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Fudou the Mountain	The Congregation of Victory is showing no signs of slowing down, that's for sure. This is no doubt a wild success by any metric and in a city like Great Forks, aptly nicknamed 'Decadence', where entertainment and pleasusre abounds.. something that stands above the rest of everything else going on in terms of grabbing attention is to be applauded. Certainlyl the presence of colorful competitors doesn't hurt this. From mortal martial artists to immaculate monks and...quite apparently..those gifted with the gift of the exigence. All have made themselves known and visible and few are as visible as The Mountain. Now Fudou has done much work to talespin an origin of one gifted with the power of a far away god of earthquakes, strength and mountain ranges..all three of course. But he's coy when asked for particular details likely due to not having the lie -completely worked out and..really most seem to know better then to pry when he gets non committal or simply smiles at them. The rest are content to just watch the huge man as he makes his way through the crowds gathered around the various staging areas and training yards connected to the arena, parting them as a boulder might roll through a stream en route to a training yard that's seen better days due to it being pockmarked with small craters and piles of rubble. So probably one he's been exclusively using.
Bright Journey	While the Arena itself is a hotbed of combat at all hours of the day, and the stands are constant bustles of activity, this training area is ringed by at least a few less people. In a way, it's convenient that the second round has been as explosive as it was billed, for the majority of the crowd is there. Still, there's a few diehards hanging around this particular training pit, trying to catch a glimpse of the man himself. Not that he's hard to spot! It looks a bit like more of the people around here are of the feminine persuasion, though a larger number are not that far away at various other training sites. Fortunately, it's large and set just a bit away from the others, for entirely practical reasons. There's a number of folks watching as Fudou makes his way to 'his' training pit--not that he's the only one to use it, precisely, but others give him a wide berth when he's around! Which makes the one young lady a bit braver than the rest, sitting on the wooden fence rather than staying behind it. This figure, in white and black with gold trim, certainly doesn't seem to be afraid of the big guy, and as she brushes her voluminous black cloak's hood behind her, the streamer of pink hair spills out and she hops right into the training pit as Fudou finally arrives. Some of the others around the pit start to converse amongst themselves, annoyed or possibly daring each other to enter, but Bright Journey just has a dazzling smile as Fudou arrives. "Well! Good morning and well met, my dear. Hope you have time for a chat."
Fudou the Mountain	"Well, hello luv! Come to see a show? And I don't mean the one going on in the arena..." fudou's reaction to the pink haired wonder is..probably a surprise to those who had been watching him and some double takes occur. No doubt they were expecting him to attempt to shoo her away but instead he simply lumbers to an earth shaking stop and rests one hand on his broad waist, hooking his fingers into his rope belt and leather bindings as he leans forward and rubs his jaw. "Long time no see! I suppose a chat can do but I'll have to charge for any signings.." He makes a sweeping gesture with his massive limb, indicating he wants her to enter the yard itself. A quick glance is afforded those who are watching and he flashes them a grin, "So sorry! A private matter. Hope you don't mind!" And with that he moves to enter.
Bright Journey	"Well, Fudou, I don't know if it's been all -that- long," Bright Journey replies. She grins in reply and sets a hand on her hip in some kind of counterpoint. "Well, I hope you don't mind if I just leave it at a chat. I think anything more and your admirers around the ring will each take a piece of me home with her. And in case it escaped you, that's an awful lot of pieces." She chuckles, but her expression darkens and turns serious a moment later. "Once you hear what I have to say, though, you might -want- to fling a few boulders around. "Part of why I'm -here- rather than someplace less obvious is so no one would think you'd have a private chat here..." She frowns, looking around, but as predicted, there's no one within any mortal's earshot, out here in the training pit. "Right now this might actually be a bit safer than where I'd normally do this kind of thing. You don't see anyone--or anything--close enough, do you?"
Rishi	"I hope there is being room for the 'one more', Fudou." a sweetly musical voice calls out, as the crowd parts around the heart achingly beautiful woman, her cheerful smile lighting up the arena, her wings and tail simply ...fit her and only make her more attractive. When she reaches the fence, she also hops over, winking at any onlookers. Don't worry, I am just being here to assure the Fudou that I am being most alright after the last time we were meeting. He is" she sighs dreamily "most overwhelming." Rishi smiles at Bright. "It is being most nice to be seeing you again!" At Bright's comment about this being serious, Rishi sobers slightly. "I really was just being here to be assuring the Fudou that I am being fine. All of the healed, see? So, I can be doing the leaving if you are wanting to be doing the private talking."
