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Tiziri	The safehouse was an abandoned farmyard. It was carefully chosen by Tiziri to be close enough to the ambush sight for her to keep her clones at, and still teleport to. She really did put some effort into this heist! Seems she might have even enjoyed it... Of course equally important is she knew after teleporting she would need to sleep, and indeed she is doing that just now. Of course the helpful element is there's a group of six spearwomen in all encompassing robes, each with a different spear, guarding the place. Four outside on patrol, two more inside. Meanwhile, Tiziri proper, the real one, is curled up on a bedroll inside, near the fire. The box with her.
Silk Moon Lotus	The message from Tiziri told Silk she needed help opening a lock box. It also included the location. After traveling to the docks, Silk summoned her personal tornado and headed towards the location. A mile out, she ended the spell to protect the site. Her stealthy approach brought her into sight of the farmhouse. Silk casually approaches the farmhouse and the guard detail outside. She is wearing a dark blue cloak over her clothes, her leather boots sticking out from underneath. She stops about 50 feet away from the building. "Greetings, I come seeking my friend Tiziri. Let me pass." A hint of steel in her voice carries her statement as less of a request and more a command.
Fudou the Mountain	What a job well done! In truth, Makara and Tiziri were the stars of this show...Fudou was simply glad that everything went as well as it did for what little part he played. He would have liked to ahve avoided mortal deaths but sadly such is the nature of the Age of Sorrows...and there's no point in dwelling on that now. instead, his loud voice rumbles loudly through the sleeping area Tiziri had prepared for herself. A heavy loud booming "Well done!" that echoes and shakes the room as he pushes the doors open and seeks entry... only to see the sleeping form of the other lunar. "Ah, whoops. Well I suppose it's understandable.." Granted considering he just boomed like an earthquake deciding to speak it's probably too late for her to continue any sort of gentle rest. Silk's voice reaches him and he turns and looks over his shoulder towards the perimeter where the other Tiziri's stand guard and he waves a masive arm in her direction. "Over here!"
Tepet Makara	Makara still in his beastly shape flies towards the farmhouse in order to see the contents of the box. As he is no master lockpicker however, he wonders who will do the job in opening it. He hopes there are no elaborate traps within the box that can endanger them. "Hmm she has guards? They don't seem to be demons or ghosts binded to guard. Probably something I don't know yet" He mutters to himself as he goes inside.
Tiziri	The guards seem to know who can come by. They do look at Silk of course, but somehow... it doesn't seem like it's the command that does anything to make them let by. Then the arrival of Fudou, well, an even more recognizeable one. Though the eyes of the two guards in the house obviously narrow at the booming voice, even as the sleeping form stretches out and yawns blearily. "Ow... are you sure you're not some sort of Rooster totem?" Comes the quip, pretty morning voiced all the same, bleary as can be! The guards step to the side and out to extend the perimeter.
Silk Moon Lotus	At hearing Fudou calling her name she gestures to the guards. "See, I am expected." She walks past the guards and into the farmhouse. "I'm here my friends. Is there a reason we are out here instead of meeting in a nice tavern with a drink or two?"
Fudou the Mountain	"Yes, I'm afraid." answers Fudou to Silk although he does give Tiziri a lopsided smirk. He then turns as Makara makes his presence known, still in his towering warform. "That, for one." he says, indicating Makara as he looks back to Silk. "In fact, I'm not even sure you've met Makara, have you? He is one of us. We've just conducted a bit of piracy courtesy of some planning by Tiziri and with some additions to her plans and aid by yours truly and Makara with his great skills of necromacny. I believe there is a box we need to open and it's not the sort of box one wants to open in a tavern." He turns and begins to more fully enter the building now, approaching Tiziri.
