246. Commander Oberuth and Balmuria's Independance

[Corwin]

[00:03] <Kotono> -------
03[00:03] * Euphie is now known as Seira
03[00:03] * ChanServ sets mode: +o Seira
[00:04] <Kotono> Thus Alicia and Seira head to the garrison. They meet with Commander Oberuth in his private office. A bottle of strong whiskey is out, "Have some if you like," he offers, "This meeting is informal. Nothing I'm saying here is going to be on the record as the Commander of Balmuria."
01[00:05] <Seira> "In that case, don't mind if I do," Seira says perkily, helping herself to the whiskey.
[00:05] <Alicia> To be polite, Alicia pours herself a measure and takes a sip, but mostly nurses it since she's in no hurry to have more.
[00:14] <Kotono> Oberuth takes a shot and sips it as well, putting it down. "I remember before the Crimson Guard was formed. We needed an elite force, our own heroes. Ones grown ourselves, indepenedant of the war. So we did it, we did what needed to be done. We've kept on doing that since then."
06[00:15] * Alicia nods slowly, not interrupting. She wasn't there, after all, so has nothing useful to interject.
01[00:15] <Seira> "The growth of the new class's graduates is quite fast," Seira agrees. "Their competence is not to be cast into doubt."
[00:16] <Kotono> "From goblins to trolls...to Malmuth...to creatures beyond reality." He takes his glass and finishes it. "They're a testament to our city and those who have worked to develop them. Cheers to that." Raising his empty shot glass, "But I think it's time we do what need sto be done again."
01[00:17] <Seira> "And what is it that needs to be done?" Seira inquires, almost tagging on 'Sir' to the question.
[00:18] <Kotono> "We have power." Commander Oberuth makes a fist, gazing at it. "We have the power to protect not just Balmuria, but far more. We must embrace this and change ourselves accordingly."
[00:20] <Alicia> "Change ourselves how?" Alicia asks, wondering what specifics he has in mind.
01[00:20] <Seira> "I agree, on a personal level," Seira responds to that. "My overtures towards Kesse and its neighbors should make that clear to anyone. But were you thinking of something else?"
[00:23] <Kotono> "The Crimson Guard isn't a mere guard force, patrolling a hostile border. Not anymore. We challenge threats to ourselves andothers across the known world and beyond it. Fate, the Gods, random chance...maybe all of them...have given us this power. We have to use it to our fullest advantage now. Before the dead walk Balmuria once more, or that devils come to blight all our souls."
01[00:24] <Seira> "There are arcane ways of preventing that," Seira muses, "but they're still somewhat far from our grasp. Other than that and training as many capable defenders in the meantime as we can, taking the fight to the enemy is all we can do, really."
[00:25] <Kotono> "It's also a matter of organization and recruitment, as well as our role. Also, how many owe the Crimson Guard favors now? It may be time to call in those favors." Now Commander Oberuth lowers his hand, "A complete reorganization from top to bottom."
[00:26] <Alicia> That sounds nice in theory, but Alicia can't see how they could possibly have stopped the Dark Six from launching their initial attack. Still, he seems to have clearly put a lot of thought into this, so Alicia simply stays quiet and lets him lay it all out.
06[00:29] * Seira thought they had already called in what markers were easily called, and decides to listen for now for the full plan to be unveiled.
[00:29] <Kotono> "We need a certain freedom from the Baronies, first of all. I'm not talking full secession, but an understanding with Lord Salman." Ticking off a finger, "Then we need an internal reorganization and ways to support ourselves. We lack there - your salaries are...inadequate." A pause here, a look to both.
01[00:30] <Seira> "An adequate salary for my lifestyle would make me ashamed at cashing it in, anyway," Seira states with a shrug.
[00:31] <Kotono> "The payments don't have to be only coin. But no matter," Going on from there, "We need the tools to do so as well as proper trappings. This garrison has served it's purpose, but...it's still just a soldier's home. Then we need to expand, making agreements with other nations as well as beyond the planes. I want to make the Crimson Guard a force, here and beyond our reality."
[00:33] <Alicia> "The eladrin presence here over the past week shows a good start, and given what occured yesterday I think our links with them can only strengthen," Alicia agrees, starting to turn things around in her head now that she knows what Obureth is aiming at.
06[00:33] * Seira glances sideways at Alicia, before shrugging once more. "I joined the Guard because of you, Sir," she says, intentionally using that form of address. "My loyalty to Lord Salman is an extension of my loyalty to you. As long as you work within the framework of our law and for the betterment of our citizens, I would follow you in whatever choices you might make."
[00:34] <Kotono> "That's what I need to hear. Before this goes any further, I need your support." Oberuth looks to both women, "You two are as much the heart of the Guard as I am. If you do not support this, it can't go forward."
01[00:35] <Seira> As long as Hellman Oberuth doesn't declare himself the insane god-king of that unbearable mirage she had once glimpsed while at the gnomish ruins, Seira would support him, so this is pretty tame by her standards. She nods at him.
