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Serene Herald	The Serene Herald...isn't at the moment. But a problem shared is a problem halved, and so the appropriate thing is to ruin someone /else's/ day as well. As such, he invited Alani to join him at his lodgings. A decent set of lodgings, well-lit, and with a number of maps, star-charts, books, and more all throughout. And a very alert pattern spider hanging in front of the door to discourage others from coming in uninvited.
Nine Roads Alani	There are times when it's mighty convenient to have your horse/austrech/chariot/unicycle simply come into the house with you. For one thing, it makes it a good deal more difficult for others to tell you're there. For another, that whole 'taking care of animals' thing can be put off for later, which is something Alani can certainly get behind. She's grinning a bit underneath her hood as she sets Oadenol's Wheel down against the wall just inside the door to Serene Herald's place. She looks around curiously as she reaches up and pulls her hood back, letting her long, poofy blonde hair spill out. "Well," she says, looking around. "You look ready to chart the course of civilization. Not bad, not bad at all. I admit, my place is a bit less organized." She chuckles. "And a bit more 'hit by a tornado', but don't tell my sifu that part. Thanks for inviting me here."
Serene Herald	Serene Herald looks up and smiles. "Thank you for coming. As far as organization?" He looks around, "I might have piles that seem random, but I at least know where things are...if no-one shifted things." He has a slightly frantix expression, but gestures to a chair, "What would you like to drink? I guarantee you are going to want something, and best to have it on hand first." He ends up pouring a plum brandy for himself. "The short version, I have information on one of our subjects...and one that was not on any of our lists but is more surprising than anything I thought we would find."
Nine Roads Alani	Alani grins knowingly. "Well, at least it can't be -all- bad, since it starts with 'we have some information we were looking for', but when you put it that way, I do believe I'll have a drink. Some of that brandy'll do, actually. If there's one thing your department has over the Barque, it's taste in booze." She matches deeds to words, pouring herself a generous helping of brandy before sitting down opposite Herald. "Now, then. The more driblets you dole out, the more dire everything sounds." She grins widely, white teeth showing brightly against tanned skin. "That's -also- something the Bier does better, actually. So dish. Who'd you get to spill the beans?" She takes a sip, settling in to listen carefully.
Serene Herald	Serene Herald grins, "Well, the easy one is the Tepet. No, he is not dragon-blooded himself, but one of Luna's. He thought he was alone, and so practiced necromancy, and did enough to show his caste mark. The other one?" He pours another tumbler mostly full of the brandy to slide over to Alani. "The other one poses as a Wood-caste, but truly follows the Bishop of the Chaldecony Thurible. Or at least claims to. Perhaps she follows another of the Deathlords..." He swallows slightly, "So...I managed to bluff and she thinks I am a fellow deathnight and I gave a suitably cryptic moniker to Saturn so she thinks the Lady of Endings is a Deathlord as well."
Nine Roads Alani	Well, damn. Alani leans forward slowly, taking a long draught of liquor as she listens to the description of the Tepet. She slowly nods. "I think I know the one you mean, actually. Dark robes, just kind of sits there, always in range of the action but never quite in it? I -knew- something was off about him, but I could never figure out what. A Chosen of Luna...and a necromancer to boot. I wonder if he's on the side of that shadowland? "And...ah, hells." She takes a long, hard swallow of plum wine. "A -deathknight-. Maidens preserve us. I think Saturn must have been watching out for you, actually, because I can't imagine anyone besides someone from the Bier being able to bluff a deathknight like that. Sounds like a heck of a good job, actually, even if it ends up being short lived. Is it someone we saw? I don't remember seeing a Wood-caste, to be honest, but I saw a lot of people. What did she look like? What's her name?"
Serene Herald	"Higanbana is what she goes by here," and he goes on to describe her. "She is studious, a shrine priestess and a performer. There is a field a ways out from the city covered in red flowers that cover a battlefield of bones, and the shrine in the center--I would be willing to bet that it is a demesne, perhaps more." Herald takes another sip of the brandy, and shakes his head. "As for the Tepet...he is still loyal to his House, and worried about what his brother is doing in the Caul. He also claims a dragon-blooded mentor--probably water, though I cannot say for sure. As for the shadowlands?" He shrugs, "I do not know. He has trouble with another from their past lives. I really did not want to press for more information at the time, since he thinks I am simply mortal."
Nine Roads Alani	"Higanbana," Alani replies thoughtfully as she takes another, slower sip. "You know...that's interesting, because I -did- see someone that looks kind of like how you describe playing music in the stands during some of the fights. And you said she's a performer. Certainly, she was trying to draw as much attention to herself as she could for someone not actually involved in the matches. I don't know anything about this field, but I'd say it's well worth seeing if we can get it watched. From a distance, perhaps." "As for this Tepet fellow, what did he do, dictate his autobiography to you? You said he did necromancy while he thought he was alone, but it sounds like you had a heck of a talk with him, too." She pauses, refilling her drink as she looks Herald in the eye. "You know...I am no Chosen of Serenity, but even I can see that a Lunar who's still loyal to his house might have some trouble with other Lunars. And someone from his past life as well? Sounds like a man with problems. Maybe someone who'd be willing to talk if we could get him solutions." She chuckles again. "Sounds like he's willing to talk anyway, actually."
