Edward at this stage would be the correct choice. Would you be satisfied if I vouched for you instead? You've all demonstrated proper judgment in Emerald, and I believe you can do so again in Lofell."

"Then I will write her a letter. I only hope she will be receptive to what I have to say. We haven't actually talked for several years now."

"You guys don't talk? Did something happen?"

The king motions at himself and says, "Yes. I've taken over this body and spent the last years fortifying my power base here in Emerald. It's not something we often do—stealing the bodies of people with all their mental faculties—but Jacob made the call, and I followed his command. As for Felix Tibur, I assure you that he deserved far worse than death."

Amber and Fluffle look on the man with some apprehension, and wait for their friends' reaction.