Jordan's pre-endgame bit

[02:22:59] Ratty_GM pulls the curtains up.
[02:23:26] <Ratty_GM> And so you have split, bringing only your wife and your temporary captive along to Kolkata.
[02:24:41] <Ratty_GM> The Squad went to a different direction entirely - properly instructed, and hoping to be able to accomplish what you have tasked them with, though they seemed unenthusiastic about doing recon.
[02:25:49] <Ratty_GM> Eriko had alrerted you to a plane that would be departing soon, at the time, which left you no time to make the calls you have needed, before the lift-off.
[02:26:25] <Ratty_GM> Unlike your other comrades, on their separate paths, you did not get quite as much sleep, though.
[02:27:28] <Ratty_GM> Magial Girls get to travel light, and so there is no waiting for luggage. Rather, Eriko seems keen on keeping an eye on Londe, suggesting you to avoid the crowds that you already know are going to be plentiful.
[02:27:51] <Ratty_GM> This airport might be the last calm place you'll see in a while.
[02:28:09] <Ratty_GM> All things considered, having Liese's glasses would come in handy.
[02:29:54] <Ratty_GM> "I wanted to check this city out before." Londe admits. "Sa had said that it's like a paradise of Magical Girls who could live in relative freedom."
[02:30:24] <Ratty_GM> "But also that it was dangerous, which stands to reason, yes?"
[02:30:31] <Jordan_Tenko> "That's one way of looking at it."
[02:30:46] <Jordan_Tenko> "I've seen some crazy shit here though."
[02:31:24] <Ratty_GM> "They make enough problems when treated as soldiers. I have no idea what would happen if I released them on a big city, to do whatever."
[02:32:03] <Ratty_GM> "They really need authority of SOME kind." she tries to justify herself, having mostly patched up her ego since it came crashing down.
[02:32:24] <Jordan_Tenko> "There's a cult here that just might be the worst of the three I've dealt with, in my opinion."
[02:33:34] <Ratty_GM> "Not all Magical Girls are vietnam soldiers." Eriko tells her, while the former guerilla leader counts on her fingers.
[02:33:50] <Ratty_GM> "There are too many." Londe ends up stating. "Which is that?"
[02:35:12] <Ratty_GM> "I've been informed about... some of them. Some Sanguinists, I've dealt with myself."
[02:35:31] <Ratty_GM> "That South American one you're all about is news to me."
[02:35:49] <Jordan_Tenko> "Too many to count on one hand? Maybe you've heard of the ones that worship 'The Devourer'?" She finger quotes.
[02:36:34] <Ratty_GM> "The Devourer is..." she tries to recall, "The big thing that ate the Herald's head?"
[02:36:44] <Ratty_GM> "Sa talked about that a lot, how the Herald is important."
[02:36:56] <Jordan_Tenko> "You've already lost me."
[02:37:07] <Ratty_GM> "How she was denied her divinity and is going to save the world, or something."
[02:37:43] <Ratty_GM> "A lot of things happened to the Golden Herald, to bring her down, and the Devourer is, uh, like one of the forces of the Dark that's dedicated completely to ruining her life."
[02:37:58] <Ratty_GM> Londe shrugs. "Whoever worships her is probably pretty crazy."
[02:38:08] <Jordan_Tenko> "I see."
[02:38:59] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm all for personal freedom, but when they get up to doing things like that, that's when it's time for some adult supervision."
[02:39:11] <Ratty_GM> The escalators bring you to the foot of the building, it's cool air finally replaced with the humid local climate.
[02:40:30] <Ratty_GM> Despite being near the city, you already know it's probably going to be even hotter than before. Although, there seem to also be clouds.
[02:40:44] <Ratty_GM> ...
[02:41:55] <Ratty_GM> The city is bursting with tourists and locals alike, and Eriko's insistence on avoiding crowds as not to lose Londe is pretty difficult to bring into reality, outside of a bus.
[02:43:01] <Ratty_GM> She comes up with an idea of using a pair of manacles she owns - the same pair Elysia used, incidentally - to make Londe less dangerous, or to tie her to one of you, but it would make you stand out even more than you already will.
[02:44:03] <Ratty_GM> Londe, to her merit, is capable of finally removing her hardsuit for the good of the operation, and instead putting on summer clothes of some sort, which make her look rather hot topic-y. The green hair don't help.
[02:44:38] <Ratty_GM> The green hair, and the associated stigma, may also be the reason for the locals looking at you oddly sometimes.
[02:46:48] <Ratty_GM> It's unlikely that anyone remembers you, and the eyes should not be suspicous in of themselves - they are a thing that happens. Right?
[02:48:16] <Ratty_GM> Still, as you finally approach your destination in the japanese buddhist temple, with the goal still out of sight, Eriko calmly and with a low voice announces at least two groups tailing you.
[02:50:00] <Ratty_GM> They might just be local vigilantes or even actual Officio forces, but for what it's worth, one side looks a lot more white and brown, than the other, more asian-looking party.
[02:51:00] Jordan_Tenko smiles. As if her hair tied up in a ponytail wasn't evidence enough, she asks for her to ping her gem three times. "Hopefully that'll let them know that I know."
[02:51:52] <Ratty_GM> Eriko also notes that, at least the Asian group, seems to be doing the thing where they let themselves be shaken off, only to replace themselves by their partner. This is more of a professional callidus behavior than what the not-asians are doing.
[02:52:43] <Ratty_GM> "...Okay." she agrees. "If everyone swarms us, you'll be the one taking us out of the situation."
[02:53:12] <Ratty_GM> She brings her gem out carefully, as if wary of a sniper, or something silly like that.
[02:53:18] <Ratty_GM> Moments later, she hides it again.
[02:53:46] <Jordan_Tenko> "Just doing them a favor, really."
[02:55:24] <Ratty_GM> "It's still a bit far away. Just dodging the crowds." she explains.
[02:55:45] <Ratty_GM> Since you have some way to walk the less populated parts of the city, this may be a good time to make a call or two.
[02:57:16] <Jordan_Tenko> "Let me know if they're setting up something clever. I'm gonna make a quick call." She pulls out her phone.
[02:57:57] <Ratty_GM> She nods, though she seems to be interested in the call's contents as well - without really vocalizing it.
[02:59:03] Jordan_Tenko scrolls down to the O which has only one name in that section and hits the contact.
[03:00:17] <Ratty_GM> The signal cracks slightly, then it cracks a lot.
[03:00:23] <Ratty_GM> It picks up, though.
[03:01:12] <Ratty_GM> With the time that has already passed, it would stand to reason that the ship has already sailed - which is impressive, considering that would require someone knowing how to use the vehicle.
[03:01:46] <Ratty_GM> "...Yes?" Okada asks, sounding as if she is really calling from the other side of the planet, when it's not really that far.
[03:02:03] <Jordan_Tenko> "It's Jordan. Got a few things to share."
[03:03:06] <Ratty_GM> "I see. We're already at the sea. Doesn't it mean there shouldn't be a connection? Oh well..."
[03:03:26] <Ratty_GM> "Go on."
[03:05:31] <Jordan_Tenko> "It's got some fancy satellite connection going on. Anyway, first and probably the biggest thing, the Walpurgisnacht is particularly bad if the reaction from the Nerd Herd was anything to go by. They said 5 locations where shit was going to go down."
[03:06:27] <Ratty_GM> "I see. Do you know where, too?"
[03:06:50] <Ratty_GM> "It makes me feel guilty that I am doing personal business at that sort of time."
[03:07:14] <Ratty_GM> "But then, if the Eighth wants to shoulder all the world's weight, you'll have to own up to it."
[03:08:34] <Jordan_Tenko> "Don't know the locations, they were hauling ass to their transports. They didn't discuss it."
[03:09:46] <Ratty_GM> "Any way the cult could interfere with it?" she goes straight to the point.
[03:09:54] Hayate_Hakase [~Hayate_Ha@2285CE64.AF1B956A.EE0A3BF9.IP] has joined #mgnw
[03:10:10] <Ratty_GM> "I have it on good word that they have some sort of a plan for the Walpurgisnacht."
[03:12:13] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well that leads to my next bit of good news. I've got the mission for the Itzli op and also quite a lot of funding for it. We're going to be striking at the heart directly, so whatever they're planning, we're probably going to interrupt it."
[03:13:29] <Ratty_GM> "...Oh?"
[03:14:09] <Ratty_GM> "I was not sure what you were planning with all those preparations. Now it's becoming a bit more clear."
[03:14:24] <Ratty_GM> "It makes me feel a bit like a pawn though, and I don't like that."
[03:16:00] <Jordan_Tenko> "It took some asking and some confiding with the right person, but I'm glad I'm at the face of it now. I got a fat stack of papers all about it, though it seems to have been written all from the 8th's angle."
[03:16:49] <Ratty_GM> "I'm looking forward to taking a peek regardless."
[03:17:31] <Ratty_GM> She changes the topic for a bit, seemingly. "Everyone seems to have been caught off-guard here. These sailors were just in the middle of buying supplies for one big school trip."
[03:18:17] <Ratty_GM> "It's going to be just a little tight in here, but I do think we'll manage. But you seem to have decided on this just before meeting me."
[03:18:41] <Ratty_GM> "I know you are a Magical Girl, but are you psychic?" she is wrong, of course, but cutely so.
[03:19:10] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm just very good at picking up girls!"
[03:20:11] <Jordan_Tenko> "The objective, by the way, is to remove Kathal from her esteemed position of power, but we don't seem to have much of a clue on how to find her. How did you do it that one time?"
[03:21:51] <Ratty_GM> "I did not find her per se. I got a message telling me where she would be. A letter, you see."
