21 fact checking (Moore)

[Nephrite]

He shakes his head. "I can't say I completely understand, but I understand the sentiment. Please forget I even asked, I will be more careful about the questions I pose to you going forward." He promises.

He leans over to grab a piece of fruit. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you about something that I forgot about until I got back from Celestia... the people that were affected by the Styxian water a few weeks ago... does 21 have power to neutralize it?"

[Anastasia]

"I've never tried," Sylvie says after a moment's thought. She goes back to her meal, finishing it off before banishing that, then getting a small plate of a few different cheeses. "The Styx is evil, but I don't believe the lingering memory loss is inherently evil."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "After we had the operation there, I did a divination and it seemed to suggest that 21 might have the power to protect us from that part of things. I could see it, at least in terms of... mm... well, I know it erodes things like memory, and seems to impact magic by making it 'forget' what the magic is supposed to do. Well, now that I think about it, it didn't say 21 specifically, but..."

He thinks for a moment.

He closes his eyes and takes a breath, like he's trying to remember something long-forgotten. truth

He opens his eyes and nods as if he found an answer. "The divination specifically said 'seek the truth that cannot be taken away.' To me, that sounds like 21, what do you think?"

[Anastasia]

"The price of remembering may not be worth it," Sylvie warns, "21's all the power Aurora could dream of, but it comes with a price."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "I understand. Even so, we need to find some way to protect ourselves or fight back against the Stygian threat. I'm sure when the time comes to fight Hell more seriously, they'll use that accursed water against us, so I'm willing to delve into fighting it."

[Anastasia]

Sylvie nibbles on a little wedge of cheese as you talk, putting it down before nodding. "That was a really strong tactic to use. We do need to stop it, don't we?"

[Nephrite]

"It didn't occur to me before, but I wonder if they're even protected against it at all." He says, leaning back. "In the battle itself, I think they had some sort of person... or persons controlling it, moving it around our forces. I think, given that, they have to be careful about wielding it carelessly. At least, that's my opinion, anyway. Either way, I think if we had some way we could surprise them like that in the future it would give us an edge."

[Anastasia]

"Yeah, if we ever can get through all the defenses there," Sylvie says, "I don't like our odds with all the devils have invested into there. If the Lord of the Ninth is taking a hand into it, we may find ourselves in too deep even if we break through."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "I agree. Attacking that place again will need to be something we do in tandem with more forces. At any rate, I think making inroads against the water itself may still be helpful... I wonder if they employ it in any other situations. I don't recall anything in Benfal wielding anything like it... mm... that may actually lead to more reason to believe that the water itself is harmful to anyone."

[Anastasia]

"Well yes, it is Styx water," Sylvie remarks, "You know, the river that runs through Hell itself as well as all the lower planes? It's not exactly spring water."

[Nephrite]

"No, I know that. What I mean is that I think it's harmful to devils, too. Maybe that's obvious, though."

[Anastasia]

"So wait, do you want us to use Styx-water?" she asks, "Run me through this again, I must have been lost in my own thoughts."

[Nephrite]

"No, no no." He shakes his head. "I'm just saying that I think they use it the way they do because it is both harmful to them as well as to us. It was just an observation of how it's being used. I think we should find a way to neutralize it, or if that's not possible, protect ourselves more from it, so that whenever it comes up again, we take away a major prong of their offensive capabilities."

[Anastasia]

Sylvie nods at that, "Right," she says. "So go on."

[Nephrite]

"I suppose in order to proceed with the idea we'd need to get a sample of it to test it and see what happens under safe conditions." Moore says. "That... shouldn't be terribly difficult, just dangerous."