[00:46] <Alicia> "I joined solely to earn clemency for my sister from Lord Salman," Alicia replies, looking off to the side and swilling her drink around in its tumbler. "It was a hasty decision borne of desperation, and not something I wished as a lifetime commitment."
[00:46] <Alicia> "I would like to think the debt has been paid by now, but remaining here best serves my goals as a representative of Mystra... and I've grown fond of the place and the people, regardless." Knocking back her drink, she sets it down on the table and turns to face Obureth.
[00:46] <Alicia> "Politics is not my forte, Commander, but I know a thing or two. I grew up in an independent city state, and I've seen how weak and irrelevant it is to the rest of the world. I would not wish to see Balmuria travel down the same road. You'll have to tell me more of how we'll govern ourselves, and how we'll deal with our immediate neighbours."
[00:52] <Kotono> Stopping to halfway refill glasses, going light on the whiskey, "We all serve for our own reasons...but what we do is the same. We protect ourselves, our friends and those who cannot protect themselves. The Crimson Guard has to rise beyond simple, petty national wars. I've seen them all my life and what are they good for? Death, misery and hate!" With a strong clink as the bottle is placed back down, Oberuth leans forward, hands on the table. (More)
[00:52] <Kotono> placed back down, Oberuth leans forward, hands on the table. (More)
[00:56] <Kotono> "First, we cannot be a the servants of one nation, the Crimson Guard. We must be the Crimson Guard and only the Crimson Guard. We've welcomed people in from beyond the Baronies as friends and allies and it has only strengthened us. Amaryl...Antenora...Eudard...Alicia...Claris. For the Crimson Guard, we have to be beyond one nation."
01[00:57] <Seira> "We can certainly get the power to be relevant," Seira muses, draining her second glass of whiskey easily.
01[00:57] <Seira> "What does Demedais think of this, incidentally?" she feels the need to ask, then.
[00:59] <Kotono> "We've discussed this. He has duties keeping him busy, but he has agreed to all of this," Oberuth stops to drinkhis own glass down.
[00:59] <Alicia> Now he's talking her language. Fighting against Malmuth rankled her, and she has utterly no desire to fight a bloody war of secession. "I did not learn to wield a blade to fight in wars," Alicia agrees as she takes a drink.
[01:00] <Alicia> "So, we would be independent, yet open to all? Ready to lend our might to any worthy cause and defend the innocent, no matter where?" she phrases things to fit her own ideological slant.
[01:00] <Kotono> Oberuth nods, "Not fully independant - I don't want a civil war with the Baronies - but a strong understand with Lord Salman. Balmuria would become more of a free city. Our location is perfect for it, along trade routes and with an excellent sea port."
[01:03] <Alicia> "Like Tash, then?" Alicia thinks back to the Desert Fiefdom's own free city. It wasn't particularly impressive to her, but this is being done with more worthy goals.
01[01:03] <Seira> "Our capabilities in matters of trade and diplomatic relations are superb," Seira agrees with him. "How would we act if there is no clear side that's innocent?"
[01:05] <Kotono> "Close enough." Oberuth agrees again, sitting back down. "We'll do what we can. We'll have ot make hard choices; we've had to make plenty already. Once that's done, we need a complete reorganization. Reform our ranks and resort them, as well as increase our member roles and establish agreements with other sources. I already have Countess Stronger and a working agreement with her if we go forward."
01[01:06] <Seira> "Abagail is ambitious enough to follow me," Seira mentions. "And Agathaiel contracted to work with me, not the Baronies, so that should not be an issue."
[01:10] <Kotono> A short nod there, "Working relationships with the temples about the city as well. Allies woh can give us the support we need, mystical and mundane."
01[01:11] <Seira> "There is not a single person in Balmuria who made it their home, and would hold greater loyalty to the Baronies than it, I feel," Seira voices, nodding back.
[01:12] <Alicia> "I think it would be best if we avoided purely political conflicts," Alicia speaks of one of her biggest reservations, knowing of Seira's interest in Kesse. "Certainly we should act against atrocities, but if two armies are going to battle over borders or similar disputes, I don't think it's our place to pass judgement."
01[01:15] <Seira> "If there is something we can do to avert a war from breaking out, it would be a worthy achievement," Seira muses. "Regardless of circumstances, if inaction leads to death, carnage and orphans on both sides, should we really stand on the sidelines?"
06[01:19] * Alicia answers that by turning back to Obureth. "Commander, how would you have felt if the elves of Pallanth had demanded a halt to your first war of independence against Malmuth?"
01[01:21] <Seira> "Would there have been any harm in them attempting to mediate?" Seira voices in surprise. "Perhaps, they might even have brought both sides to the table and reached a compromise acceptable to all."
[01:27] <Kotono> "Perhaps, perhaps not." Commander Oberuth shakes his head, "There may be time where it's reasonable ot intervene in wars and times where we should allow events to go as they will. We can't become too entangled in politics - we need to be our own force, not another army fighting over ground and pride."