[03:22:18] <Ratty_GM> "Through the post office. Sa brought it to me, just a few weeks before I got raided."
[03:23:01] <Ratty_GM> "Ah, this is pretty classified..." some rumbling can be found, probably as Okada is trying to find a spot on the ship where not everything going on everywhere can be heard at once.
[03:23:39] <Jordan_Tenko> "A letter? What is with people sending letters? It's 20-" she coughs, then clears her throat dryly, "anyway, do you know who it was from?"
[03:24:50] <Ratty_GM> "The letter just contained the short information that Kathal was going to be in canada in three months, and then she'd travel to Reynosa in Mexico. Because of a prophecy."
[03:25:22] <Ratty_GM> "I'd have dismissed it because 'prophecy' in regard to her is nonsense, except, there was a very special code attached to it."
[03:25:37] <Ratty_GM> "The last special code I'd have gotten from him."
[03:25:48] <Ratty_GM> "My, uh, Incubator."
[03:26:12] <Ratty_GM> "Normally these are changed weekly or quicker. This is the last one before he disappeared."
[03:26:54] <Ratty_GM> "Back at that time I pocketed the letter and thought it was a trap. Though it freaked me out that they knew my adress. Later, of course, I was a bit desperate."
[03:27:52] <Ratty_GM> "And then when I talked to one of my former underlings in America, who said she could get me some of that uranium from north Mexico, I've decided to ally the pleasant with the helpful."
[03:27:56] <Ratty_GM> "You know the rest."
[03:28:35] <Jordan_Tenko> "It's good to know good girls."
[03:30:10] <Ratty_GM> "I am not sure about the meaning of it all, especially because it turned out to be true, as the assassin soon reported. There really was a Culexus in the squad in that city."
[03:31:16] <Ratty_GM> "I want to say that it was Morrigan trying to double cross Kathal, and somehow getting her hands on that code, but that's all sorts of unlikely. She also hates me."
[03:32:10] <Ratty_GM> "You have to understand, when I got the letter talking about Kathal, it talked about a person I've last seen BEFORE the war started. Only when we got to Mexico, I've found out she was around again."
[03:32:59] <Ratty_GM> "And was pretty different. So I am inclined to think it's got to be something else."
[03:33:38] <Ratty_GM> "Someone in the cult who used to be an office worker tried to help? But that would require them to know what Kathal was going to do really far ahead of time."
[03:34:49] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well I can tell you she was after the Lance I was carrying. Probably what got her to move."
[03:35:12] <Ratty_GM> She is silent for a while.
[03:35:50] <Ratty_GM> "I suppose there is your own perspective to all this, too."
[03:36:35] <Ratty_GM> "I mean - sorry, I mean, that's interesting. Why, though?"
[03:36:42] <Ratty_GM> "What would the lance be good for?"
[03:36:56] <Ratty_GM> The temple is coming closer, even walking slowly as you do.
[03:37:34] <Jordan_Tenko> "That's what I've been asking for months. The best we've got so far is that Itzli needs it to fend off witches. I haven't put much stock into that theory."
[03:37:56] <Ratty_GM> "If she has managed until today, I doubt she needs it."
[03:38:13] <Ratty_GM> "But she might need it to kill a specific someone."
[03:38:26] <Ratty_GM> "Like a goddess. That is what comes to my mind first."
[03:40:07] <Jordan_Tenko> "Something to think about. If nothing else was available to go off on, I was just going to use that fact about her to lure Kathal out again."
[03:41:05] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well that answered my questions I had for now. Last thing is do you need any equipment or gear? I'm going to order a small arsenal for this mission."
[03:43:10] <Ratty_GM> "The girls mostly talked about food and also ammo. First being taken care of. I can ask them for you." the other Maerorus proposes
[03:44:22] <Jordan_Tenko> "I've got some plans for them already. Just wanting to know if you need anything in particular."
[03:46:01] <Ratty_GM> "I am not sure about this Tien person." she mumbles, shouting something in between.
[03:46:18] <Ratty_GM> "I think I have her mostly in line, but she could cause trouble."
[03:46:33] <Ratty_GM> "The doctor seems to have a shopping list, so I'll give you her."
[03:49:28] <Jordan_Tenko> "Sure."
[03:52:51] <Ratty_GM> Daryl recounts quite a bit of medication to you, insisting you note it down.
[03:53:39] <Ratty_GM> A lot of it seems to be for diseases the girls have developed due to their lifestyle up to now, including morphine, and a whole lot of anti-stress maple syrup.
[03:54:03] Jordan_Tenko enlists Londe's help with jotting down the list.
[03:54:33] <Ratty_GM> As long as you look each of those words, spelled out to you letter by letter, in a dictionary, and then on the internet to see how many drugs can be made out of them compared to how useful they actually are, and then buy the parts of the list that matter, you should be alright.
[03:55:25] <Ratty_GM> At one point, Londe in fact excalims 'wait, that's not for coughing, that's for meth', but aside of that, Daryl seems to know what she is doing.
[03:56:29] <Ratty_GM> "Some girls tried to cook some bad leaves." Londe tries to explain. "Please understand."
[03:57:11] <Ratty_GM> You are, however, reminded of Daryl's explanations that she has been trying to get the girls OUT of their addictions, and the stash of drugs in her own office.
[04:04:07] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'll have it all ready and delivered when you get into the port."
[04:05:34] <Ratty_GM> "I'll be looking forward to it!" the doctor replies excitedly. "The apothecaries are going to give you really weird looks, but I think we're going to need all of that to stop the girls from suffering."
[04:05:50] <Ratty_GM> "I bought some last minute supplies, but a few are going cold turkey as it is."
[04:06:25] <Jordan_Tenko> "Did you go through your stash already?"
[04:12:00] <Ratty_GM> "I left most of it in there... and I don't trust the girls holding onto it. There wasn't much left, to begin with."
[04:12:54] <Ratty_GM> "Those 'knight' girls seemed pretty insistent on not letting me take what I had in the office, because, of course, they couldn't know it was going to be like this."
[04:14:26] Jordan_Tenko frowns. "That's a top priority then."
[04:15:08] <Ratty_GM> "If you can bring me the stuff I asked, we'll manage." she tries to put a good spin on it.
[04:15:35] <Jordan_Tenko> "I gotcha."
[04:15:43] <Ratty_GM> "The girls will be able to enjoy a fruit-based diet and fresh sea air. They won't start a bloody riot. I hope."
[04:15:58] <Ratty_GM> "Do you want to talk to the, uh, Pendragon person again?"
[04:16:37] <Jordan_Tenko> "Yes, please. I need to wrap up here."
[04:19:48] <Ratty_GM> "Okay." the phone is passed on.
[04:20:09] <Ratty_GM> "What else is it?" Okada asks, plainly.
[04:22:30] <Ratty_GM> The door of the temple approaches, still open at this late hour.
[04:22:52] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm going to share with you my mission files when we meet again in person. You're pretty important in this whole situation, so thanks for working with me on it."
[04:23:24] <Ratty_GM> "I see. You're putting quite a bit on the line, yourself."
[04:23:56] <Jordan_Tenko> "Everything I've got."
[04:23:59] <Ratty_GM> "You have tried to explain this to me, but I still am not sure quite why you're doing this for us."
[04:24:32] <Ratty_GM> "It's probably bad to look a gift horse in the mouth." The nuance in 'us', of course, did not escape your attention.
[04:25:18] <Jordan_Tenko> "I can tell you more about that in person if you'd like. For now, I've gotta do some more stuff here."
[04:26:50] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'll see you in a few."
[04:29:06] <Ratty_GM> "Okay."
[04:29:32] <Ratty_GM> "If there is really a sattelite like that, you can call again if you come up with something else."
[04:29:49] <Ratty_GM> "Like relating to former Officio sites, that kind of a thing. I'd know that."
[04:30:10] <Ratty_GM> "Good luck with whatever you're doing."
[04:32:20] <Ratty_GM> The phone clicks, as she hangs up.
[04:32:53] <Ratty_GM> There are now a few monks staring at you, but clearly, you are merely lost tourists.
[04:33:12] <Jordan_Tenko> "I love talking with her. It always feels like she just lets you in on what she's thinking without hiding anything. No cryptic talk either."
[04:33:31] <Ratty_GM> Eriko seems like she wants to say something snarky.
[04:34:11] <Jordan_Tenko> "Hm?" As if feeling it.
[04:35:19] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well this place looks familiar at least."
[04:35:53] <Ratty_GM> Eriko sighs ever so slightly. "I can get us inside, if it's necessary."
[04:36:26] <Ratty_GM> "But there are girls in there, so we should probably do it more naturally."
[04:37:00] <Jordan_Tenko> "Lead the way. I'm trying to remember how we got in last time."
[04:41:24] <Ratty_GM> Your Callidus wife approaches the monks, looking less gloomy than she probably is. She speaks in japanese, though you can discern the name 'Samten' used up front.
[04:42:39] <Ratty_GM> She then tries English, as one of the monks clearly did not catch what she was saying. "Good evening, we came to visit a friend of ours. I suppose Samten would be able to help us?"
[04:43:05] <Ratty_GM> "Can you call her here, please? We promise no trabble."
[04:43:20] <Ratty_GM> Whether the last bit was intended or not, it was admittedly funny.
[04:47:20] <Ratty_GM> The monks depart together, apparently not wishing to leave any of themselves alone in here - though before they do, Eriko calls on you to come in, and they close the gate after you, telling you to wait.


[04:47:35] <Ratty_GM> ...


[04:48:20] <Ratty_GM> After a while, the bald nun clad in yellow comes out of the temple, followed by five girls, poorly disguised as nuns themselves.