Serene Herald	"She was indeed playing at the tournament--that is where I first met her, and we had an interesting converstaion," Herald says, finally relaxing more. "So I think we are talking about the same person. And I am sure we could. Or, since she thinks I am another Deathknight, perhaps approach openly to hire people to watch the area--guards and guides for any who wish to visit the shrine. I am still not sure if she /wishes/ people to visit there or not. As for the Tepet?" Herald leans back in his chair, "He knows I am an astrologer, and wants a horoscope cast. I asked for a bit of information, but he is....remarkably forward with things. He is perhaps simply one of the most careless, open people I have ever met...or perhaps this is why Luna chose him. In order to force change, chaos, and turmoil."
Nine Roads Alani	"Hum," Alani says, still visibly thinking. Finally, she blows a stray hair out of her eyes and takes another swig of wine. "I don't know...I get this feeling like I don't want to overplay our hand with the deathknight. I don't know about you, but at this point, I think one of the most valuable things we can learn about her is who goes to visit her little hideaway, you know? Even if she goes ahead with letting you help protect her, she's sure to think more about who stops by. And she'll do that even if she says no, so I think we stand to lose more than we gain there. I wonder how good she is with seeing the hidden, or the occult? That might say whether it's worth having her watched. "As for the Tepet," she says, mimicking Herald deftly. "Well, then. Frankly, he's starting to sound downright dangerous to tell too much to. If he's willing to share all this with you, who else is he talking to? Whatever else happens, he can't learn we're anything other than mortal or the whole East will know in a fortnight. But still, if he wants a horoscope? I say we should give him one. A well-crafted one, maybe, that leads him to talk about other Exalted he knows? Or leads him to them, with one of us following? I think he could be really useful if we're careful."
Serene Herald	"Well, he wants one for his brother--with the Tepet Legions in the Caul. So I will give him one. It'll be the truth, too--since it will be good for us to find out what is happening, and let our superiors know. Just in case. Now if he wants one of *himself* well, that I can whisper to the stars." There's a faint smile now, "And yes, probably best to just have discreet watchers. Nothing open or affiliated with us. Hell, it might be easier--no. If someone else is watching, and we try to buy information from the watchers, then whomever's running the watchers know we're interested. Best to build up our own spy network through cutouts," Herald muses. "So...we need to work to get a spy network to watch the shrine in the red-flowered field. I need to get the horoscope cast about the Tepet's brother. I think he is looking for information to base action on, and he will have allies or contacts we can find if he goes to them to talk of what I tell him. And perhaps I can cast one for him to see if I can get him to talk to some of us. Especially if there are problems that we--or who we are pretending to be--could plausibly solve."
Nine Roads Alani	"Honestly, I think both of those are our best shots," Alani replies, taking a smaller sip and swirling her glass, looking down at the patterns of wine in her cup. "I'm not your boss or anything, but I can't think of a better course for either one at the moment. What's nice about the horoscope for his brother is we -can- be honest and set yourself up as a useful source, you know? Hopefully without raising his suspicion. That'll tell us a lot about his Realm connections, too. The upside to him talking to everyone is he clearly knows people, and if he knows them we can learn about them. I'm not sure about what they're doing in the Caul, but maybe it'd be worth finding out." "So," she continues, "what exactly do you need from me? I'm kind of shite at tiptoeing around, to be honest, but I've a pretty sharp eye and I've slipped past a lock or two. Should fix that, to be honest, but I've been too busy working with my sifu in other ways lately." She grins. "So I'm happy to help, but I'm not sure there's something that fits my skills perfectly just yet."
Serene Herald	Serene Herald shakes his head. "Basically, you got the message we were working together, so my first duty is to tell you, and you can get to the rest, what we now know about these people. And if anyone has any ideas, I'm glad to hear them. That, and share a glass of good brandy before I have to pretend to be a deathknight again," he says with a laugh. "Honestly? Now that someone else knows, I am much happier. And we really should get a message system together. Whether written or spoken, couriers or dead drops...we need to figure out /some/ way of maintaining communication and messages in a timely manner. And that surely falls under the jurisdictions of Journeys."
Nine Roads Alani	Alani chuckles in reply, draining the last dregs of her cup. "Now that's something I can definitely do. I'm sure I know a courier somewhere around here..." She laughs. "Speaking of which, someday I should break down and learn a bit of sorcery myself. I know there's a spell that can send messages. I forget the name, though. I'll share what I know with the rest when I see them next, though. That works." Alani shrugs. "A deathknight resplendent destiny would be rather dangerous, but I'm pretty sure the Bier is already involved pretty heavily in studying them. Your superiors might have some good insight on how to convince this Higanbana."
Serene Herald	"All right. Thank you for coming. And next time, well...we can start sending messages if we can, and save face to face for where security is not otherwise guaranteed." Herald closes his eyes and takes a long, deep breath and slowly releases it. "I feel so much better now. We can do this. Now...is there anything I need to know from your side? Anything I can help with?"
Nine Roads Alani	Alani stands up, smiling even as she shakes her head side to side. "Not at the moment, no. I already had a lot of information, but I shared it all the last time we spoke, and I haven't been fortunate to see much more since. This gives us another avenue, though, doesn't it? We have a number of people to watch, now, enough that I'm kind of wishing I had one of your little friends to keep an eye on them all. I think we're progressing nicely, though, don't you? We have a lot more to learn, but I think we're on our way." She walks over to the door and sets a hand on her Wheel. "Anyway. Thanks for the wine, and for a good reason to drink ourselves under the table." She laughs, pulling her hood over her head, then hoists the Wheel effortlessly over one shoulder. "Have a good night, Serene Herald."
Serene Herald	"Fare you well along all your travels, Nine Roads Alani." Herald smiles and stands, "And I hope we can keep fate from getting skewed too badly here. On the other hand, this is what keeps us in ambrosia! Be well."