Fudou the Mountain	There's a strange sort of 'tension' that comes over Fudou when Bright jokes with a cavalier air about. It's quick but it's there. She'd certainly notice it despite him quickly sweeping it away to become more bemused..and then quite serious as she begins speaking more. "Aaah..." he begins, ready to answer her question..and then he blinks as Rishi makes her arrival known and he seems tense once again. The irony of the situation heavy on him. He then heaves a heavy rumbling sigh and seems to finally relax just a bit more. "...Your capacity for healing is..masterful..Rishi." He notes, cryptically and tone somewhat non committal at first as if he's nursing some smouldering annoyuance about 'something'...but he seems to be more and more relaxed and putting aside whatever was troubling him. He reaches up and touches his ears, Tapping them a few times. Round, as far as anyone can tell, partially covered by his head scarf. But more furred and pointed in the invisible realm as his hybrid mutations are well hidden. "I have good hearing. I believe we are fine.."
Bright Journey	Bright blinks once, but quickly composes herself, at the hint of tension. She picks up on it, of course, but sometimes the best thing to do is to let it pass rather than address it head on. Instead, she takes a gracious step back and lets Fudou and Rishi speak for a moment, then chimes in with a flip of her hair. "Rishi. It's good to see you as well! Your timing is good, actually, because you're also on the list of people that need to hear this. Things have...changed...for us." Bright's voice turns quieter as her expression turns far more serious, brow furrowing and lips pressed together. "Fudou, Rishi, just a couple days ago I was in a private booth along with Tiziri and Raullaur. We were chatting and...well, we screwed up. We were careless. We heard from the back of the booth some...sound. Like a wooden scrape. Not sure the exact noise is what's important, but the point is we all heard it. I thought someone might have been hiding there, but no. All we found was some kind of enchanted object. We heard the sound again, from this thing. I'm not completely sure what it was, but it was a crystal of some sort, with an Old Realm glyph--'Clarity'." Bright looks at Fudou and Rishi in the eye by turns, her multicolored ones a bit hypnotic without her really trying. "We think someone knew enough to plant it there and was listening in on us. And we need to figure out who it is as quickly as we can."
Rishi	"I am not seeing any of the onlookers either. If the talking is being so much the sensitive, I can be checking for the spirits if you are wanting, Bright? Risht pats Fudou on the arm. "I am still being most apologetic about ...that. I will be doing the best to be getting much of the tougher, so do not be doing the worrying." Rishi's slightly more feral eyes go wide, before she blinks, then her eyes glitter as she glances around, looking at the hidden realms of spirits and seeing if there are any nearby. Assuming there are none, Rishi relaxes slightly. "...After we are finished doing the speaking here, I will be doing the going with you. I may be able to be smelling out the nature of the magic and doing the following of the trail to be finding the ones who are doing this thing. Then we can be having the conversation." Rishi is smiling. Sort of.
Fudou the Mountain	The massive Lunar seems stoic at Rishi's pat but then his buried ire seems to relax and drain as she makes her apology. He nods his head a few times and then grunts, "Don't worry luv. It is fine..." As Bright speaks, he turns his attention back to her and he lifts both of his eyebrows high as she explains the situation. There is a pause as he listens to Rishi once more but he seems more restrained then her, his expression a mild tight frown in contrast to her smile. "...So someone has had cause to want to try and suss out our nature. Perhaps not directly targetting you as individuals but maybe the tournament as a whole. There could be other listening magicks...anywhere in the arena if so. THe organizers, perhaps? Sponsors we're not aware of?" Speculation may provide some places to consider but also could just as easily lead to nowhere given the range of culprits and he frowns as he rubs his jaw, "Potential rivals and enemies..the list is..potntially to great to easily narrow down without more information.. Perhaps somethinug could be done to draw them out?"
