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Silk Moon Lotus	The sun sits high in the sky today. It's bright rays beaming down upon the mansion. A cool breeze has been blowing in off the rivers keeping the area cool. The sitting room that Silk has turned into her planning room has the windows open to allow the fresh air blow in. Silk can be found in her planning room surrounded by several books and maps cover the table in front of her. A puzzle box sits on a smaller table behind her, a new find from a recent journey she took with some others. She is dressed down for her normal attire wearing a loose fitted yellow tunic and a pair of leather pants. She has on one of her favorite pairs of leather boots as well. She has juices and wine on a sideboard along with snacks for when she gets hungry. She appears to be deep in her thoughts. "Now, I can sail from Great Folks all the way to the ocean without stopping for supplies, I will need to stop at a port town to reprovision close to the sea. I'll need to be careful not to let people see the ship sailing itself."
Bright Journey	The front door can be heard opening and closing, the well-familiar sounds echoing down the central hallway. The pace of the footsteps outside the planning room are leisurely and casual, not the bustle of the housemaids, so it's not a huge surprise to see Bright appear. She walks completely past the doorway, then backs up a step or two when she sees what's going on inside. "Oh, dear, look at you! Looks like things are going along swimmingly," Bright says, as she twirls in place. Her daisy yellow sundress catches some air and flares out as she does so. "It is -such- a nice day out there. Pity you're cooped up in here, but knowing how I am with a book, I'm in the world's worst position to argue." She steps in, looking curiously over the maps, and then at the curious puzzle box. In a softer, somewhat more serious voice, she says, "So. How are things coming along? Anything I can do to help?"
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk looks up and smiles at her friend. "A break is probably what I should be taking at this point. We could go out on the patio and have some lunch maybe?" She sets down the pen she has been using and stands up. She stretches out for a few moments. "Yes, a break is in order." She walks over to the sideboard and pours a drink of juice for herself and a glass of wine for Bright. She sniffs the wine and smiles. "The good stuff today it would appear. I'm sure I told the staff at some point."
Bright Journey	Bright gleefully accepts a glass of wine and sips, then sniffs. Not the right order, but hey, you only live once! She beams at Silk. "Yep, this -is- the good stuff. I mean, we can't have it -every- day, but some things are worth digging into now that we might be gone for quite some time. I rather hope the mansion will be in fine shape when we return. "That said, lunch on the patio sounds absolutely lovely. I've had a bite earlier, but I think I could find room for a bit more." She chuckles and looks down at where Silk was writing. "Don't think I didn't catch you changing the subject, though. I do insist you tell me all about your preparations."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk smiles "Of course I'll tell you about the preparations. They are moving along very well now. The Journey should be ready to sail within a couple of weeks at most." She picks up the puzzle box and starts heading towards the patio. "I thought you were going to see was it. Riksi or the spider queen? Did something happen or have you already returned from the trip? You know you are welcome to come with me on the trip. The ship has more than enough space for both of us and a few others if they want to go. I know someone mentioned making for the Caul."
Bright Journey	As the pair of Solars walk towards the patio, Bright shakes her head slightly with a sad smile and a bit of a chuckle. "Ohhhh, dear. I for got you weren't there for that, but we had...drama. Significant drama. We need to find Fudou and speak with him about that damn merchant, to be honest, because we had a significant falling out with Tiziri, enough that she is not going to be interested in guiding us to Raksi anymore." She sighs again, but is still smiling and shaking her head. "She got bloodthirsty, to put a point on it. Fudou and I would accept killing the merchant and priest if we can't deceive them, but she wanted to do that without trying to fool them, -and- go upriver to where that boat was headed and kill their boss and everyone else there too. Fudou and I pointed out the obvious--if you want to keep the Wyld Hunt from your front door, why would you give them a -reason- to want to come after you--but she got angry and upset when we didn't immediately agree with her. More so than the situation warranted, to be honest. I'm still not sure why she reacted the way she did, but she wants to go too far. I haven't seen her since." I...hmm. Perhaps you should tell me of the Caul. In all honesty, I don't recall hearing more than a passing mention of it. From Fudou, maybe?"