[04:49:06] Jordan_Tenko gets up to greet her politely.
[04:49:19] <Ratty_GM> Well, at least one of them other than Samten carries herself like a real nun. Whether it's a good disguise or a fruit of Samten's efforts is a mystery.
[04:49:57] <Ratty_GM> The local mistress seems irritated, though the polite greeting helped a lot.
[04:51:59] <Ratty_GM> "I thought it might be you." she says dejectedly. "It is probably better than someone worse."
[04:52:14] <Jordan_Tenko> "Glad to see you're still working unbothered by Kelzang it seems."
[04:52:36] <Ratty_GM> "Thus far." she nods.
[04:53:20] <Jordan_Tenko> "Have you caught wind of the Walpurgisnacht? It's a real bad one."
[04:53:55] <Ratty_GM> "I cannot leave the premises." she shrugs. "We will send our prayers and drink hot cocoa."
[04:54:14] <Ratty_GM> "And speaking of cocoa, I am very curious about how this situation came to be."
[04:54:44] <Ratty_GM> "You can probably tell me inside. This probably just means you are the first out of many."
[04:54:55] <Ratty_GM> She turns slightly, to walk back to the temple.
[04:55:37] Jordan_Tenko is visibly confused, but decides to follow. Hopefully she isn't left hanging about how this relates to cocoa.
[04:56:29] <Ratty_GM> "I have been afraid that a squad of knights would come stomping on my doorstep because of this, and it can still happen." she explains on the way. "Not to look a gift horse in the mouth - but perhaps you can get this hot potato from my hands."
[04:56:41] <Ratty_GM> "It took a lot of cocoa to get her to say anything."
[04:56:50] <Ratty_GM> "What the hell did you put her through?"
[04:57:21] <Jordan_Tenko> "Ah, so you've talked to her then." That explains that.
[04:58:28] <Jordan_Tenko> "Don't worry about anyone busting in to get to her. Everyone's busy with preparations."
[04:58:51] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, I guess I'm busting in to get her in a way."
[05:00:25] <Ratty_GM> "I still can't help but wonder how this happened." Samten inquires sharply. "I really hope I am not doing something incredibly stupid by letting you near."
[05:01:07] <Ratty_GM> The temple's walls now mostly cover the dialogue.
[05:01:23] <Ratty_GM> "But it's a bother to clean the mess, even if a visit of a literal goddess to your temple is nothing to scorn or refuse."
[05:02:24] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but I'm just wanting to see how she's doing. You're making me worried though."
[05:03:25] <Ratty_GM> "She seems to have gone through a lot of places, and came here wounded and exhausted."
[05:04:15] <Ratty_GM> "It's not like we can dislodge her from the room or anything, though. If it turned out no one came and she had some sort of scrying protection, I would have ended up having to do an exorcism."
[05:04:50] <Ratty_GM> "What is with her now, I am not sure. She has mostly recovered from yesterday."
[05:05:39] <Jordan_Tenko> "Hmm." The look on her face only grows more concerned.
[05:06:10] <Ratty_GM> "I tried to figure out what happened to her, but the spirit in her weapon keeps telling me to let her rest."
[05:06:32] <Ratty_GM> "Apparently, this was the closest thing in her mind to a safe haven."
[05:07:28] <Jordan_Tenko> "So she does talk through the lance."
[05:07:55] <Ratty_GM> "Mhm." Samten nods. "I can also tell you a bit about that."
[05:08:20] <Jordan_Tenko> "Oh yeah?"
[05:08:30] <Ratty_GM> "The lance itself is a fragment of a goddess's soul. It's obvious which one."
[05:09:08] <Ratty_GM> "So, strictly speaking, you are dealing with a little bit of the whole. The pointy bit." she puts it in simple terms. "That may be why it has not been very kind."
[05:10:31] <Ratty_GM> Going through the tunnels below, Samten suddenly stops, with the six girls taking the signal, and stepping in your way as well.
[05:10:32] <Jordan_Tenko> "Just so you know, I was carrying that lance when we first met. It's only a few days ago that it changed hands."
[05:10:36] <Ratty_GM> "Actually."
[05:10:43] <Ratty_GM> "Hmm."
[05:11:15] <Ratty_GM> "Does the 'Shieldmaiden's Heresy' sound like anything to you?"
[05:12:25] <Ratty_GM> "Not to FORCE ideology on you. Just in order to explain something."
[05:12:37] <Ratty_GM> She waits, her hands folded.
[05:12:56] <Jordan_Tenko> "I've heard that name thrown around quite a few times; I don't know the whole story behind it though. I have a friend that knows more."
[05:13:29] <Ratty_GM> It seems she did not want to let the girls let you pass until you answered. This answer makes her frown.
[05:13:37] <Ratty_GM> "That is pretty dangerous."
[05:14:01] <Jordan_Tenko> "I get the feeling that it has now become a big problem, yeah."
[05:14:22] <Ratty_GM> "The gist of it is that, once the Blessed Lady created the new and perfect world, the Shieldmaiden could not accept it."
[05:14:46] <Ratty_GM> "Because she loved the Lady, you see. It gets that risqué."
[05:15:57] <Ratty_GM> "And so she had ruined that world, tried to take over what has been, and tried to restore the Lady to life in this new world of perfection.
[05:16:32] <Ratty_GM> "But much like the devil of Christianity, or a shura, she could not create a new world, only pervert the old."
[05:17:00] <Ratty_GM> "Her every step ruined the Blessed Lady's work, and yet she could not help it because she was in love."
[05:17:37] <Ratty_GM> "...a few other things happened after that, until the world has been turned into a hellscape."
[05:18:25] <Ratty_GM> "In an attempt to fix the mess, the Lady that has been reborn in her perverted form, the First Knight, and the Blood Knight, had joined their forces to make a new world."
[05:19:29] <Ratty_GM> "It could not be as perfect as the Lady's vision of old. It was deeply flawed."
[05:19:43] <Ratty_GM> "According to everything, we are in it."
[05:20:25] Jordan_Tenko now dons the look of disappointment. "That wasn't a good love story at all. Probably the worst I've heard."
[05:21:00] <Ratty_GM> "This world is infused with the soul of the Blessed Lady and the First Knight. The Law of Cycles governs it, to ensure the status quo. The Shieldmaiden exists outside of it, providing hope of great power."
[05:21:32] <Ratty_GM> "The Blood Knight also exists outside of it, providing, how do I say this, criticism of that."
[05:22:30] <Ratty_GM> "In all the bad that the Shieldmaiden once did, she has proven that great things can be done. With enough backing you, the Lady's dream could be realized again, and there would need be no blood spilled on the sacrificial ground."
[05:22:44] <Ratty_GM> "Of course, the Blood Knight left her own mark on the world."
[05:23:18] <Ratty_GM> "Only a signature, if you will, under what the First Knight came up with, saying that this is fine with her."
[05:23:32] <Ratty_GM> "The bloody pin holding the world's law in the place."
[05:23:40] <Ratty_GM> "A piece of her soul."
[05:24:21] <Ratty_GM> Samten scrubs her bald head, breaking her zen act momentarily. "That thing is really not supposed to be there."
[05:26:53] <Jordan_Tenko> "So if I'm hearing this right, the Shieldmaiden stands for hope only in the ironic sense that great things can happen in spite of what she's done?"
[05:28:01] <Ratty_GM> "You don't get it." Samten sighs, after what has clearly been a very long day. "She is out there at this very moment, scheming, weaving fate."
[05:28:09] <Ratty_GM> "Thinking of ways to fix all this."
[05:29:23] <Jordan_Tenko> "And the Blood Knight wants to keep her in check?"
[05:29:39] <Ratty_GM> "You could probably call the Shieldmaiden cursed with hope, but what she does is amiable."
[05:30:17] <Ratty_GM> "The Blood Knight did not trust herself to become as passive as the other two. If something happened in the system she did not like, she would confront it personally."
[05:31:29] <Jordan_Tenko> Jordan's expression softens, but the wheels in her head start turning.
[05:31:51] <Ratty_GM> "Think about all the failures you must have had as a Magical Girl. After all of that, could you still hope for redemption?"
[05:32:18] <Ratty_GM> "Those two tackle it in two different ways. Opposite ways, even."
[05:33:53] <Ratty_GM> "The Shieldmaiden tells you that everything is a step of the way even if you seem to have gone sideways, that the goal is all that matters and liberates the traveler, and you should only be judged once you're dead."
[05:34:02] <Ratty_GM> "And she won't be that, anymore." the nun smiles.
[05:34:33] <Ratty_GM> "The Blood Knight tells you that you need not have a goal as long as you survive."
[05:35:00] <Ratty_GM> "You could call the Shieldmaiden blind and obsessed, but you could also call the Blood Knight a psychopath."
[05:35:25] <Ratty_GM> "After all, she could not fully pledge herself to good like the Lady and the First knight did when the first world was made. She had second thoughts."
[05:35:43] <Ratty_GM> "Perhaps if she gave up a bit of her freedom, a better world could have been created?"
[05:36:44] <Ratty_GM> She turns back, to lead you to Pham's barred room. "The goddesses are a set of koans like that. Food for thought."
[05:39:02] <Jordan_Tenko> "Thanks for sharing. I haven't met many that could explain it to me in a way I could understand."
[05:41:17] <Ratty_GM> "I don't know how true it all is."
[05:41:44] <Jordan_Tenko> "It's better than what little I knew."
[05:41:45] <Ratty_GM> "It is just that if you were not aware, you are technically speaking to a goddess."
[05:41:57] <Ratty_GM> "That's why I told you."
[05:42:13] <Jordan_Tenko> "That I was aware of."