Tiziri	Tiziri is laying there and stretching out yet. She must feel oddly safe or something, or she's just really tired. "You have any idea how exhausting that last spell is? Fuuuuck." She yawns again, the bone deep weariness there. "At least it worked. Buy you have to plan for it." Another yawn follows. She ends up sitting up then and picking up the box to hold it out. "Shame I couldn't get more, but there was too many complications. Made sure this worked though, might've worked better to just overwhelm the damned boat. I could've done it. But a lot more deaths, even if they are the enemy."
Tepet Makara	"I remember I meet Silk before." He ponders but turns towards the box as he wonders how it will be opened. "Thankfully I focused my essence in disguising myself as another undead that came out of some shadowland. So those sailors are fooled into thinking it's some ghost, not a silver anathema" He grins regarding his deed with his reptilian teeth that may be dripping with venom.
Nine Roads Alani	The hardened metal box Tiziri is holding onto is a work of artistry and craftsmanship, a safe of sorts that's surely quite heavy. It's made of a darker, more lustrous metal tthan mere steel with an iridescent sheen almost like darkened hematite, about a foot square or a bit larger. The manufactturing process must be an interesting one indeed, and in addition to the material, the craftsmanship is stout, solid, and judging from the weight, quite sturdy. It's designed to be mounted somewhere, presumably on a wall or in a closet, with pillars carved in relief along each vertical outside corner and decorative finials top and bottom. The top and bottom are elaborate roundel designs, and the door presents a griffon guarding the contents. If there is a lock, keyhole, or hinges, they are not immediately apparent. The face with the griffon, though, is definitely the one facing outward, before the box was torn from the wall.
Silk Moon Lotus	"Necromancy? well, I guess if it gets the job done." She glances over at Makara. "Yes, we've met a few times. Nice for you that you got to cut loose a bit." She follows Fuduo into the building. Silk looks at the box in Tiziri's hands. Silk whistles in appreciation "Now that is a work of art. I take it this is what you want me to crack open? Was it in the ship's hold? It doesn't look like its got much. What is that thing made of anyways? It's not a magical material."
Tiziri	"This is the important part though." Tiziri says, still seeming very tired. "It's the one the guard was trying to take before burning the rest, so whatever is in it? Should be the value. It's the one I saw them put the documents in too, so that matters too." After all, she was a fly, on the wall, watching it in the secret room before she ended up following and all. "The rest of the lockers were just, normal chests. Ugh, I should've done something different, but I didn't have time." Then she takes a deep breath and says "It's not quite magical materials, but it's impressive all the same, sooo..."
Fudou the Mountain	"Considering the chaos of the situation you did what you could. There was much to contend with and we needed to make sure it all looked legitiamte." advises Fudou with a glance to Tiziri. "Time wasn't on our side. Now then. Shall we open it?" His fingers flex abit as he lifts a massive arm up, "I could always crack it open, yes? But...I suspect that a box as valuable as that is trapped. We can't have it exploding or burning the contents up, now can we?"
Tepet Makara	"Whatever it is, it's certainly not made by mortal hands besides it not being composed of magical materials. Possibly elemental lords were the forgers. I wonder why they need a chest of this quality, there may be something else there besides documents" He says with suspicion on who made the chest. "I suggest we open it in a more delicate manner"
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk gestures for Tiziri to set the safe down with it oriented like it was in the wall. She pulls out a well used leather case and gently opens the it. Within is an impressive array of picks, probes, wires, small mirrors along with a small horn and some other unusual items. Silk gently runs her hands over the safe feeling each line of the design. with her eyes cloesed, she reaches over to the tools and picks up a probe. She tests several spots on it before returning the probe. She grabs the horn and presses it against the top, placing her ear against the tip listening to the safe. "Tell me your secrets my sweet." Silk picks up a one of the picks and gently starts testing the safe. She sets it down after a few moments then starts touching the griffon with her finger tips slowly manipulating it. After a couple of minutes of touching the face, her fingers glow with the light of sunset and safe clicks with the door opening ever so slightly.