[01:28] <Alicia> "Mediation is fine," Alicia shakes her head. "What I cannot countenance is taking sides in such conflicts where there is no right or wrong, nor exercising our own force to simply halt the conflict and maintain the status quo."
[01:28] <Alicia> "There will be those on both sides who insist their cause is worth fighting for, that conflict is their last recourse to correct an injustice. We shouldn't deny them that option."
01[01:30] <Seira> "I must say that I disagree, but debating it here would get us nowhere. There is no conflict in the present or future that I wish to resolve by fighting on one side or another, after all, so the question itself becomes moot." Seira shrugs. "We certainly agree on mediation being an acceptable recourse,
01[01:30] <Seira> and if we ever disagree on that as well, as long as the option to act individually without representing Balmuria is available in such cases, I see no problems in the future."
[01:36] <Kotono> "But once we do all that, it's a matter of strenghtening ourselves. We need a protected, stronger base of operations. Frankly, we have many a being that owes us, or knows we're good for a favor. We need a powerful, safe place and one that will serve as a symbol."
01[01:37] <Seira> "I'm afraid I don't follow, here," Seira admits. "The city is not enough? Or... you wish to relocate it?"
[01:39] <Kotono> "The city is fine. The garrison..." Commander Oberuth smiles now, a very small one. "It's served us well, but I feel we've outgrown it."
01[01:41] <Seira> "I know Demedais is using the temple of Helm as a training base, and it's both larger and far better protected. Is that along the lines you were thinking of?"
[01:41] <Alicia> "You'd prefer something more symbolic? Something inspiring to look upon, that can be seen from any part of the city as reassurance of our commitment to defending all who dwell here?" Alicia asks with a smile, her tone light but not entirely joking.
[01:46] <Kotono> "You're both on the right track. For practical and inspirational reasons. A garrison...it's just not, ah...impressive." Now breaking his own smile bigger, "Something that will stand as a symbol."
01[01:47] <Seira> "In that case, how about aiming for a floating, upside-down mountain top?" Seira voices eagerly, leaning forward. "I've always wanted to have a flying fortress like that!"
[01:48] <Alicia> "The first time some rowdy wizard casts dispel magic on it we'd all regret it," Alicia notes with a wince, before moving on. "Between us two and Elle," she gestures between herself and Seira, "We have the magic to speed construction of something new, if we can get the materials. The Earth Elementals in the Galkass Mountains might help at that for getting things like adamantine."
01[01:49] <Seira> "It wouldn't be a very good flying fortress if someone could just defeat it with dispel magic," Seira mutters quietly.
[01:50] <Kotono> "You have a good point, Seira," Smiling slightly now, "Further, we have beings of incredible power who we can consult for guidance and aid to further our effort in a productive manner."
01[01:56] <Seira> It's true enough, although she can't think of specifics at the moment.

[Corwin]

[19:40] <Kotono> <Alicia> "You'd prefer something more symbolic? Something inspiring to look upon, that can be seen from any part of the city as reassurance of our commitment to defending all who dwell here?" Alicia asks with a smile, her tone light but not entirely joking.
[19:40] <Kotono> > "You're both on the right track. For practical and inspirational reasons. A garrison...it's just not, ah...impressive." Now breaking his own smile bigger, "Something that will stand as a symbol."
[19:40] <Kotono> <Seira> "In that case, how about aiming for a floating, upside-down mountain top?" Seira voices eagerly, leaning forward. "I've always wanted to have a flying fortress like that!"
[19:40] <Kotono> <Alicia> "The first time some rowdy wizard casts dispel magic on it we'd all regret it," Alicia notes with a wince, before moving on. "Between us two and Elle," she gestures between herself and Seira, "We have the magic to speed construction of something new, if we can get the materials. The Earth Elementals in the Galkass Mountains might help at that for getting things like adamantine."
[19:40] <Kotono> <Seira> "It wouldn't be a very good flying fortress if someone could just defeat it with dispel magic," Seira mutters quietly.
[19:40] <Kotono> > "You have a good point, Seira," Smiling slightly now, "Further, we have beings of incredible power who we can consult for guidance and aid to further our effort in a productive manner."
[19:40] <Kotono> <Seira> It's true enough, although she can't think of specifics at the moment.
03[19:40] * Yomi is now known as Seira
03[19:41] * Ebiris is now known as Alicia
[19:41] <Kotono> "More than anything else, we have to grow again. Once the Dark Six are defeated, we can begin this labor." Oberuth looks to both of them now, "ARe both of you content with following this path?"
[19:43] <Alicia> "For now I'm on board," Alicia inclines her head. "But as you say, we have more pressing concerns to deal with at the moment."
01[19:43] <Seira> "Again, yes, although I don't think I can contribute significantly until the plan is more than a vague idea stating intent," Seira responds.
[19:44] <Kotono> "We'll make this more official once the Dark Six are defeated. For now...go. There's still much to do."
[19:53] <Kotono> ---