Bright Journey	"It doesn't -have- to be the sponsors--the Nine Sheaves Consortium--but it certainly can be. I don't know if it's specifically about our nature, of course--could just as easily be about Realm intrigue or the price of qat in Nexus. But at this point it doesn't matter. Anyone who was listening in knows far, far too much, and we--or at the very least, the two of you and Raullaur--are not in a position where you can just walk without raising suspicion." She chuckles quietly and looks at Fudou pointedly. "Or disappointing your admirers. And I actually don't think we want to do that either. While you were talking something just came to mind. Maybe we can use the crowd to our advantage...create a rumor to draw them out into a trap. Hopefully soon. I think we can be sure that if we don't find them before the tournament is over, then we never will." She frowns, scratching the back of her head idly. "Thing is, they at least knew enough to plant it in -our- booth, so I don't think they're completely ignorant of us. They might not know -why- we were there, just that we stand out. Also, I want to point out something weird. We only noticed because we heard sound coming from it. So it actually sent sound in -both- directions. I don't think that's exactly what they wanted, is it? Then again, maybe beggars can't be choosers when it comes to magic."
Rishi	Rishi frowns. "I can be doing the most sneaky...but I am doing the bowing to your skill. Still, you should be doing the bowing to my skill, and be letting me do the examining of the crystal. I can at least be telling you if it is being the Sorcery or not, and, if it is being the Sorcery, perhaps who or what was doing the enchanting." "As for who is being the behind it, I am not doing the speculation. We will be finding them and then we will be doing the finding out."
Fudou the Mountain	"Indeed..don't fear for Rishi and myself. It would take ...well...powers that would be rather alarming to pierce our disguises. As far as anyone can either tell or even see ..we're both Exigents and one of numerous ones that may be moving in and out of Great Forks or even participating in the tournament. In that sense..we're more free then you are in terms of our abilities for now. Our very essence and anima reflects this disguise. I would suggest similar for Tiziri. It is our trade to not want to be found if we don't wish to be..but..that doesn't address Raullaur or the overall problem. Somebody has information that they shouldn't. On that how careless were you?" Fudou rubs his jaw once again and then adds, "And while not good to speculate, having some direction to start looking in does help. I suggest the Consortium only because them attempting to be appraised of those who involve themselves in their tournaments and the value of that information only makes sense but yes..let's investigate the sorcery itself first.. I do think a rumor to draw them out might be the best move though at the same time that may draw -other- unwanted attention as well..."
Bright Journey	Bright sighs and looks away, a mannerism entirely unlike her. "I..." She sighs. "No, I'll toss it out there. It was pretty bad. You know how we can get when something interesting is happening. We were making plans concerning an upcoming trip you know all about. Speaking of which, it sounds as if Tiziri's in favor of Raullaur making an -offer- to you-know-who, not just tagging along with me. Not sure how I feel about that, but we can discuss that some other time. What's important is we said a lot. Not much different from what the three of us might discuss for our upcoming trip. "One thing I'm terrible at is blending in, I admit. Not that I really try, either. I usually gain more by standing out and taking charge when I can. I do agree that the Consortium is in the best position to do that kind of thing--they're everywhere and have complete control of the Arena--but that's a guess, not proof. We need to narrow it down." Bright frowns again, but turns directly to Rishi. "I have the device secure--not here and now, of course, in case they can track it down--but there's no one I'd rather have joining me for...what shall we call it? A sorcerous investigation? I'm confident in my ability but in this, a second pair of eyes is a wise thing to have and I'm grateful for the aid. Once we finish that we can figure out what to do next." Bright rubs her pointed chin and looks in the direction of the Arena thoughtfully. "I might take a look around, too, if the chance presents itself. They can't be everywhere and with how big the place is, I'm sure there's some offices I could just walk in." She smirks. "Or just have an attendant -show- me in order to earn a smile."
Rishi	Rishi smirks, "If we are needing the excuse to be gone for awhile, we could be telling the peoples that we are taking Fudou back to the room of the bed. No-one will be doing the doubting of where we are being for some time. Or we could be telling them that is being where the us two are going, so I can be doing the looking at your crystal, if that is being your preference." Rishi tilts her head, long hair waving, considering things. "What kind of the rumor were you doing the thinking of?" Rishi sighs. "Once we are doing the feeling of the safe, that is when we are letting down the guard. But, keeping the guard up for all of the time is being the too exhausting." she heaves another sigh. "I am having the intimate knowing of this. Do not be overmuch the sad. I am not being much the good at the blending in either."