Tiziri	"Counterpoint." Tiziri says to Fudou. "If it is that valuable, more important to trap and destroy the stuff than let it fall into the wrong hands. Ergo, caution is probably important." She finishes handing off the box and lays back. "OK, using this spell to do other things is going to be a very real pain. I might need to rethink some plans." She sounds more annoyed than anything. She mostly just seems willing to let Silk do what Silk will do too, as she's half dozing now.
Nine Roads Alani	The griffin device in the center is an interesting one. It's unusual enough that it catches the eye, certainly, and artistically speaking it's obviously a threat to stay away. It's standing sidelong but with the head turned, facing the viewer from the front, and it's certainly threatening-looking. To Silk, though, the entire artistic design is, figuratively, an illusion--a massive con, the sleight-of-hand artist misdirecting with the obvious to conceal the well-hidden truth. Cleverly concealed beneath one carved wing, concealed by the shadow, is a tiny keyhole. She has no doubt that someone with the key would need this to get inside, and yet...something is still off. Misdirection, the art of thieves, con artists...and spies. The keyhole is just the beginning, of that Silk is certain. The true unlocking mechanism is detailed, elaborate, and above all clever. And then Silk's precise, trained eye sees the tiny, hidden latch under the front of the top roundel, the masterfully concealed lever comprising the left bottom front finial, one that would be impossible to notice if the safe sat on those finials on a table. This is no mere lockbox, it's a -puzzle box- masquerading as one. Sometimes one must figure out what game they're playing before they can work out the rules, and so it is with this. Working the hidden mechanisms, Silk pushes the lower level just the right way, giving rise to the softest, almost inaudible click. Suddenly, realization hits! Someone has to hold that lever in -precisely- that orientation while Silk picks the lock, there's less than thirty seconds to do it, and failure will sett off some sort of trap! The party will have to act fast!
Fudou the Mountain	With fingers as thick as some tree branches the delicate work of holding a tiny lever in place would seem not ideal for one such as Fudou. Then again, lunars performing impossible dexterous tasks is certainly within their wheelhouse. Except when it isn't. Fudou reaches for the box to try and fumble with the lever in question to press and hold it down but he might end up knocking the whole thing over in the process unless someone else steps in with more elegant hands!
Tiziri	Tiziri was laying there seeming quite lazy. But as Fudou seems to fumble a little bit, she suddenly seems to sit up with an odd amount of grace! An intensity coming to her body as she does, a hand suddenly raising towards that lever with a languid sort of grace even as she starts to look a little more intense. It's... oddly weird how it goes, she almost looks drunk or something, trying very hard, but not..
Tepet Makara	Seeing as failing to hold the lever could have disastrous consequences, Makara decides to join by tightening his grip in the lever like an titanic iceberg unmoved by the waves of the Northwest. Who knows what will happen if they fail? A trap that could lead to their demise, a failsafe that will destroy the contents inside or both? He does not sweat for he is in his reptilian shape, but the tension of this situation is unnerving in his mind The Lunar grits his teeth as he lends his unyielding prowess in keeping the lever still like an unmoving pillar holding the Heavens.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk gestures and says "Hold this exactly as I am or the trap goes off. I have to work quickly. Clever bastards" As Makara grabs the lever from her she grabs her tools and goes to work on the lock. Her hands move with a grace that only an exalt can achieve. She works rapidly to defeat the lock.