[05:43:36] <Ratty_GM> "Someone must have figured it out already, then." she says. "It took me a while to understand who I was talking to."
[05:44:21] <Ratty_GM> With that, you arrive next to a monk's cell, with the entire door leading up to it, about as wide as the cell's own door, blocked with a clearly magical pike barrier.
[05:45:13] <Ratty_GM> Just several webs of tip-down squares laid over one another, with a pattern in the middle that could be an eye as easily as it could be a vagina.
[05:45:31] <Ratty_GM> The pool of blood on the ground does not help the overall image. No one should tell the goddess this.
[05:47:19] <Ratty_GM> Samten shrugs, going on one knee.
[05:47:52] <Ratty_GM> "You have a visitor." she says simply, probably not having figured out a proper title for the goddess yet.
[05:48:31] <Ratty_GM> The body in the darkness, resting on a rough bed, gets up slowly.
[05:48:58] <Ratty_GM> "Who?"
[05:49:21] <Ratty_GM> The voice is not quite Pham's.
[05:49:54] <Ratty_GM> Considering that the last time someone talked to this person, they teleported away, it might be wise to exercise caution.
[05:49:54] <Jordan_Tenko> "Your lance's carrier for the past year or so." She introduces herself.
[05:50:49] <Ratty_GM> "Mhm." Pham's body grunts, quite undivinely.
[05:51:23] <Ratty_GM> "That explains it. She seems to trust you."
[05:51:32] Jordan_Tenko had imagined talking to a goddess to be far more of a spectacle than this. She's not sure how to feel about it. Adrenaline gives her hands the shakes regardless.
[05:51:48] <Ratty_GM> "But she also does not wish to see you."
[05:52:21] <Ratty_GM> It seems like Pham in a dark room, though there is a little bit of ambient energy in the air. You might just be imagining it.
[05:52:51] <Jordan_Tenko> "Both good and bad news I see."
[05:52:59] <Ratty_GM> "How did you come to possess it?" it asks.
[05:54:58] <Jordan_Tenko> "A ritual another girl came up with that I ended up being a part of incidentally. Not only did it turn me into this, it stuck that weapon in me."
[05:55:54] <Ratty_GM> "I understand what happened," it says, "but what you describe is nearly impossible."
[05:56:26] <Ratty_GM> "There is a very low likelihood of success for that sort of a trick. It would be a fool's errand."
[05:57:24] <Ratty_GM> "It would be possible. But not by a human. Not by a Magical Girl. Not by a regular Witch. Not reliably."
[05:57:57] <Ratty_GM> "I would not trust myself to claim the lance back, and I do not know what may happen now that it is gone."
[05:59:32] <Jordan_Tenko> "You're saying she had to have the help of something far more powerful?"
[06:02:54] <Ratty_GM> "A special way of doing it is more likely. But could have the truth of it as well."
[06:03:35] <Ratty_GM> "It is like sticking pincers into a carpet, and pulling out a gold thread."
[06:03:52] <Ratty_GM> "And there was only one in the whole carpet."
[06:04:44] <Ratty_GM> "Well, then, I would appreciate the lance returned. I will need to use it soon."
[06:06:01] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, it's right there in her hand. I only came here for her."
[06:07:03] <Jordan_Tenko> "Unless you're saying it needs to be returned by one of us on this end?"
[06:07:45] <Ratty_GM> "It needs to be brought into the Immortal World at the very least. But this one is stubborn."
[06:08:02] <Ratty_GM> "As expected to one fitting to be my host. She holds onto the power."
[06:09:23] <Ratty_GM> "So, then, what great feats of power are there in this world of yours that she could do with it?"
[06:11:07] <Jordan_Tenko> "Besides kill Omega witches? I don't know, maybe lead some sanguinists? Well I guess that's not very powerful."
[06:12:03] <Rattop> "She tried to talk to some of my local 'followers' just before coming here." the goddess says, sounding a little mad now. "That is why she is hurt."
[06:12:11] Rattop [~Ratman@Rizon-B92C7ABE.pilsfree.net] is now known as Ratty_GM
[06:12:41] <Ratty_GM> "You held onto the lance, and only used it to fight Walpurgisnacht." she notes then.
[06:13:07] <Jordan_Tenko> "Oh, so that's why. And yes, that is correct."
[06:13:35] <Ratty_GM> "There is absolutely nothing I can criticize about it. There is no better time for it to be used."
[06:14:20] <Ratty_GM> "I accept your presence here mostly because of that."
[06:14:39] <Jordan_Tenko> "I am honored then."
[06:16:44] <Ratty_GM> "My relationship with the host is thus:"
[06:17:17] <Ratty_GM> "I can move her, but she can then make me move her where she wishes to be."
[06:17:44] <Ratty_GM> "I can, however, simply leave now and let you two talk."
[06:17:53] <Ratty_GM> "Even though she would not wish for that."
[06:17:56] <Ratty_GM> "Do you?"
[06:18:15] <Jordan_Tenko> "I did come here intending to talk to her."
[06:20:28] <Jordan_Tenko> "I still want to regardless. I'm putting a lot aside to come here because she's my friend, I owe her at least that much after what's happened."
[06:21:17] <Ratty_GM> "Very well. The wards shall stay in place."
[06:21:57] <Ratty_GM> The feeling of power in the air disappears, and the backs of everyone's necks can calm down at last.
[06:22:17] <Ratty_GM> Samten and Londe breathe out with relief, while Eriko observes calmly.
[06:22:45] <Ratty_GM> Pham seems much less glowy now, but the magic barrier, as advertised, is still in your way.
[06:24:17] <Ratty_GM> Some slightly sleepy noises come out from the inside, as she properly gets out of the bad, followed by an 'ow!' as her head hits the unfamiliar ceiling.
[06:24:48] <Ratty_GM> "Where am I?" she asks, sounding properly like Pham now.
[06:24:55] <Jordan_Tenko> "Pham?"
[06:25:33] <Ratty_GM> "E-Eh!?" she nearly falls off the bed.
[06:26:16] <Ratty_GM> "I went to Kolkata, how did you even find me that fast?" Pham asks, angrily.
[06:26:41] <Jordan_Tenko> "Good morning to you, too."
[06:26:44] <Ratty_GM> Samten tries to mediate, with a low voice: "You basically slept through the whole day."
[06:27:41] <Ratty_GM> "Well." Pham deflates a little. "This is the opposite of what I hoped for."
[06:27:55] <Jordan_Tenko> "Don't forget Liese uses cheats. I mean, I could have called, but you know I would choose to show up in person didn't you?"
[06:28:49] <Ratty_GM> "...I guess."
[06:29:09] <Ratty_GM> "Except this undercuts the entire thing." Pham complains.
[06:29:51] <Ratty_GM> "You've come to tell me what the best thing to do is, and you're probably going to be right, and I'll have to not do that on principle now."
[06:30:30] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well on that, you'd be wrong."
[06:31:36] <Ratty_GM> She just stares at you through the Barrier, skepitcally.
[06:32:20] <Jordan_Tenko> "I only came here because I was concerned about you." She says with a small, but growing exasperation of having repeated herself.
[06:33:51] <Ratty_GM> "Well, I am sorry, Jordan."
[06:33:55] <Jordan_Tenko> "Liese told me some things, Sempten told me more things, then the Blood Knight. Everyone's got me worried about you."
[06:35:11] <Ratty_GM> "See, I should not be sorry because it was not really me doing the thing but then it also did the thing I actually really wanted to do, internally -" the girl sounds like some bizarre sort of Reasonable Emiri for a moment, "- and so I am not so sure what I am supposed to feel."
[06:35:54] Jordan_Tenko shrugs. "Then don't think too hard about it."
[06:35:59] <Ratty_GM> "I stole your thunder, I ruined your plans, and I don't know what to do with myself, but I still had a whole week to figure that one out."
[06:36:12] <Ratty_GM> "I feel kind of bad about everything, before even thinking."
[06:37:07] <Ratty_GM> She draws in some breath. "It's nice people are worried."
[06:37:21] Jordan_Tenko sighs, deeply. "Why is everyone so stuck on old news?"
[06:37:35] <Ratty_GM> "But then I feel like shit for making you worry AND ruining your everything."
[06:37:52] <Jordan_Tenko> "You didn't really ruin anything as it turns out."
[06:38:09] <Jordan_Tenko> "Things kind of changed really quickly."
[06:39:41] <Jordan_Tenko> "I was done with the lance the moment that witch fell. The Blood Knight even praised me for it which I'm going to be happy about for the next forever."
[06:39:42] <Ratty_GM> "I don't see how they could, but, did they?" she arranges together a stupid sentence with all of her effort
[06:39:55] <Ratty_GM> "Eh?"
[06:40:25] <Ratty_GM> That last bit caught her off-guard. It seems she does not know what the spirit does.
[06:41:22] <Jordan_Tenko> "Were you not 'awake' for that? I mean I know you were sleeping, but, yeah."
[06:42:30] <Ratty_GM> "I fought some cultist bitch - and WON! - and then I fainted."
[06:42:46] <Ratty_GM> "Must have been blood loss. Here I am."
[06:43:57] <Jordan_Tenko> "Hmm, guess when she's using you as a vessel, you can't hear it then."
[06:44:45] <Jordan_Tenko> "Shame, we talked all about your three sizes and your secret stash."
[06:45:06] <Ratty_GM> "You're full of shit. And she's really full of herself."
[06:45:22] <Ratty_GM> "Does it say something about me if I don't really like the Blood Knight?"
[06:45:31] <Ratty_GM> "Despite her being supposed to be similar to me?"