Silk Moon Lotus	"Oh wow, I saw her right after the boat incident and helped with getting into the lock box. That was a work of art. It was made from fire elemental enhanced steel." Silk frowns at the mention of Tiziri's desire. "That's a dark place to go. I'm glad you told her no. Is anyone keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn't pass out some lunar vengance anyways?" "Oh, that reminds me, when Misa, Perfect Question, and Alani when into the shadowland we found an old foundry manse. During the Usurpation, it was turned into a tomb for a pair of solars and it seems a sidereal. One of the solars could have been me. She was a night caste and fought like me. We put down the ghosts. It wasn't easy. I did find out some more about sidereals." "It appears when they exalt, everyone they know forgets about them which is sad. I think something when wrong during the Usurpation that causes everone to forget them. Maybe a death curse from the most powerful of the Solars against them? Anyways, Alani did some crazy sidereal attacks against one of the ghosts after she got beat up a bit." "Anyways, the Caul, It's this island in the east that is being fought over by the lunars and the Realm. They both claim it as a holy site. I think the Black Lion is the lunar in charge over there."
Bright Journey	Bright simply nods as she and Silk arrive at the patio. Bright brushes down her dress and has a seat in her usual spot, setting down the wine glass and thinking a moment. "Mmm...I think Fudou might be. I haven't seen much of him lately either, to be honest. But you know how they are; if I want to track them it's more about getting them to open up to me than actually following them. With their changing shape, that's an exercise in futility." She grins at Silk and takes a sip. "Besides, if it were -really- critical that we meet, I can always call on that little trick I learned from your ladybug friend. That's why we went to the trouble!" Bright gives Silk a thoughtful look. "Alani. Hmm. I think I vaguely recall the name, from you I believe, but I'm certain we haven't met yet. But a real Sidereal! I mean, I know they go out of their way to not be spotted, but seeing one actually do their martial arts stuff would have been amazing, I'm sure. The books I've read on the subject all talk that up." She gets a wry look. "But if everyone she knows forgot her...maybe it's not -all- willing. I don't know. I'm sure they take advantage of it, though." "If this Caul has a Lunar leader there, and some Lunar is actually willing to go introduce us, perhaps that would work better than Raksi. This Black Lion might not be the sorceress Raksi is, but a lot of our meeting her was dependent on Tiziri, which is...hrm. I'd rather not put myself in that position, you know?"
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk sits in here chair next to Bright. "That's good, if anyone can keep Tiziri out of trouble, it's Fodou. Tiziri's battle form is impressive. Some kind of lizard crossed with something that can fly I think." Silk pulls the puzzle box back out. "I found this in there as well as those dire talons I have in the basement. This was in the sidereal tomb. It can turn into a ship and sail itself. I found a little bit about it in the library. It may be able to do other things. I'm not sure. I have this feeling everytime I pick it up that all I have to do is some thing and it will reveil more secrets." From what's I've heard, the Black Lion doesn't like the dragons in general and the Realm specifically. Makari was talking about wanting to travel that way I believe. We should ask them the next time we see him."
Bright Journey	Bright finishes her wine as she looks at the puzzle box curiously. "Hum. How fascinating! From what I've read, it -does- seem like the kind of thing they would like to lock their secrets behind. Is it all right if I try to solve it? Don't worry, I won't try to take it from you." She grins. "Anyway, I don't actually know if Fudou's keeping an eye on her or not, I just rather hope he is. Regardless, it's out of my hands. Tracking is, I admit, not my strong suit. Maybe he'll be the one to ask about the Black Lion," she muses. "Hm. Or Makara. Makara will let more slip but I don't want to be in his debt, frankly. The necromancy he does concerns me, especially with everything we've seen and heard about with the Field of Raitons. Might have to talk to both." It's at this point several of the house servants stop by with tea, wine and sandwiches. As always, they're genteel and polite, and Bright is careful to express her gratitude.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods to the staff as they go about their tasks. Silk gestures for Bright to pick up the puzzle box. "You are welcome to give it a try if you are so inclined. It does require you to solve do anything with it" As the servants leave Silk nods her head. "That makes sense, Makara doesn't know how to keep their own secret let alone our's. If you can get Fudou coming with us, that would be helpful."