Nine Roads Alani	Instead of worrying about letting the exhausted Tiziri hold the rather solid box, Makara simply takes the box from her, holding it rock-steady for Silk. One of his pinkies is pressing down on the lever in the precise position Silk held for him. It's dead easy to hold the lever, sure. It's dead -hard- to hold it in exactly the correct position for an extended length of time, especially as Silk was the only one to have heard the click that indicated it was in the right position. But as soon as Silk's delicate, precise work on the lock begins, she knows how important it is that someone hold that lever correctly. It appears that a legitimate user of the box would have to hold the lever correctly while using the key--if not, the mechanism's pins would not fall correctly and the key would simply fail. But trying to pick the lock without the key invites disaster--a trap that, from all appearances, is entirely intternal to the mechanism. No poison darts for the thief, perhaps, but something bad would happen all the same. Having the lever mechanism out of the way allows Silk to use her superior skills on the -other- mechanisms inside the lock, which aren't even accessible otherwise. It's with expert, consummate skill that Silk is able to defeat the several hidden mechanisms inside. At times she has to press down on one or another hidden control elsewhere on the box while she's picking it, other times she has to -not- press one, but the effect is tthe same: Trying to do all of it at once is the work of three or four hands. Finally, though, the last pin slips into place, the tumbler turns over, and there's a satisfying 'click!' from the hidden hinge within the front door. The door slowly swings open...
Fudou the Mountain	"Well..." Fudou didn't realize he'd been holding his breath this whole time. "...At least I didn't have to try ripping it apart...." He rubs his fingers together and then nods towards silk and Makara. "Well done!" His attention then turns towards the box, "Now then. Let's have a look see...."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk wipes the drops of sweat from her brow and looks to Makara. "Thanks for the assist." She gestures to Tiziri, "After you."
Tiziri	Tiziri is still just laying there, but hearing the words apparently towards her... takes a moment to process, probably to realize it was her instead of anyone else. But then she takes a dramatically deep breath before slowly sitting up with her eyes still half lidded. "I should've asked someone to come help with this. My fault." She rues, almost like she is talking to herself, it has a very real introspective edge to it. Then she looks towards the box at least before she finally leands forward to reach into it.
Tepet Makara	Makara gives a big sigh of relief and his despair dissipating once the careful opening of the box was a success. He feels stressed out by the endeavor. "Sextes Fucking Jylis, that was more distressing that dealing with the ship's crew!" He then gives a tired chuckle now that was finally over. He then observes the insides of the box with anticipation.
Nine Roads Alani	Inside the nearly full box is a myriad of rather interesting items. First and far away the most obvious is a pale peach-colored crystal, cut in a regular faceted spindle shape and set in a base of silver-like metal not unlike a candle holder. Grooves are cut throughout the silver material, and almost everyone here has seen an object -exactly- like this. An object that's currently secure in Elderloch, a crystal that can hear and transmit sound to another similar device. Perhaps this is the twin? In addition to that is a thick, folded sheaf of papers. Densely packed with neatly written words in at least a dozen different peoples' handwriting styles, these papers are packed with transcribed information. It will take some time to go through it all, but surely there's something valuable here. Lastly, the interior of the box tells the story regarding the trap. Inside each of the six interior walls is an occult mandala in an angry red jade inlay. Red jade runes of fire and heat grace each one, and no one here has any doubt that the power of the elemental forge that made this is more than sufficient to completely incinerate the contents had the trap been triggered.
Tiziri	As soon as Tiziri sees what is here, she suddenly holds up her hand in shock in the 'hush' gesture. Even as this happens one of the guards is rushing in almost like she knew and Tiziri hands off the crystal to her. Only once that guard has rushed back out does Tiziri speak. "OK, now that, is exactly what we were worried about." She is starting to look through the documents then too, blinking and yawning still more. "Mmm, I need a good night sleep." She closes her eyes a moment and blinks a afterwards. "I'm not going to process this quick."
Fudou the Mountain	Once the crystal is out, Fudou nods his head and mutters, "Is it paired with the one we already have or is that another one? Strange it'd be in this box if they know that the original is missing. that suggests it might be part of another one, to me, and that they were looking to make a connection with whoever has the other half. I'm just speculating...." He takes another deep breath though and rumbles, "At last we have this damn box though. IT should ..if not put us at ease...at least give us a direction to move in but I will not lie and say that regardless of what we find out..I may have tired of all of this subterfuge one way or another..."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head. "So papers and a speaking stone thingie. That's not what I was hoping for. I guess we take what we got. If none of you want that safe, I have a use for it in my manse."