[06:45:52] <Jordan_Tenko> "Now that's interesting. I thought you idolized her?"
[06:46:21] <Ratty_GM> Pham seems to come to her bearings inside the room, finally noticing her wounds, but moving less wobbly now.
[06:46:36] <Ratty_GM> "You never want to meet your idols."
[06:46:52] <Ratty_GM> "Wait, though. You DID. And you're fine."
[06:47:00] <Ratty_GM> "I guess I should not have met my idol."
[06:47:03] <Jordan_Tenko> "But I-yeah that, haha."
[06:49:41] <Jordan_Tenko> "You seem to be doing well despite things. I hope you're paying for this hospitality here. Samten's pretty nice letting you stay here."
[06:50:19] <Ratty_GM> Coincidentally, Pham notices something on the ground, and picks it up - a plate with food and water. She looks at it, confused.
[06:50:30] <Ratty_GM> "How did you get it in?"
[06:51:15] <Ratty_GM> "With her approval." Samten explains, uncomfortable.
[06:51:22] <Ratty_GM> "...eventually."
[06:52:01] <Jordan_Tenko> "Wait, did you give the "Blood Knight" hot cocoa?"
[06:52:53] <Ratty_GM> "Maybe." Samten giggles mischievously.
[06:53:23] <Jordan_Tenko> "Now that is the best piece of new information I've had all day."
[06:53:45] <Jordan_Tenko> "Probably all month."
[06:54:24] <Ratty_GM> "She seemed she really needed it." Samten explains. "Sanguinists have some sort of a code about being offered food, so it seemed like a good way to open her up."
[06:55:28] <Ratty_GM> Pham has since taken up the plate, and started eating.
[06:55:41] <Ratty_GM> "So... what now?" she asks.
[06:56:04] <Ratty_GM> Samten chooses this opportunity to say something. "We would... appreciate it if you stopped polluting the place."
[06:56:10] <Jordan_Tenko> "That's what I came here to ask. I miss you already."
[06:57:30] <Ratty_GM> "This is not really a safe place, REALLY." she explains further. "You are lucky Jordan made it here first. If you leave now, I will show any patrol or cultist bunch this room, and tell them you were here but aren't anymore."
[06:58:21] <Ratty_GM> Pham fills her cheeks, not using much decorum. "There is an issue with that."
[06:58:52] <Ratty_GM> "I can't hide the lance and it drips blood everywhere. And I can't teleport all the time, I think."
[06:59:31] <Ratty_GM> "It might be better if I went elsewhere and caught up with you later, Jordan. Literally anyone can just follow the red trail."
[07:00:23] <Ratty_GM> "Unless I put it in a bucket or something. It won't go in the inventory."
[07:00:42] <Ratty_GM> "A plane is absolutely a no go."
[07:00:46] <Jordan_Tenko> "The dripping blood is an issue I understand greatly. You don't know this, but before we met, my hair did the same thing believe it or not."
[07:01:20] <Ratty_GM> "Really." she asks. She cannot imagine, of course, that your hair did that even BEFORE you got the lance.
[07:01:48] <Jordan_Tenko> "Yeah, it turns out it only does that if I cut it."
[07:02:11] <Jordan_Tenko> "But not being able to dismiss that weapon in any way sounds like a huge hassle."
[07:02:42] <Jordan_Tenko> "Is that why it's all over the floor?"
[07:02:56] <Ratty_GM> "Yeah. No way I can go seek refuge in Britain."
[07:03:23] <Ratty_GM> "The knights would love me but I don't have one of 'em permits you dig?"
[07:03:52] <Ratty_GM> "I wanted to visit Fuyuki, too. Never got around to doing that."
[07:05:41] <Ratty_GM> "So before I leave, I'll try talking to the old lady about payment..." she wonders.
[07:06:06] <Jordan_Tenko> "I can cover your costs, probably."
[07:07:30] <Ratty_GM> "I had some sort of an artifact in mind, but it would probably be as much of a bother, dripping blood everywhere."
[07:08:05] <Ratty_GM> "Money is fine." Samten agrees, materialistically. "The people coming after you will probably try breaking something here, so it's better to be safe."
[07:08:51] <Jordan_Tenko> "Sounds like the people here can be pretty ruthless, not like I wouldn't know."
[07:09:32] <Jordan_Tenko> "There were a few of them following us here, but I think I scared them off."
[07:09:53] <Ratty_GM> "It won't be the first time or the last time. Regular thing when you run that sort of establishment."
[07:10:06] <Ratty_GM> "But we do have some profit. Even if a lot of it is in debt."
[07:10:48] <Jordan_Tenko> "Now that I think of it, I don't want to be responsible for bringing another fight here."
[07:11:37] <Ratty_GM> "The first time was understandable. Kinder than most Officio personnel, too." she assures you.
[07:12:00] <Ratty_GM> "Sa was obviously an unwanted element, as it turned out."
[07:12:55] <Jordan_Tenko> "I've been picking up the pieces, trying to learn about her. She was quite the person."
[07:13:59] <Ratty_GM> "I don't know what to make out of her, to the end. If her sister passed such judgement on her, though..."
[07:14:37] <Jordan_Tenko> "Huh, Linhua pushed for her execution?"
[07:15:10] <Ratty_GM> "I wouldn't know that. Only that I have seen her let you restrain her."
[07:15:46] <Jordan_Tenko> "Oh."
[07:16:07] <Ratty_GM> "It obviously pained her to do so, but the good doctor is a firm person. She would not mind fighting a lost battle."
[07:19:24] <Ratty_GM> "So, then, Jordan, if you can cover my costs," Pham slides the plate under the barrier, "I suppose I'll be off and catch up with you later."
[07:20:37] <Jordan_Tenko> "I guess it has to be that way then." She admits sadly.
[07:20:51] <Ratty_GM> Then, a monk comes in a hurry.
[07:21:07] <Jordan_Tenko> "I've had to coordinate the transport of 25 people. That weapon is just too much."
[07:21:58] <Ratty_GM> The monk tells Samten something, clearly angry himself, and she has to rise from her polite position back on her feet.
[07:22:12] <Ratty_GM> "More visitors. That fast."
[07:22:22] <Jordan_Tenko> "Oh, hostile?"
[07:23:03] <Ratty_GM> She gestures not to know, and leaves, followed by the few bored Magical Girl bodyguards.
[07:23:11] Ratty_GM pulls the curtains down.





[02:28:17] Rattop pulls the curtains up.
[02:28:53] <Rattop> The bald nun, followed by a few of her bodyguards, leads the way to the courtyard.
[02:29:43] <Rattop> Although Pham's last wors were a proposal of going your own ways, and catching up with you later, she seems to remain in the closed-off room for now, perhaps because she has not figured out where she wants to travel next.
[02:30:40] <Rattop> There starts to be some commotion and whispers among the girls in the temple. The last time you were here, you determined there were at least ten, but since this seems to be some sort of a safehouse for hunted Magical Girls, the numbers may vary by season.
[02:31:00] <Rattop> For example, there could be a lot of deserters appearing just about now.
[02:34:51] Jordan_Tenko mentally prepared herself the best she could considering the toss up of whoever it was that had the gall to stalk her to the temple.
[02:37:48] Eriko rubs her forehead. "Just once I'd like us not to have people trying to pick a fight with us."
[02:38:39] <Ratty_GM> The long corridor, with a few girls waking up, carries you to the temple itself. Once you ascend the staircase, the outsiders will probably be able to see you, since the pillars outside are far apart, and provide poor cover.
[02:39:05] <Ratty_GM> Samten stops there for a bit, before ascending, as if she is trying to figure something out herself.
[02:39:47] <Ratty_GM> In Bangladeshi, she asks the monk who carried the message to her something, to get an emotional answer.
[02:39:57] <Ratty_GM> Whatever is happenening seems like big trouble.
[02:44:07] <Eriko> "There's two groups of ten girls. Some armed men, too. No heavy equipment, at least."
[02:44:49] <Ratty_GM> Samten acknowledges the info, unhappily.
[02:44:52] <Jordan_Tenko> "What!? Are they planning a siege?"
[02:45:45] <Ratty_GM> "We need to decide whether we are approaching this as Officio personnel, or as rogues." she tells you. "One of those can parley with itself."
[02:46:05] <Ratty_GM> "Is the group in the courtyard a purge or something? Or is it just Sanguinists?"
[02:46:54] <Eriko> "Looks like Sanguinists."
[02:47:31] <Ratty_GM> "Okay. Then I should be able to handle it." she tries to convince herself, finally leading the way out.
[02:47:32] <Jordan_Tenko> "With Walpurgis days away, I have a hard time accepting them being officio sent."
[02:49:00] <Ratty_GM> When you ascend the stairs, a problem is visible immediately.
[02:49:57] <Ratty_GM> There are some monks still hanging around the outside, visibly very uncomfortable. Right as the group of Magical Girls sees you, there is a sudden movement.
[02:50:34] <Ratty_GM> The courtyard is quite wide, but it's still possible to hear what is being said, or yelled. In this case, an elderly monk being picked up his tunic.
[02:51:31] <Ratty_GM> The girl in question quickly finds that doing so is impossible, and so she instead opts to hit him, and bring the hopefully only unconscious body.
[02:52:31] <Ratty_GM> The girls don't really have much success doing this, only managing to capture two, as what seems to be somebody's last minute idea. The rest of the monks quickly scatter, too far to pursue without the group spreading apart too much.
[02:52:53] <Ratty_GM> Samten bears the sight of one of the bald boys trying to defend himself with kunf-fu with a frown.
[02:53:53] <Ratty_GM> She coughs, still opting for a civil greeting. "What is the meaning of this?"