Bright Journey	With Silk's invitation, Bright picks up the puzzle box and turns it this way and that, not trying to change anything at first but simply studying it. Her curiosity piqued, she quickly takes another sip of her refilled wine glass and sits back in her chair, settling in to work on the device. As she does so, she continues to talk, albeit a bit distracted. "Hum. Mmm, yes, you're right. I forgot about that aspect of it. I'm certain I don't want Makara--or anyone else, for that matter--letting slip where I might be headed. I'm sure there will be enough danger on the way as it is, and if the Caul is an actual battleground, I expect I will have to earn their trust in battle." She grins, peering at Silk from just over the top of the puzzle box. "I think I can accommodate that. I'm honestly -more- useful when I have allies than when I'm alone in any event, let alone an army in front of me."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk smiles broadly. "I'm sure that puzzle box will keep you engaged for at least a few minutes." "I'm glad to give someone a ride to the Caul, I'm not sure that the Caul is my final destination. I think where I want to go is more South West due to the plant life but a fire mountain could change the seasons on an island. Getting closer is needed."
Bright Journey	Bright is hesitant at first with the first move or three, seeing how each part shifts and finding new, hidden moving parts now and then. Soon, however, she's shifting through the configurations with rapid confidence. "Mmm, I can see why the Sidereals might like this kind of thing. It's quite ingenious, and I admit I'm having quite the bit of fun!" Her smile turns knowing, and just a bit smug. "But I see the underlying logic now. I see how this -has- to go..." And sure enough, her victory was not in doubt from the halfway point on. She clearly has figured out what to do, it just takes another five or ten minutes of work to actually progress. Soon, though, she opens the box up and looks inside. "Hmm. Rarely is travel peaceful, but the Journey..." She breaks off immediately as her words start to garner a reaction from the puzzle box. "Whoops! I told you I wasn't going to do anything with it, and I rather think that would have broken my promise. Here, you should take it back." She sets the puzzle box on the table. "As for the Caul...yes. If you're headed roughly that way, I think that might work out extremely well! I do want to have at least one Lunar with me, for introductions, and Fudou might be the wisest choice. Rishi might work too, but I know her heart's into other things right now."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk smiles at Bright and nods. "Thanks, it's made with Starmetal I think so I'm hopeful that it will bring us luck on the trip. I'm not worried about you breaking my bond with it. I'd just steal it back." Her smile turns mischievious. "So we should see if Fudou will want to come with, I don't think that we can ask Rishi to come with us as she has many obligations already. Since the ship can sail itself, we can travel with as few or an many as we want."
Bright Journey	Bright grins and takes another healthy swig of wine, then starts to investigate the sandwiches. "That sounds like a plan. And if that thing turns into a ship, that's amazing. Not sure how you intend to go southwest on a -ship-, but still, if it sails itself, that's pretty much exactly what you were looking for! I mean, there's serendipity and there's whatever happens when you run into...what, your own tomb? Mind you, I've done that! A long, long time ago. But the luck with fionding what you need when you need it in a place you didn't expect tto find your past self...it's all quite beyond mere coincidence at this point, I should think. Quite extraordinary!" "Anyway. Fudou for sure. And I'll ask him if there's anyone else who should come. Makara possibly, just from his wanting to go there, perhaps. And if he's looking for a place to ply his dark trade, I suspect he could do some good there." She grins. "And since I have to talk to Fudou anyway concerning that merchant--it's high time we finished this for good--I am hoping we can still prevail on you to deceive the priest, the merchant, or both. That will settle things. I'll work things out with Fudou and we can get it over and done with, then leave without leaving loose ends."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk picks up a sandwich from the tray and take a bite. "I will miss having someone cook for me while we travel. I'm not a bad cook mind you, I just like it better when someone else does it for me. I'll have the servants stay on while we are gone as I don't want to lose them. They can take care of the place an such." Silk nods her head. "I do love a good game of trick the Immaculate. Let me know when you need me."
Bright Journey	Bright smiles warmly and has a bite as well. "I'll be sure to. Thanks for letting us lean on your skills. I'm sure I could convince each one to back down, but you never know, maybe they'll go the other way again eventually. With us actually deceiving them, I'm hoping they will have more of a reason to never look. It'd be nice, at any rate. Maybe the best way is to double team each one." She grins. "Then again, I think that was generally the plan anyway. A better use of our talents than simply stabbing them, if we can manage it."