Tepet Makara	"I'll help read the papers if some of you are interested" Makara says once he looks at the stack of paper but is unfamiliar with the crystal. "Besides reading the contents of those papers, what should be the next course of our plan in dealing with the Consortium?"
Tiziri	"If someone gets the other stone, I'll test it. Well, speak to it, and see if you hear it a few houses away." Tiziri says languidly, even as she just lays there happily now, seemingly relieved things finally worked out with the box. "I wanna know what it says, but I'm going to need a bit. I'll figure it out, but, yea, just a bit." The last bit said amidsts a yawn that makes it even harder to understand.
Fudou the Mountain	"It is what we were hoping for. The papers at least." answers Fudou to Silk. "This entire endeavour was to determine what they know about the celestials in the city and how they know...perhaps who the information was going to." He nods his head to Tiziri, "I will leave that to you all." And with that the giant lunar turns and starts heavily treading for the exit of the barn. "You know how to find me!" Do they though? Probably. He doesn't wait for any answer as he's already taken wing as a great hawk and has quickly ascended into the sky.
Nine Roads Alani	There's not enough time to go through every single document, but it's only the work of a half hour or less to glance through and sort them. The vast majority contain downright fascinating secrets of one type or another--not necessarily the juiciest (although some are!) but always the most valuable and informative. These are the rare gems they must have intercepted during some portion of the tournament, the information that could absolutely be turned to a profit. Anything from secret trade deals to blackmail material to sordid affairs, the papers could be a resource for the clever for some time. There does not seem to be any record of the conversation about the visit to Raksi, however, which was what triggered this entire scramble to begin with. Instead, however, an incredibly informative letter was tucked into the sheaf of parchments, bearing a wax seal with the letter R. It reads, in part: "Dear Master Winding Path, I hope this letter finds you well. I apologize for being scarce these past few months, when the Congregation is at its busiest, but I know you will appreciate the necessity when I explain. First, permit me to apologize for the need to silence young Simon Tethry. He was a promising young apprentice, and I never bore him ill will, but when he intercepted a damning conversation between Anathema using the Resonating Crystals, he immediately said he would alert the Great Forks guard. I'm sure you see the threat that would pose to not just our duty to the Realm, but our operation as a whole. I swear upon the mercy of Sextes Jylis that I was painless and quick. The conversation I spoke of belongs in, and shall go to our repository, but I'm sure you agree that we are bound by duty and honor to report it to the Immaculate Order. I've finally gotten a high-ranking priest to agree to meet with me at the next new moon, in a clearing south of the city, just out of sight of the Arena. I believe you have been told of the place. I intend to pass on our information and swear to them that we will forget it forever after. Of course, they will have just a copy of the transcript and the sketches our Hawks made of the participants. We have their names, including "Bright", "Tiziri", "Raul", and this "Raksi", apparently an Anathema of influence. We're not entirely sure what name is attached to what sketch yet, but we'll find out when we safely can. Regardless, please find enclosed the second Resonance Crystal. The first one went missing, so please keep it sealed, but we dare not let it our of our sight at this point. We think the other one is too far away or sorcerously contained. Once I pass the information on I shall safely return to you and provide a complete report. Please await my return. Sincerely yours, Harlan Rathtalon, Nine Sheaves Master Merchant
Tiziri	Tiziri is starting to seem more chipper as the time goes on, and even brews some tea to help herself. By the end of reading that specific letter she looks more than a bit unhappy. Her brow is furrowed as she says. "We are setting a trap, and then we're going hunting. Possibly both at once." She sounds firm. "No more soft. None at all. I do not care about casualties now. This needs to stop." She is practically fuming now. "There will be blood. Our secret will be kept!"