[02:55:02] Jordan_Tenko starts sizing up the situation. Worst case scenario, this would be pretty ugly. She spaces herself out from Samten a little.
[02:55:09] <Ratty_GM> The toughest-looking of the girls takes the front. "You are holding a criminal in there!"
[02:55:38] <Ratty_GM> "She stabbed our blood-sister, when she just tried to talk! She is a dangerous element in the city, you know that?"
[02:55:58] <Ratty_GM> "And she is not worthy of the gift she has gotten. Bring her out!"
[02:56:18] <Ratty_GM> "Otherwise we'll take blood for blood!" she nudges the old man with her foot.
[02:57:24] <Jordan_Tenko> "Serously? Blood for blood over a little stabbing? Aren't you overreacting?"
[02:59:05] <Ratty_GM> "It's a gross misuse of that power. That's the law of the city!"
[02:59:21] <Eriko> "She's having a time out," Eriko responds coolly. "Now the positions are reversed. You're calling for blood, we're calling it off."
[02:59:37] <Ratty_GM> "You don't just flaunt around being the Sanguinor and get into fights in this city without somebody backing you."
[03:00:01] <Ratty_GM> "From where I am standing, she doesn't have much! Wouldn't it be easier to just give her out!?"
[03:00:10] <Ratty_GM> The group spreads out a little, coming closer.
[03:00:46] <Eriko> "She's our friend, for one thing. If you were in our shoes, would you be so willing to throw out your comrade if people came demanding her head?"
[03:01:14] Eriko sighs. "Be reasonable. We're not looking for a fight, that's why we're here at temple."
[03:01:28] <Ratty_GM> "Hey. don't even need to hurt her." this girl tries to compromise. "Just relieve her of that gift she clearly has no use for."
[03:02:04] <Ratty_GM> "If she is going to go around stabbing other good followers of the Blood Knight with it, it's better someone else has it."
[03:02:19] Jordan_Tenko scoffs.
[03:02:39] <Ratty_GM> "There is a great destiny in that thing, you know. She's wasting it on peanuts."
[03:03:06] <Jordan_Tenko> "So, which one of you would get it?"
[03:04:20] <Ratty_GM> "There is this whole ritual for it." the voice grows a bit lower. "We offer the goddess better hosts, and she makes her pick!"
[03:04:45] <Ratty_GM> "You hardly sound like a priest." Samten points out to her.
[03:05:20] <Ratty_GM> "We take the lance from her hands, and spin it on the ground!" the girl says something silly.
[03:06:04] <Eriko> "..."
[03:06:12] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm going to call bullshit since you know already that the goddess can act on her own."
[03:06:59] <Jordan_Tenko> "You didn't follow her here, the Blood Knight sent her here by her own means of teleportation. One of you is a seer."
[03:07:26] <Ratty_GM> "Well, maybe she needs a little support! A little supplication... eh?"
[03:07:42] <Ratty_GM> The girls mumble among themselves for a bit.
[03:07:58] <Eriko> "You think the Blood Knight needs... help?"
[03:08:04] Eriko cants her head a little.
[03:08:25] <Jordan_Tenko> "Furthermore, she's the sanguinor. The Blood Knight herself chose her to take the lance."
[03:08:42] <Jordan_Tenko> "I, as the previous owner know this best."
[03:08:48] <Ratty_GM> "Come to think of it, who DID come up with the idea she'd be in the city?" the leader turns around surprisingly, to the crowd. She is still not quite showing her back.
[03:09:21] <Ratty_GM> "See," she turns back to you, "NONE of us is a seer."
[03:09:52] <Ratty_GM> "But I don't need to be a seer to call you out!" she points her finger rudely.
[03:10:14] <Ratty_GM> The girls keep squabbling among themselves, eventually singling out one, rather dimunitive girl.
[03:12:23] Jordan_Tenko rests her chin in her hand in thought, then, a realization makes her soften her stance.
[03:12:53] <Ratty_GM> "...Okay." the girl admits, bearing the stares. "I got a phone call, alright?"
[03:13:40] <Ratty_GM> "A girl I used to know in the Seventh insisted she saw the Sanguinor in Vientnam. Paid a seer to find them and everything."
[03:14:08] <Ratty_GM> "That's all. Word of that kind of a thing spreads fast."
[03:14:51] <Jordan_Tenko> "Hmm. Fair enough."
[03:15:18] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, Samten. I've got an idea for how to solve this mess then."
[03:15:55] <Ratty_GM> "I am listening." she says sourly, and pessimistically.
[03:17:24] <Jordan_Tenko> "Out of respect for the Temple, I won't plaster these girls across every wall and floor tile. After all, I think they are simply misguided in their perceptions of the Blood Knight. We could just, take them to her." She shrugs nonchalantly.
[03:18:00] <Jordan_Tenko> "Have the Blood Knight sort them out in person."
[03:19:49] <Ratty_GM> She glances at them. "You know, I don't think these girls are polite enough to talk to a goddess."
[03:20:01] <Ratty_GM> "She might overreact. It can go all sorts of ways."
[03:20:15] <Jordan_Tenko> "I know." she smiles wickedly.
[03:21:05] <Jordan_Tenko> "But what do we know, really? They're the sanguinists here. They seem to know everything."
[03:22:02] <Ratty_GM> "This could also go amazingly wrong." she admits. "Bring her, then."
[03:22:06] <Jordan_Tenko> "But before we do that, though, where is the girl who was stabbed?"
[03:22:35] <Ratty_GM> "In an, uh, hospital. Yeah." the frontwoman lies blatantly.
[03:23:50] Jordan_Tenko quirks an eyebrow. "That didn't sound convincing at all. Don't tell me you paid for a seer to find this girl, but didn't pay to get her treated?"
[03:26:04] <Ratty_GM> "Since you want to hear the TRUTH, we'll be sending her back to the Seventh in a box."
[03:26:22] <Ratty_GM> "We couldn't stop the bleeding. So that gives us a little bit of a moxie here."
[03:26:50] <Ratty_GM> "She is not DEAD dead, you know. If it was a regular lance she'd be fine, even with that wide tip."
[03:27:15] <Jordan_Tenko> "Ahh, that sounds much better than what you said before."
[03:27:33] <Ratty_GM> The girl sighs. "Sometimes you have to protect people's dignity. She clearly wasn't meant to replace this girl as the host - "
[03:28:21] <Ratty_GM> she brings out a Soul Gem, " - but that does not mean someone else doesn't have a better shot. And we'd like to do that without dying."
[03:28:42] <Ratty_GM> "That's why we're talking to you, which we normally wouldn't."
[03:29:23] <Jordan_Tenko> "Ironic."
[03:31:26] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, I guess I can't really fault you guys on anything too bad here, but I think you hardheads are in way over your head."
[03:33:30] <Ratty_GM> The girls stare at you, clearly not good at understanding spoken word
[03:34:10] <Ratty_GM> "Are we getting what we asked for, in the end?" the leader wonders.
[03:36:44] Jordan_Tenko shrugs once more. "I feel like it'd be wrong to try to stop you from trying to get what you want, so yeah, give it your best shot."
[03:37:34] <Jordan_Tenko> "But you need to promise to be on your best behavior. Show some respect at this temple, quit harassing the monks."
[03:38:44] <Ratty_GM> "Huh." the girls whisper to each other, excitedly.
[03:39:33] <Ratty_GM> The leader eventually accepts this proposal. "Very well. Are you taking us to her, then? Lead on."
[03:39:51] <Ratty_GM> "...I really do think it would be better to bring her here." Samten hisses.
[03:39:53] Jordan_Tenko turns to Samten, "Is this alright?"
[03:40:10] <Jordan_Tenko> "Can we even do that?"
[03:40:15] <Ratty_GM> In the meantime, the monks are released.
[03:40:52] <Ratty_GM> "You tell me." she responds. "Can we?"
[03:41:06] <Eriko> "Er..."
[03:41:45] <Jordan_Tenko> "From the way she spoke, she doesn't sound like she'd take kindly to the news of her 'followers' being here."
[03:42:14] <Jordan_Tenko> "And if worse comes to worst, I have a way of preserving the temple at least."
[03:42:41] <Jordan_Tenko> "But I can't say the same for them. At best, I could send their gems back to the Seventh."
[03:44:37] <Ratty_GM> "I don't know what you have in mind... It's just that leading such a procession down there is unseemly."
[03:44:53] <Ratty_GM> "This is a place of discretion, where people want to recover and meditate in peace."
[03:46:16] <Jordan_Tenko> "Hmm. Well, maybe we could try bringing her up here, then?"
[03:46:23] <Ratty_GM> "That is why the monks are angry with me over all this, yes."
[03:46:44] <Ratty_GM> "Sheltering girls is fine, as long as all is done in peace, you see."
[03:47:25] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm all for respecting that, but we don't have the final say in where she goes."
[03:49:44] <Ratty_GM> "Go talk to her, then. I thik we have them mostly pacified."
[03:49:54] <Ratty_GM> "If she cannot come, then, well..."
[03:50:15] <Jordan_Tenko> "If she won't come then at the very least, I'll take the fight away from here."
[03:51:25] Jordan_Tenko claps her hands. "Ok, I'll bring her out, but first, are all of you guys Seventh?"
[03:51:33] <Jordan_Tenko> "At least originally?"
[03:51:36] <Ratty_GM> Samten nods, preparing to stare down the Sanguinists.
[03:51:53] <Ratty_GM> "...not really." the frontwoman answers, and you can also see it.
[03:52:20] <Ratty_GM> The group is really multicultural, like a group of ten random girls picked out of the crowd.
[03:53:15] <Jordan_Tenko> "That might be a problem."