Fudou the Mountain	Fudou..stares at Rishi at that. He then chuckes a little..and then fnally looks back to Bright, "..As far as the Consortium goes..it may not be them, no, but it did happen here under their watch so it's as good a place as any to sniff around, even as you do your own sorcery." notes Fudou, "Tiziri has skills that will make that easier then you may think. I will ask her. The Consortium isn't the only ones to be everywhere at once and, furthemore, they may have seen or noticed something themselves. You never know. They may be an ally." Fudou then shakes his head after a rueful pause, "Perpetual subterfuge, even for 'us'.." he indicates Rishi, "..Is impossible. I've had this discussion with Tiziri and others on many occasions. We can't expect to sit in one place and amass power. We have to be prepared to take a more direct hand in our security and also fighting back if need be. It's unfortunante what happened but honestly it would have happened eventually and for all we know already did and we just never noticed.. Oh, and worry not about Raullaur and that suggestion. It was discussed much.. I agree with Tiziri and presented the idea myself to him. I'll explain in more detail how it might work in your favor..in a more safe place.."
Bright Journey	Bright slowly nods. "I admit I have not have had that conversation, but I've thought about it off and on. It -is- hard to be on edge all the time, but the second half is we're no longer at a point where one slip-up means death, for any or even all of us. I'm not saying we're immune to the Wyld Hunt, but chances are they would -gravely- underestimate any of us. We can't rest on those laurels, obviously, but maybe that's part of why we became more complacent." Bright looks at Fudou, lost in thought, as he mentions Raullaur. "All right. Yes, that's something we can discuss another time. It's not as if we're leaving tomorrow, after all. Thanks for letting me know, Fudou." "As for the rumor, I only thought of it just now, so it's not as if I had a specific plan in place yet. But the truth is, Silk helped me learn a neat little trick a month or two ago which might be perfect for this. We don't need to find a -person-, you see, not them themselves. All we need..." She smiles wickedly, "is a name. There's a little known knack that Plentimon's Ladybugs can pull off, you see, besides getting people thrown out of casinos. I got one to teach me how to meet whoever I want to meet. It takes a few hours, but once I know who I'm looking for I can make happenstance conspire to bring us together. And once we start chatting, I think I can convince then to give us what we need." She grins. "The rumor could be about an information broker looking to buy secrets, perhaps, or an investor wanting to learn his rivals' business plans. Something that someone with a special trinket might be in a position to make money off of."
Rishi	Rishi looks from one to the other. "I am thinking *I* should be the one doing the hearing about these trips, not the one doing the listening through the crystal." She huffs, frowning. "But yes, we are becoming most impressive, are we not." a shadow passes over her face. "But we must still be getting the better." Rishi brightens "Hmm! Yes that is sounding most wise." she nods. "What should we be saying? That there is being...mmm... The Sesus Tira? The Seventh Sage? who is regularly visiting the Chateau of Resplendent Delights and will be paying much for the rumors of the contest? I can be letting that slip to the people I am doing the healing of." she grins "I am already being most known for talking their ears off." ...Why does she look so proud of that?
Fudou the Mountain	"The trip being discussed is not simply an 'outing' Rishi.." says Fudou in his blunt matter of fact way, "Everyone is not involved. Everyone is not going. No offense is intended but if you'd like to talk more on it I'll fill you in." He pauses and then adds, "As to the rumor.. that seems a good idea. I was going to say you could even offer up 'secrets' about myself or other contendors in the arena of note. Information that could possibly sway future matches with appropriate riches and reputation impacted alike. Myself or Amethyst or perhaps Misa. Those whom someone might -want- to learn more about."
Bright Journey	Bright nods to Rishi, her expression sober but not grim. "We're getting good at what we do, yes. But like I said a moment before, we cannot--dare not--get complacent. I agree, we will never be 'good enough', not at the rate Creations's going downhill. Or, heck, off a cliff. A good example is this very trip, actually. No such thing as too much preparation for who I intend to meet. And no such thing as being too careful to not offend her." "I wouldn't involve the Chateau without involving Pearl, I don't think. But I have to admit, picking a place not directly connected to any of us would be wise. I want to be careful about name dropping, too, though. If it's a name not in their minds already we'd be giving more information away. "Anyway," Bright adds, "if you think the Chateau is a good choice, then let's come up with something. Maybe...something mundane but valuable, like someone looking for the words of foreign merchants in their cups at the Arena. Bound to be no shortage of those. If we want to add a 'Pssst, that huge Mountain guy is really an Exigent' to tantalize, I think that would be all right. People have to already suspect you."