[03:53:55] <Jordan_Tenko> "Oh well, let me go get her."
[03:54:10] Jordan_Tenko turns to leave.
[03:57:38] <Ratty_GM> ...
[03:58:31] <Ratty_GM> Pham still sits on the bed. Not much seems to have changed out here, aside of a monk now trying to scrub the new blood out.
[03:59:40] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, the plot thickens. There's about 20 stabby girls outside wanting to get your 'gift'."
[04:00:09] <Ratty_GM> "Twenty?"
[04:00:29] <Ratty_GM> "It wasn't that many before." she rises up.
[04:00:37] <Ratty_GM> "I guess this is my fault."
[04:00:39] <Jordan_Tenko> "Yep. They're really mad that you sent one of them home in a box."
[04:01:13] <Ratty_GM> "Oh."
[04:01:45] <Jordan_Tenko> "So to show they mean business, they came in force to rough up some old monks in order to oppose your unnecessary use of force."
[04:02:00] <Ratty_GM> "I just, sort of stabbed her in the gut, I think. At least she can stop being a rogue now." Pham considers, "But then, she might have some bad record too."
[04:02:47] <Jordan_Tenko> "Did she really just approach you wanting to talk? That's what they said which I have a hard time believing."
[04:03:07] <Ratty_GM> "No."
[04:03:21] <Ratty_GM> "I mean she talked to me, after I stabbed her, after she tried to stab me."
[04:03:39] <Jordan_Tenko> "That's what I thought."
[04:04:08] <Ratty_GM> "I literally just appeared in Kolkata and this instantly happened, like she was waiting for me."
[04:04:39] <Ratty_GM> "I am getting worried that I shouldn't go around places so willy-nilly because of that."
[04:04:59] <Ratty_GM> "Then after she got stabbed, I got into a bit of a shouting match with her and her friends."
[04:05:03] <Jordan_Tenko> "Yeah, word spread fast from Vietnam. They paid a seer to find you. She was probably there ahead of time."
[04:05:44] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm reconsidering just letting you go. You're getting hunted pretty hard."
[04:05:49] <Ratty_GM> "That makes sense."
[04:05:57] <Ratty_GM> "What are we going to do, then?"
[04:06:48] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, it's a bit of a situation to be in. Do you want to fight or run?"
[04:08:12] <Ratty_GM> "Neither of those really strain the honor of carrying the lance or anything. Fight or flight is all it is about."
[04:08:34] <Ratty_GM> "I want to fight but don't trust myself to be strong enough."
[04:08:55] <Ratty_GM> "I can probably escape like this if it happens again, but it's going to be rough."
[04:09:34] <Jordan_Tenko> "That lance is plenty strong. Plus I'd be fighting with you. Buuuut, 20 is a little up there especially when I don't know what they can do."
[04:10:37] <Jordan_Tenko> "Running is easy, but we'd need to leave fast. Like hundreds of miles fast."
[04:11:11] <Ratty_GM> "Okay, that's fine. I was about to leave anyway."
[04:12:16] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm glad I didn't give them my name. My reputation doesn't have to take a hit here."
[04:13:11] <Ratty_GM> "Hmm."
[04:13:49] <Ratty_GM> "This is pretty rude." she agrees. "We should at least leave something behind. Like for Samten's trouble."
[04:14:08] <Jordan_Tenko> "I was thinking the same thing."
[04:14:12] <Ratty_GM> "I want to make them stop going after me but talking to them is a bother."
[04:15:57] <Ratty_GM> "I have a few Grief Seeds I've picked up yesterday." she realizes, putting three of them on the bed one by one. "It turns out Witches are going after me too."
[04:16:45] <Ratty_GM> "I sort of wish I could talk to them like you can. Maybe they were like the one in the lake?"
[04:17:16] <Ratty_GM> "But she wanted me to kill them so that's what I did."
[04:18:37] <Ratty_GM> Pham pulls out an A4 block and a pencil, and writes a bit of a message on it.
[04:19:36] <Ratty_GM> "Shame about there being no cash money. Maybe some sort of an artifact will satisfy them..."
[04:20:22] <Ratty_GM> Her palm sparkles with the faint red light that you have seen around her when the spirit was manifesting, and a clump of blood pours out of it.
[04:21:03] <Ratty_GM> It forms into the shape of an apple, instantly drying, and she uses it as a weight for the piece of paper, which she lays in front of the room.
[04:21:54] <Ratty_GM> The Barrier disassembles to let her do this, allowing you finally see the whole of Pham.
[04:22:08] <Ratty_GM> She looks tired, but somewhat content right now.
[04:22:24] <Ratty_GM> "...Maybe they will enshrine the damn thing. Or fight over an apple."
[04:24:11] <Jordan_Tenko> "They'd end up fighting each other either way."
[04:27:11] <Ratty_GM> She sighs, taking Londe and Eriko into sights. "I'm going to Japan for a bit. You can get the three of them out if you need to, right?"
[04:28:50] <Jordan_Tenko> "Sure can."
[04:29:09] <Ratty_GM> "Two of them. Three of you. Damn, I am tired."
[04:29:30] <Ratty_GM> "Well, mister monk, I am sorry for the mess. See you guys soon."
[04:29:55] <Ratty_GM> She snaps her fingers, and in a wave of divine radiance, disappears from the temple.
[04:30:12] <Ratty_GM> The blood suddenly seems much darker. Hopefully, Samten will find the message.
[04:31:11] <Jordan_Tenko> "So damn convenient , that power."
[04:32:27] Jordan_Tenko looks down at the pool on the floor. She shakes her head.
[04:32:51] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, time to go shoo them away."



[04:34:02] Jordan_Tenko makes her way back to the courtyard.
[04:36:45] <Ratty_GM> The monks step out of your way, giving you a short 'namuamidabutsu', whatever the hell that means.
[04:37:00] <Ratty_GM> They are probably thanking you for exorcising the demon. Probably.
[04:38:54] <Ratty_GM> The people outside are clearly tired of waiting, standing unevenly and leisurely.
[04:39:34] <Ratty_GM> The fact nobody but the two people who left with you are coming with you clearly has them wake up.
[04:40:14] <Ratty_GM> "That's not too bad." Samten mumbles.
[04:40:39] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, got her to move at least."
[04:41:13] <Jordan_Tenko> "She moved pretty far though."
[04:42:00] <Ratty_GM> "Eh?" the big girl in the courtyard shouts.
[04:42:10] <Ratty_GM> "The hell do you mean by that?"
[04:43:16] <Jordan_Tenko> "The Blood Knight teleported her away again."
[04:44:10] <Ratty_GM> "Mighty suspicous it happened just after we came, eh?" she rises her voice.
[04:44:34] <Jordan_Tenko> "Mighty suspicious your girl happened to be in the spot she showed up."
[04:46:46] <Ratty_GM> That takes some of the wind out of her sails, but she presses on: "Why should we even believe you that?"
[04:46:55] <Ratty_GM> "Maybe she's still there!"
[04:47:26] Jordan_Tenko shrugs and sighs. "Then go check. She left something behind for you all anyway."
[04:48:01] <Jordan_Tenko> "But watch your step, the floor needs to be mopped up."
[04:50:48] <Ratty_GM> "Well, it seems these girls need to check out the mummified finger." Samten voices.
[04:51:10] <Ratty_GM> "Or the Shroud of Turin? The blood on the ground, anyway."
[04:51:18] <Ratty_GM> "Come, then, follow me inside."
[04:51:33] <Jordan_Tenko> "More like the Fruit of Knowledge."
[04:51:38] <Ratty_GM> The Sangunists, at this moment, may understandably be feeling like they have been had.
[04:52:48] <Ratty_GM> "A holy relic, I mean. The bottled fart of a saint. They will pick up the bloody dirt and stash it somewhere in a golden box, I tell you. These things are funny." the buddhist nun explains on the way down, a little more cheerfully now.
[04:55:10] <Ratty_GM> The procession arrives to the room eventually.
[04:55:34] <Ratty_GM> "As you can see," Samten starts, "the room is - oh?"
[04:55:49] <Ratty_GM> She picks up the apple and the message carefully.
[04:56:12] <Ratty_GM> "She DID leave a relic behind."
[04:57:28] <Ratty_GM> While the Sanguinists peek in, she snatches the Grief Seeds left on the bed, while she can, and then returns to the light of the corridor, reading the paper.
[04:58:31] <Ratty_GM> "...An apple uneaten is an apple wasted."
[04:58:57] <Ratty_GM> "An apple which won't rot is an eternal treasure."
[04:59:24] <Ratty_GM> She narrows her eyes, on the last line.
[04:59:58] <Ratty_GM> "What to make of an apple that cannot be eaten?"
[05:00:20] <Ratty_GM> "That sounds like something Baocun would say." she notes.
[05:00:43] <Ratty_GM> "Well, I think the apple is for you, girls. Do with it... whatever you do with apples."
[05:01:09] <Ratty_GM> She hands it to the tall girl, who takes it, in confusion.
[05:01:44] <Ratty_GM> Then, seeing the savages in front of her, she tries to explain:
[05:01:59] <Ratty_GM> "The Blood Knight has sent you a message."
[05:03:05] <Ratty_GM> "She is not strictly all about hitting people with sticks. It is important to her that her followers are happy. There are other ways to satisfy your needs than hitting people with sticks."
[05:03:38] <Ratty_GM> The Sanguinists stare at the blood-apple like it's a ruse of some sort, which is exactly what it is.
[05:07:02] Jordan_Tenko leans against the wall with her arms crossed.
[05:19:25] <Ratty_GM> The girls take a few minutes going through the many other rooms, shining flashlights on sleeping monks, to ensure this is not a trick. Fortunately, the underside of the temple is not THAT big.
[05:19:48] <Ratty_GM> At this time, Eriko notifies you that the OTHER group of girls is still waiting outside.
[05:20:06] <Ratty_GM> They have peek in on the situation, but haven't moved in, yet.
[05:20:13] <Jordan_Tenko> "The other group is here, too?"
[05:22:14] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well, I don't think we should have to worry about these girls. Let's go see what that other group wants."
[05:24:10] <Ratty_GM> The group, as you leave for the outside, is explained to you by Eriko. They seem to be a group of more professional-looking asian Magical Girls, with a few mercenaries included in the force.
[05:25:00] <Ratty_GM> Seeing they're armed, approaching them upfront could be dangerous.
[05:25:14] <Ratty_GM> Alas, they have not moved in.
[05:25:57] <Ratty_GM> From afar, you can see a black van, one that could be described in an internet gang-stalking story. It could probably fit in a lot of espionage equipment.
[05:26:35] <Ratty_GM> One group of girls is standing around, pretending to be tourists, while the mercenaries are admiring the temple's walls.
[05:27:02] <Jordan_Tenko> "I guess the roles are reversed from last time."
[05:27:27] <Ratty_GM> Indeed, you are close to the spot where you caught Pham back then.
[05:29:30] <Jordan_Tenko> "We could just sidestep them, but I kind of want to know what they want."
[05:30:54] <Ratty_GM> "If you think that's a good idea." Londe mumbles.
[05:31:58] <Ratty_GM> The trenchcoated men tense up visibly when you come near the van.
[05:32:33] <Ratty_GM> The girls are a bit better about pretending not to notice you. They move from their spot, though.
[05:32:46] <Ratty_GM> Towards you. Because of course.
[05:33:18] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'm pretty busy here, so let's cut to the chase?"
[05:34:16] <Ratty_GM> The girls stop abruptly, finally looking at you.
[05:34:29] <Ratty_GM> "Come one. We're operating here."
[05:35:08] <Ratty_GM> "We're letting you go since you're apparently legal despite everything. Why are you making this so difficult?"
[05:35:31] <Ratty_GM> The one speaking is, in fact, wearing hardsuit pants.
[05:36:00] <Jordan_Tenko> "What's difficult about asking what you want? I'm not a spook."
[05:36:01] <Ratty_GM> The top is still summer clothes, but presumably it would make switching to action easier.
[05:37:43] <Jordan_Tenko> "Unless you aren't actually after me and this is a misunderstanding?"
[05:37:58] <Ratty_GM> "They don't normally huddle up like that." the girl tries to explain, pointing to the temple.
[05:39:00] <Jordan_Tenko> "The sanguinists? Yeah, no, they were just chasing after someone, but she's gone now."
[05:39:03] <Ratty_GM> "We're fishing for clues. It looked like a fight might break out. In that case, if it was two parties of rogues, both of ten or so, it's worth it to go for a purge." the presumably Vindicare explains her job calmly.
[05:39:27] <Ratty_GM> "They beat each other up and catching them is easier."
[05:40:03] <Ratty_GM> "If you got into a fight, of course, we'd have to restrain you and figure out the rest. Fortunately for you, someone recognized your profile."
[05:40:13] <Jordan_Tenko> "You sure have a lot of free time for this when Walpurgis is so close."
[05:41:00] <Ratty_GM> "It's exactly because of that that we are on double duty." she says, proudly. "All the conspiracies and prophecies and what not boil to the surface."
[05:41:21] <Ratty_GM> "It's so much easier to interroagate people close to the source, than to pay seers or something."
[05:42:08] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well there's not much to see here. The situation is diffused and I'm getting ready to leave."
[05:42:52] <Ratty_GM> "That's a shame." the operator answers. "We have really hoped for a fight."
[05:43:25] <Ratty_GM> "We're probably going to tail some of those girls after they leave, so we have SOMEBODY to interrogate tonight."
[05:43:48] <Jordan_Tenko> "I would have already taken out most of them if that would have happened."
[05:44:34] <Ratty_GM> "Maybe. You seem to be... abnormal." she is forced to acknowledge it.
[05:44:58] <Ratty_GM> "We're just all doing our jobs best we can, yeah?"
[05:45:05] <Ratty_GM> "In our own ways."
[05:45:13] <Ratty_GM> She gives you a donkey salute.
[05:45:16] <Jordan_Tenko> "That's good to hear."
[05:46:42] <Jordan_Tenko> "Well good luck with your operation here."
[05:48:08] <Jordan_Tenko> "I'll stop blowing your cover then. Though it was kind of blown even before I got to the temple."
[05:49:18] <Ratty_GM> "They did not seem to notice. Most of the city knows to lay low now, so this must have been a big deal."
[05:49:24] <Ratty_GM> "But thanks."
[05:50:21] Jordan_Tenko gives her own salute, then heads back.
[05:52:54] <Jordan_Tenko> "Are you all finally convinced she left?" She asks once she rejoins the group.
[05:53:16] <Ratty_GM> "I guess." someone says.
[05:54:45] <Ratty_GM> With miraculous powers, Samten has somehow manipulated the Sanguinists back into the courtyard. Right now, the big girl is holding the apple, but they seem to be really unsure what to do with it.
[05:55:01] <Ratty_GM> "Seriously, that's it?" one of them complains.
[05:55:54] <Jordan_Tenko> "Maybe next time, don't show up in a huge group and scare her off."
[05:58:02] <Ratty_GM> "When you hear something cool, you always want to tell your friends." the short girl tries to make an excuse for herself.
[05:58:20] <Ratty_GM> "I guess I'll think it through next time."
[05:58:38] <Jordan_Tenko> "Yeah, I know. I really can't blame you, but I can't blame her either."
[05:58:48] <Ratty_GM> "What sort of honor is it to run from us?" the big one still doesn't get it.
[05:59:16] <Jordan_Tenko> "The same honor in bringing 20 versus 1."
[05:59:27] <Ratty_GM> "You would really think she would confront us head on and beat us to a pulp if she did not like us!"
[05:59:45] <Jordan_Tenko> "No, that's what I would have done."
[06:00:04] <Ratty_GM> "Maybe that's why we came here," someone in the group realizes. "We also wanted to get stabbed."
[06:00:27] <Jordan_Tenko> "Hell, I can do that for you."
[06:01:40] <Ratty_GM> "Getting stabbed by not the Blood Knight is not honorable, though." the girl explains, apaprently the smartest one in the group. "We wanted to be judged, you see."
[06:01:58] <Ratty_GM> "Even if we would be found wanting. It gives you some certainity."
[06:02:30] <Jordan_Tenko> "If you can't get through me, there's no way you're getting to her. That lance is powerful."
[06:05:16] <Ratty_GM> "You're going to taunt us like that, huh?" another asks. They are not quite on the same wavelength anymore.
[06:06:18] <Jordan_Tenko> "She is my friend. I wasn't going to let her fight alone."
[06:07:19] <Jordan_Tenko> "But that's that I guess. Let me just give a donation, then I'm outta here."
[06:07:43] <Jordan_Tenko> "Does this Temple have Square?"
[06:08:40] <Ratty_GM> Samten tries to understand, concealing her exhaustion from the day's ordeals.
[06:11:09] <Ratty_GM> "This is some sort of a payment method, isn't it..."
[06:11:20] <Jordan_Tenko> "If not, I've got some cash on hand. I knew I'd be coming here anyway."
[06:11:31] <Ratty_GM> "I can talk to the deacon. That's the, equivalent rank, I think."
[06:12:12] <Ratty_GM> "But when I said, running a business, it has usually been currency, yes."
[06:12:40] <Ratty_GM> "But I do believe there are official ways to make donations. Leave me your number or e-mail, and I will notify you."
[06:12:51] <Ratty_GM> "...What Pham left is enough for now."
[06:14:48] <Ratty_GM> In such a peaceful way, your business here is done.
[06:14:52] <Jordan_Tenko> "She's a good girl." Jordan brings up her phone and shows the number anyway. "Keep me in the loop with what goes on around here."
[06:15:28] <Ratty_GM> "I can't promise you anything." she answers somberly. "Almost everything around here is personal. To somebody."
[06:16:31] <Jordan_Tenko> "You never know. Always good to know people. It's fine to just know how you're doing, too."
[06:17:09] <Ratty_GM> "You can stay overnight, depending on how much a hurry you're in." she offers, while the Sanguinists slowly leave the temple grounds, in smaller groups.
[06:18:16] <Jordan_Tenko> "Thanks, but we are in quite a hurry. Got to go half way around the world again."
[06:19:17] <Ratty_GM> "Then if I'll be seeing you again, it will already be news of great fortune." she smiles faintly.
[06:19:43] <Ratty_GM> "Nothing ever changes here. Sometimes people come and make ruckus, sometimes a temple is built and falls."
[06:20:10] <Ratty_GM> "But it's a place for people to visit and return to. So don't worry about that."
[06:22:38] <Ratty_GM> The city, in some way, seems to have accepted you as one of its own.
[06:23:10] <Ratty_GM> With all of its craziness and dangerous elements, it occurs to you that you weren't really being stalked here at any point.
[06:23:57] <Ratty_GM> The two groups Eriko had spotted just shared your road. Your eyes did not stand out to anyone any more than a regular tourist sight.
[06:24:53] <Ratty_GM> Crazy as it sounds, this is the last place that has been kind to you in a long time, and you won't be seeing one like it anytime soon.
[06:25:00] <Ratty_GM> And if things go poorly, ever again.
[06:25:09] Ratty_GM pulls the curtains down.